Saturday, August 9, 2014

Whole Wheat Cardigan

And here it is, finally!  (I've been busy.  This "getting married" business is a lot of hassle.)


PATTERN: Whole Wheat Cardigan by Alexandra Charlotte Dafoe.  Size "46."  The quotation marks are because, well, there are some problematic aspects to the pattern.  There are numerous small errors, both in the form of mathematics and of typos, but that's not as bothersome as the fact that the 46" size, if knit to gauge and schematic, will give a sweater that is 49.75" around.  (This is without seam allowances, granted, but a three-inch seam allowance is a bit much.)  This in itself would not be problematic, but the pattern doesn't mention positive ease as a characteristic.  In fact, the pattern doesn't mention ease at all, so anyone knitting this would pick it up expecting zero ease.  Not almost four inches.


Here, this actually worked in my favor; I have a 48" bust (well, it's actually a little larger, but the standard 48" measurements fit my shoulders perfectly, so I just have negative ease in the bust or put in darts if I need them, but whatever), so making the 46" size as written gave me a perfect fit with about zero ease.  But you see how this could have unfortunate consequences for the knitter who does not check her measurements against the schematic.



YARN:  Shepherd's Wool DK (100% merino, 120yds/50g skein) in colorway "Lilac," approximately 6.5 skeins.

NEEDLES: US 7/4.5mm

MODIFICATIONS: To make the sweater hit at a more flattering point, I knit two inches of ribbing instead of the called-for four inches on the body.  I also shortened the sleeves because of my t-rex arms.  Otherwise knit as written.


Overall I am generally satisfied, but I doubt I'll be knitting a pattern from this designer again.  (I did message her with the errors I'd found and haven't heard anything back.  This was several weeks ago and no acknowledgement has been made, nor has the pattern been corrected.  Not impressed.)
 

1 comment:

AlisonH said...

Beautiful! You and the cardigan both!