Last we left on this project, I needed to cut the steek.
It may have sat for a little while whilst I took care of other things… like finishing the the sewing on Christmas stockings for the children.
I used my sewing machine to reinforce the steek:
Before cutting it open:
And picking up the stitches for the buttonbands:
The original pattern was written to be worked flat, with the buttonband knit on. As a result, the world was my oyster when it came to choosing how I wanted to do the buttonband. I chose a 2×2 rib of 7 rows in length, then cast off in pattern. The buttonhole are simple YO buttonholes. I ended up working them on the wrong side of the bands, mostly so that they fell as close to the centre of the band as possible.
I finished off the cut edge using a blanket stitch:
I gave it a lot of thought about which method of finishing I’d use. Given I was using a superwash yarn, I knew I needed to finish it properly since the edges wouldn’t felt together with wear. I also wanted something that wouldn’t be too bulky, yet look nice. I though the buttonhole stitch was a great solution.
I’m really happy with the finished cardigan, and I’m really pleased I decided to do it in the round.
It fits Thing 2 really well, with a little bit of room for growth.
If I were to do this again, though, I’d change up the pattern a bit so that the first set of yoke decreases didn’t fall in the first row of colourwork. It caused a bit of puckering, most of which came out in blocking, but I think this would have been minimised if the decreases were a row or two before the colourwork began. I also decided to shorten the next and not do the turtleneck as written in the pattern.
The details:
Pattern: Drops 19-2 which you can also queue on Ravelry.
Yarn: Sandes Garn Smart.
Needles 3.5mm (for the rib) and 4mm for the rest
Size: I knit the 6 to 9 month length and knit the 12 to 18 month size as written, mostly to solve gauge issues.
Mods: I modified for size, gauge, to knit it in the round, and shortened the neck