I just finished a cute, wearable cardigan: Always There by Joji Locatelli. The pattern had some issues, but then so did I!! The yarn was purchased at BeWoolen — my LYS and home away from home! Just 1.4 miles away, it’s not only close, but well stocked with nice yarn and even nicer people!
Here is my finished cardigan. I made several mods to the pattern itself, but looking at it you wouldn’t know.
It fits perfectly, except the sleeves may be a bit too long. I will wear it a couple of times to make sure and then might shorten them.
The yarn is their own BeWoolen DK, color Midsummer Sky. I snagged it on their official opening weekend, so it has been marinating a while. As with any hand-dyed yarn, you have to expect some variation. So what I did instead of alternating skeins was to change skeins at section breaks — when changing from stockinette to twisted rib for instance. It really worked! The color changes created broad stripes, instead of color breaks in the middle of a section. One of the skeins was a true outlier. I would not have used it at all but I realized I needed every gram! It forms the lightest stripe in the low end of the sweater, but somehow in the sleeves, it caused hideous white stripes!
Because I matched the skeins on the sleeves, both sleeves had the same hideous striping. So, I tie dyed them! I bought turquoise tie dye and dyed the bad sections! As I was slathering on the dye, I suddenly realized that it could go horribly wrong, but it was too late! All I wanted was to add a little blue color to the white areas, so I didn’t let it set very long. I immediately soaked and blocked it. The results: perfection, and shock that it worked!!
ETA: I used Tulip One-Step Tie Dye, color Turquoise. I used the refill powder and mixed it with more water to make the color lighter, testing it on white fabric. I applied it to the white areas and kind of massaged it in. I placed the treated sleeve areas in a bowl of salted vinegar water for a short time to set the color, then soaked and blocked as usual. The tie dye instructions say to wait 6-8 hours, but I waited closer to 6-8 minutes!!
After it dried, I went to sew on the buttons. I harvested gorgeous glass buttons off an older sweater that I no longer wear. As I was marking where to sew them I realized I had made a mistake…
- Buttonholes need to be evenly spaced. I do this by counting sts in between the buttonholes — or in the case of ribbing, the ribs between buttonholes.
- Knitters can’t count.
Okay, then. I had miscounted the ribs between two buttonholes! 9 instead of 8 like the others. The extra space wouldn’t be noticeable between the buttonholes, but it would be noticed between my stunning buttons. I thought it was beyond fixing, but of course it bothered me. So, I cut the bind off yarn, ripped back the bind off across the bottom two buttonholes, and re-positioned them one rib higher. It’s funny because at the time I thought the last buttonhole seemed like it was closer to the bottom than I had planned. Listen to that little voice in your head!! I could have fixed it much easier when knitting the band!!!
So the problems are fixed, except for the sleeve length. I will hold off on judgment until it’s worn. Sometimes sleeves creep up when you wear a shirt underneath. I am super pleased with this after all is said and done.
And I have never understood people who don’t block their knitting!! This thing was FUGLY before I blocked it, but I had hope!!! This picture was taken moments before my tie dye extravaganza!! 😉
PS to Christina — I don’t really have any advice for you on this. I’ve never done a faux buttonband so have no advice to offer. Maybe post your question on Ravelry, either in the Techniques secton or within Joji’s Ravelry group.
