Knitting is a learning experience. What I learned from my most recent project:
1. I like knitting with pure cashmere. (I think I already suspected that.)
2. No matter how many times I measure, it will always be too short (except when it’s too long, but that’s a different story).
3. When I debate whether or not to add an extra repeat for length, the default answer should be “yes.”
4. When I don’t knit the extra repeat for length, angst and desperate measures are sure to follow.
5. Lucy is useful for sewing in set-in sleeves.
As you may have guessed by now, I finished my Cathedral sweater, but it was somewhat shorter than I find wearable. I had used a provisional cast on because I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do at the bottom (the pattern called for a few simple rows of garter stitch). Unfortunately, I didn’t absolutely decide it was too short until I had put it together. I considered knitting another repeat and then grafting it onto the bottom, but decided (wisely, I think) that it was beyond my grafting skills to do so with this particular pattern. So my choices were to have it be too short (not a viable option), reknit the entire sweater after taking it apart (uh, no thanks), or try to be creative.
In the end, I added a motif that mirrored part of the upper patterning. Is it perfect? No. Is it long enough? Yes. Just. Would it have been easier to knit another repeat? Undoubtedly.
With my lovely daughter as a model, here is Cathedral. (She’s taller and thinner than I am, so it doesn’t fit me exactly the same way. But hey — she’s much more photogenic!)
And here’s Lucy helping:
Pattern notes: This sweater is from a Japanese pattern book: Couture Knit #13. It, and other Japanese pattern books, are available to purchase online at Needle Arts Bookshop. I knit it in Jaeger Cashmina on U.S. 2.5 (3 mm) needles.
