theraineysisters knitting and so much more

January 4, 2015

From Susan — Both Last and First

Filed under: Updates — lv2knit @ 4:32 pm

My last FO of 2014 is the first to be blogged about in 2015!  I finished my Roosevelt Cardigan at the end of December, amidst the merriment and hubbub of the holidays.

It was a satisfying knit, with really nice yarn purchased at Rhinebeck this past October. I used Harrisville WATERshed, in color Penstock. I love it. Love, love, love it. It is wooly wool with rich tonal qualities that felt great to knit.  A perfect substitute for Shelter (spun at the same mill) or Jamieson’s Shetland Heather Aran (a yarn by any other name, and I mean ANY other name — it has had many!!).

This sweater started out as Rowe…and part of me wishes I had finished this elaborate, cabled coat.  But, it had “issues” (for the way I wanted it) and I did not feel like fixing the issues.  So, I embarked on a different design.  Roosevelt has many projects on Ravelry that were beautifully completed.


Roosevelt Cardigan

The show-stopping feature of this design is the pocket treatment:

I bound off the back neck with I-cord so the strong line at the fronts would continue around the back neck:

Then I edged the shawl collar with I-cord to add weight to the collar and match the strong lines throughout.

My thinking was to create an over-sized boyfriend sweater, but alas, I do not seem able to carry off the part of the cute girlfriend!  However, it is a very wearable sweater out of beautiful yarn, that fits as I expected.  Yay!!

PS — Several of you have asked about the collar and if it is deeper than the original.

It may be: the way I did the collar was to only do my short row wraps in the “p2” sts of the k2, p2 rib, which was every 4 sts.  This changed the number of short rows (the original had more short rows), by 5 = 10 rows of knitting.  After the shawl collar short rows were completed, I continued the ribbing for 3 inches instead of 2.  This would have deepened the collar at the same time, but probably back to the original width.  I bound off with I-cord which also added a small amount of width.

20 Comments »

  1. This is a fanastic sweater. I love the color.

    Comment by Jennifer — January 4, 2015 @ 5:14 pm

  2. congrats on the cardigan — but the best of course are the photos of the pockets and collar — brilliant!

    Comment by MaryjoO — January 4, 2015 @ 5:24 pm

  3. Stunning. Drop dead gorgeous! Great way to end your knitting year.

    Comment by Thea — January 4, 2015 @ 5:32 pm

  4. That pattern is in my Ravelry favorites. Love your I Cord edging. An improvement on an already beautiful pattern!

    Comment by Bonnie — January 4, 2015 @ 5:56 pm

  5. Magnificent! You set the bar quite high, as always.

    Comment by Susan — January 4, 2015 @ 7:20 pm

  6. Holy catfish you do beautiful work. Love the finishing. Looks like a sweater to wear and wear and wear.

    Comment by Betty — January 4, 2015 @ 7:47 pm

  7. That is one stunning sweater! So many perfect little touches!

    Comment by Amy C — January 4, 2015 @ 8:56 pm

  8. Lovely! Very satisfying style and fiber. I am about to begin on my own Rowe….any comments you might be willing to make that would help with that process would be most welcome! Fit. Construction. That sort of thing.

    Comment by skeindalous — January 5, 2015 @ 11:03 am

  9. A gorgeous FO born of mad knitting skills. How I covet those!

    Comment by Monica — January 5, 2015 @ 2:20 pm

  10. Those pockets are show stopping!!

    Comment by Penny — January 5, 2015 @ 8:19 pm

  11. ??? Absolutely fantastic !!!

    KR Nadja from Germany

    Comment by Nadja — January 6, 2015 @ 8:40 am

  12. Love this. Excellent work, as usual.

    Comment by Annie — January 6, 2015 @ 9:17 am

  13. Love your version of this sweater. Thanks for the details. This just went into my queue.

    Comment by Marji — January 6, 2015 @ 9:54 am

  14. Absolutely gorgeous! I love your finishing details, and those pockets are just to die for!

    Comment by Veronika — January 6, 2015 @ 10:34 am

  15. Absolutely beautiful! I like how your collar is wider than most others on Ravelry. An additional modification?

    Comment by Cathy L — January 6, 2015 @ 11:15 am

  16. I’m sure that you look great in this. How could you not: it’s lovely work.

    Comment by Shandy — January 8, 2015 @ 7:38 am

  17. I love this jacket, especially the collar and pockets.

    Comment by Mandy Rainey — January 18, 2015 @ 8:03 am

  18. This is so beautifully executed. The bottom of the sleeves and body are just perfect; no splaying of the cabling at the bottom. As I increased the photo size, it appears there are a couple of rows of K1P1 ribbing before the bottom cables of the body begin.

    Am I seeing that correctly? Did you do any magic on the sleeve bottoms to prevent them from splaying out after the cast on?

    It’s gorgeous.

    Comment by Mary — January 19, 2015 @ 4:47 pm

  19. Stunning! Just bought the pattern and I’m checking to the yarn. Thanks for the critique!

    Comment by Tora — February 1, 2015 @ 3:09 pm

  20. Buttons? Are you planning to add any?

    Comment by Starknitter — June 24, 2015 @ 2:30 pm

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