Skater's Waltz

This is my last large knitting project for this winter.  I still have a hard time believing that winter is over!  Not too much green yet, but spring is definitely here.  Very nice!  (And this is coming from someone that likes winter!)

I found this pattern on Ravelry a long time ago and had it filed away under things I may want to make one day.  As an aside, for someone that barely knits, I have a ridiculously long queue list!  I'm sure I'm not using Ravelry properly, but it works for me.

After wearing my brown cardigan at home through the coldest months of the winter, I figured I should knit something a bit lighter to wear in the spring.  I definitely knew I didn't want to sew something with buttons again - see afore mentioned cardigan, and decided that a zipper would be the way to go.  Although I usually wear my cardigans unbuttoned at work, at home I prefer to keep them button.  That way they don't get in the way as much.  I also tend to wear heavier cardigans at home and lighter cardigans at work which may have something to do with my preference.

The whole time I was working on the cardigan, I was worried that it would not fit.  My gauge was OK, but the gauge did not specify rows, only stitches per row.  After some on-paper comparison of the yarn called for in the pattern and the one I used, it I felt slightly better thinking it should fit. Even so, after I completed about 10 inches, I almost ripped the whole thing out.  (Spoiler - good thing I didn't!)  This cardigan is made from the top up.  With my limited knowledge of drafting patterns, I was worried that the yoke would be too short.  I knew that I would not know how to adapt the pattern to make it fit.  Since I was worried about fit (length wise not width), I decided to make it a bit longer before I started the sleeves - not that that would make a difference if the yoke was too short!

The first mistake I made was at the very start in ribbing.  I did not realize until I was a few inches past the rib that I should have made the rib in little cable pattern and not simple knit/purl.  Oh well.  In order to match the ribbing of sleeves to the body I also made a simple knit/purl rib for the sleeves as well.

The other mistake was at the very top when starting the neck band ribbing.  It worked out well on one side, but on the other the cables are offset.  I am not sure if there is a mistake in the pattern as written or if I mixed up something while knitting.  The latter is a more likely explanation!  You can kind of see what I am talking about in the picture below.  In the top of the picture you can see how the ribbing of the neck does not match up with the ribbing in the sleeves.

And finally - what makes the cardigan look really hand made - I messed up on the grafting of the sleeves.  I will admit that if I had realized there was grafting involved, I probably would not have started the cardigan.  By the time I realized it, I didn't want to give up.  I followed the instructions in the pattern and ended up with a ridge.  I thought maybe I was not following the pattern properly and pulled out my trusty Vogue knitting and tried to follow those instructions.  Unfortunately I ended up with the same ridge.  It wasn't until later that I realized I mixed up "knit-wise" and "purl-wise".  D'oh!

I also had a lot of problems with the zipper.  The zipper is the other thing that makes the cardigan look home made - and it is more obvious in that you don't have to stare at my armpits to see it!  The pattern calls for a 20 inch zipper.  I bought a 20 inch zipper with big teeth (no idea what the proper terminology is), however when I started to attach it, it became obvious the zipper is too long.  I thought I could make it work by stretching the knitting to fit the zipper.  Not a good idea.  I only have the photo below with one side attached.

I even tried to wear the cardigan like that for a week, but the zipper not only stuck up funny around my neck, it was also very scratchy and uncomfortable.  Back to Jo-Anne's.  I looked for an 18 inch zipper and unfortunately could not find one with large teeth so had to settle for a normal zipper.  The zipper itself fit better, but I still had to trim the top so it wouldn't stick up past the sweater.  It looks better, but not quite nicely finished.  Sometimes it is still scratchy against my neck, but not enough to be uncomfortable.  If it starts to really bother me, I can unzip about an inch and it is OK.  With the longer zipper that was not an option.  It poked and scratched even when unzipped.  Our local Jo-Anne's does not have a good zipper selection.  I think a zipper on cotton tape would be more comfortable.

Attaching the zipper was not fun, but easier than buttons.  One side is definitely looser than the other, but I won't worry about it until it comes apart.  The picture below shows the wonky zipper trim, but I think the stitches attaching the zipper look nice!

One thing I really like about this cardigan is the final trim that is applied to the edges before attaching the zipper.  No idea what it is called, but it makes for a much, much neater finish than what I obtained with my brown cardigan.  I also like the fact that I did not have to pick up stitches and attach the button/zipper band later since I know I need a lot of practice with that.

Overall I really like this cardigan despite a few flaws that make it look really home made.  It's very warm and cozy to wear in the house and I am actually considering a second one with lessons learned from this one.  The hope is that a second one would be appropriate to wear outside the house!

Made with Lion Brand Fishermen's Wool in Oatmeal and size 9 needles.