I have a confession to make: this cardigan has actually been finished for about a week now. All I had left to do was to sew on the buttons. It is pretty uncharacteristic of me to put off the final touches of a project – I want it to be finished so I can actually wear it! – but this sweater stumped me for about a week.
I tried a regular ol’ wet block the day I finished it, and let it sit on the back porch so the sun could do it’s thang. Of course, that day had a 20% chance of rain and OF COURSE it decided to rain while I was at work (while we’re in the middle of a drought, no less). GR. When I got home, it was obviously still wet & that’s when I realized that it was quickly growing several sizes too large. I knew that cotton yarn has a tendency to grow, but I figured the wool blend would stop it… nope. So I tried to throw it in the dryer. It was at that point that I learned our (new-to-us) dryer has a busted heating element. That is also when I decided to let Amelia use the sweater as a cat bed while I went over my remaining options.
I’m happy to report that I did manage to fix it, though!
So now let’s talk about the pattern, and my issues with cotton yarn.
This is the Miette pattern by Andi Satterlund. Can I just say that I wish Andi had more sweater patterns, because I would totally knit every single one of them. I love how she lays out her instructions & I think her designs are just so pretty. The sizing is always perfect for my body, too. Anyway, this pattern was pretty awesome – simple, fairly quick (the actual knitting of this sweater only took about a month!), and mostly mindless. I used Cascade Sierra, which is a cotton/wool blend yard (80/20), and I barely pulled into my 4th skein. It feels so soft against my skin! These pictures are kind of deceiving; the navy is much more rich in real life.
I did make a couple of changes to the pattern – I left out a few rows on the sleeves, because I liked the length (and I actually think they are a smidge too long still, eh). I also knitted the sleeves with DPNs instead of my circular needles, since I didn’t want the cotton to stretch out. The ribbing is supposed to be knitted with a smaller needle size, but I didn’t have a smaller size DPN on hand so I just used my regular 8s (same size I used for the rest of the sweater).
I love that it is all knit in one piece! Yay for not having to sew it together!
Sorry that these pictures are so bad – I caught a break in the rain & had to rush! The dress I am wearing is actually lavender, but it looks white here!
Of course, now I notice that the ribbing doesn’t match up at the bottom band. Huh. I guess I didn’t block it enough the first go-round.
The button band is stabilized with petersham ribbon, so it doesn’t gape over curves. I really like this method, although it is a bit time-consuming to sew all that ribbon on. This time around, I tried machine-stitching my button holes on the petersham before sewing it to my sweater – it was MUCH easier than handworking button holes. Me gusta!
So how did I get it to fit, if it apparently stretched all out of shape?
I STEAM-BLOCKED THAT LITTLE SHIT.
Ha! It was sooo easy (and soooo much better than going to the laundromat lolol)! I just laid it on my table, scrunched up the sides & steamed the shit out of it with my iron. While it was hot, I molded the sweater to be smaller. Then I left it to dry. Easy easy! And it actually worked – yay!
The next thing I did was thread some thin elastic (like the kind you use for shirring) through the neckband. I sewed 2 rows of elastic, all the way around, and pulled it very slightly. Hopefully this will keep the neckline from stretching out again.
The buttons aren’t my favorite but they were the only thing I had on hand that even remotely matched (and that I had enough of!)
At this point, I got really pissy at how bad my pictures turned out, so I started playing around with effects haha
Ha!
Anyway, that’s 2 sweaters completed at this point! I feel so proud of myself 🙂
CUTE!
What dress is that? Did you make it?
Thank you! 🙂
The dress is Vogue 1086 (link to the blog post). I made it about 2 years ago.
The thought of blocking anything scares the heebies out of me! That and knitting anything like a top takes so frickin’ long!! I just don’t have the patience for it I guess. Your gorgeous tops are seriously tempting me to have a go again though… If I’d completed two sweaters I’d be very proud of myself – particularly if they were as good as yours!!
