Cropped Cardigan

"Cropped Cardigan" designed by Martin Storey
(Vogue Knitting International - Fall 2008/pg 102) 
Lions Brand -- Vanna's Choice (Size XL/9 skeins/Deep Wine)
Needle size:  US 7 and US 8 (4.5 and 5mm)
In 2008, when I was planning to spend a week in Park City, Utah, with my sisters and their daughters, I purchased a copy of Vogue Knitting Magazine.  As we were driving to see the 2002 Winter Olympics Ski Jumping venue, I looked through it.  I was thrilled to find patterns for at least 5 sweaters I really wanted to knit.  In the past, I had always felt that one exciting pattern per magazine was the most I could expect.  This cardigan was first of the designs in this issue of Vogue Knitting, that I made.

The cardigan was lengthened, thus making it an "uncropped cardigan", but felt the length would be much better on my body type.  I fell in love with the color of this yarn and thought it was a good choice for a sweater that would get a lot of wear, and would need to be machine washed.  What a mistake,  acrylic yarns have a strange, plastic look to them.

Fearing that wool would be too scratchy, I soon discovered this sweater to be hot and uncomfortable.  However, the fit was perfect, and clear lucite buttons finished the look off nicely.  I still love the color, but having lost weight, I don't wear it much anymore.

This intricate cabling was really fun to knit, and easy to keep track of, and the intermitant cabling in the bottom ribbing and button band gave great interest at the neck, and prevented gapping at the bustline.

This is definitely a "make again" cardigan.  Hopefully, I'll be able to find this color again, in a more natural fiber, that will be better to wear.  No more worrying about machine washing.  Cold water hand washing and shaping flat to dry, is a much better way to go.  Perhaps making better yarn choices will lessen the heighth of my knitting mishaps pile.  But, then again . . . yarn choice is not the worst of my mistakes.  Fit always seems to be the biggest issue.  I have been studying though, and I believe my fitting techniques are really improving.  Occasionally I'll ask one of my daughters why they don't ever wear a particular sweater I had knit for them.  The answer is generally, "oh you know, Mom, you made that sweater when you were in your "wierd sweater phase". However, they continue to have requests for knitted items they want me to knit, so I must have grown out of my "wierd sweater phase".



I haven't finished the other patterns from this issue of Vogue Knitting, having put them away to complete Christmas gifts, or birthday gifts, or baby gifts.  But it is my goal to finish up some of the half-done projects in my drawer . . . this year!  Hopefully, they will still fit.