After numerous days of storms and cloudiness what with Tornado Alley looking more like Tornado Main Street, the weather finally cooperated long enough to get some finished photos.
Circumnavigated Cardigan- she is done and she is cozy. To recap- this pattern was originally published in Knitter's Magazine #10 and is now available for purchase directly from the designer, Medrith Glover (more info here). I also knit this as part of the year long KAL with the Dallas Hand Knitters Guild. This pattern is really more like a very detailed guide. You can use any yarn in any gauge and make any size, it's all calculated by you with your measurements. It gives you lots of room to play with ideas, but when I say detailed I mean it- it's thorough to say the least. Oh and did I mention it was completely seamless, including the side pockets? Yeah, I thought it was a cool pattern. I do love unique construction.
So of course, I had to make some of my own mods. :)
- The pattern calls for 6 inches of ease, while I wanted a comfy sweater that was easy to wear over almost anything- that was a bit much. So I cut mine down to about 2 inches (by pretending my measurements were actually 4 inches smaller, and then followed the pattern as written - easy and mentally indulgent).
- I did add a little bit of waist shaping but this is one thing I didn't do as much as I'd like. I should have started the shaping during the pockets; by the time they were joined I realized it was a little late to do much.
- The colorwork is an obvious change, I added simple stripes and after a few failed attempts decided duplicate stitching on the stars on the front worked the best.
- The pattern calls for binding off then picking up for the start of the top down sleeves but I preferred the more seamless look and didn't want it competing with the stripes. For a provisional cast on I had just knitted several rows in the contrast color then switched to the main color, cutting out the contrast when ready to work in the other direction. While a little more work, this seemed to eliminate any change in tension issues.
- The button band is worked in garter st in the pattern but here I chose to use double knit- much more on that in this post
- I also used double knit for the sleeve hems, here using black for the inside color which allowed me to add another star at each end. So the inside cuff is the contrasting black a la Elizabeth Zimmerman style. On these I joined the two layers with kitchener stitch in the main cherry color.
Sorry for the novel, succinctness was never one of my virtues.
The double knit sleeve detail- unfortunately trying to take a photo of the inside of your sleeve proved difficult. But the cuff inside is the reverse, black with a red star.
I did just notice my hair is covering the other two stars, oops. Oh well, you can see them in previous posts that are all complied here for your back-reading pleasure.
ETA: I've put up a tutorial for the double knit button band here.
ooooo, I've been looking forward to seeing this project finished and it's *very* cool. And don't worry--I liked reading about your all of your modifications. I always learn something!
Wow! I love your finished sweater -- somehow it's always a little bit difficult to picture how a garment will look when worn until you actually see it. The fit is lovely on you. The pockets are neat. The sleeve shape is very nice and the stars at the cuffs continue the star theme in a different, but complimentary, way (and they add a little snaz!). Love the stripes. This turned out great!
That is a beautiful sweater. The color is a great one for your complexion.
Nice work!
Very pretty! For some reason when I saw the sweater on your blog originally (when you were designing the star border..) I thought it was a child's sweater instead of an adult sweater. I have no idea why. I love it.. especially the stars on the sleeves!
I love it! I especially love the stars. :) it's a great sweater. :) congrats!
That's a beautiful sweater - great job! I love the little details you show. The stars are great =)
Beautiful sweater! You know, I think I remember that pattern. I have many of the older issues of Knitters...somewhere. I like your modifications.
that came out really cute - the little stars on the sleeves are adorable!
So cute!! I love the color on you too. BTW, happy blogiversary #2!!
I love it! The star details are great. Makes me want to cast on for one of my own right now!
Oh yes, I am soooo liking this sweater. Excellent, well done!
NICE JOB!!!!! i love the little color work touches. :)
Cute, cute, CUTE! Did I mention cute?
Congratulations! Looks great on you and especially love the stars on the sleeves.
Gorgeous! It looks very cool on you - I LURVE the stars!
Great job, chica!
That came out so cute!
That's just beautiful knitting...love the pattern :)
Pockets! The sweater turned out super cute, I'm totally stealing that double-knit buttonband idea from you.
Oh! Those stars! That color! So dreamy!!!
I love the details you included, especially in the sleeves, the small star and the wider double knit cuff. Lovely!
You finished it!! It looks fantastic! Love the red too.
That turned out positively beautiful! I love the stars and it's very flattering on you!
Your blog is beautiful.
It looks wonderful! Love the star detail on the cuff.
Beautiful! The stars turned out very nice!
Well done! I really like the stipes and stars details, they really make it distinctive.
It looks beautiful on you! Bravo!
I love the way that looks on you, it's really flattering. The stars (esp. on the cuffs) are adorable.
I love this sweater, but am most in love with the little star detail on the sleeve. Lovely work!
Wow! Fantastic! Your version of this sweater is greatness and I hope to see it, and all it's great details, in person some day.
I love this so much. In fact I love pretty much anything that has stars. :-)
Congratulations. Somehow when I got "close enough" to my son's wedding... AND was at the point of thinking about sleeves, I just completely set aside my cir. card. Yours is inspiring. LOVE the stars. Hope you'll tell us about how you did the double knit some time. That would be SO cool for a baby blanket or baby collar. (There are babies arriving in my vicinity too.) congrats.
Hope to see you in June at DHKG.
What a great cardigan! Love the details, and the yarn looks yummy!
Thanks for posting this. i was just looking up Circumnavigated Cardigan and your blog popped up. Looks adorable on you. Great work on the stars too. so cute!