Truly a beautiful piece!
you make me jealous! I wish I learned out to sew
Your sweater is adorable! Well done for completing 2 brilliant sweaters. Thanks for all the tips in your post as well.
I love Andi Satterlund’s patterns,I really want to make an ‘Agatha’ but I have far too many knitting patterns in my queue right now. I follow her blog as well and her projects are always awesome
I love it! I have a bad habit of starting sweaters and then stopping when I get to a tough part (like holes for sleeves, etc). I’ve been working on the body portion of one for about a month and I keep just making it longer so I can prolong the possibility of F-ing up all my hard work! Maybe I’ll try one that is all one piece, but I’d still probably be nervous about it.
Looks great!
I’m notorious for leaving mostly finished sweaters for MONTHS (or years – I seriously have one almost done from 2006ish) without finishing them. It’s a bad habit…I should just finish them and get it over with so I can wear them, like you do. I also find the lack of recovery in cotton and cotton blend yarns frustrating…so frustrating that I don’t do as much summer knitting anymore (yay winter knitting with wool!).
Your miette-cardigan turned out great! I can not believe it is your second sweater …
Christel
I agree…the finish on this is what you’d expect from someone who’s done much more knitting. Simply lovely. Bravo!
It looks fantastic! Great idea to add the elastic to the neckline, I might have to give that a try. My last Miette has stretched a bit more than I’d like around the neck.
So freaking cute! I’m pretty sure miette is french for “crumb”. Which makes it even more adorable. I really need to start knitting myself some sweaters. I wear one like everyday! There are sooooo many awesome patterns on Ravelry. … except I can’t knit.
Oh God, “crumb,” is the cutest thing ever… think I just died a little haha. I love knitting sweaters, and it doesn’t necessarily cost more than buying one new (plus you can make them wool & not acrylic… or, you know, whatever fiber you want :)). You should try knitting, I bet you’d be good at it!
If you or your projects were any cuter I WOULD DIE. I love the skirt/sweater combo here!
You should be proud! Both sweaters are tremendously cute! And they fit!
Adorable! Well done. I’m always knitting long cardigans – I should make a cropped one next.
Is the yarn Cascade Sierra? (Cascade 220 is 100% wool?)
lol you’re absolutely right – I used Cascade Sierra. I must have 220 on the brain :B Thanks for spotting that, I updated the post!
This cardigan is adorable and it looks great on you! I can’t believe I didn’t see this pattern on Ravelry.
Amazing! I love Andi’s patterns too. I downloaded one, but I’m way too intimidated to start. The biggest thing I’ve ever knitted was a sweater vest for my baby, and it took everything I had to finish it. I don’t know if I could make it through something ten times the size! Yours are definitely an inspiration though! They look great.
Really, really cute! I love this sweater! It’s so pretty, and it fits you perfectly!
Guess what?? I finished mine tooo and I’m posting it on my blog tomorrow (so exciting). I used Cascade Sierra just like you, and steam blocked mine also!
I might have to try your elastic trick with the neckline, mine looks a skosh wider than it should be.
Anyway, this looks AWESOME. I’m super chuffed to be pattern twins with you, lol. It’s such a super cute design and yours came out great 🙂
Oh, sweet, I can’t wait to see yours! 😀
I am really happy that I discovered the elastic trick; I wore my sweater all day & the neckline didn’t stretch out at all. Yay!
You are a knit-wonder….cannot believe how you throw abbrevs like “DPNs” into your writing like that when you started just last year ….I am in serious awe at your knitting & fixing-knitting skills. Looks like a perfect cardi for all your sweet dresses
you should be proud! its gorgeous! i love the lacework and the cropped length. very delicate.
Oh, this one has been on my queue for a long time and you’re making me want to bump it up to the top. It’s so perfect to wear with all the dresses you make. Great job!
It looks fab! you should be proud of yourself!!