Friday 18 July 2014

Part II of the Outfit Along: The Cardigan

Thanks a lot for all your lovely comments about my Outfit Along Dress. I'm glad you love it as much as I do. As promised, I am going to show you the matching cardigan today - my pink and girly Hetty Cardigan!


Pattern: The Hetty Cardigan from Andi Satterlund. I had the materials for the cardigan at home already and decided to knit Hetty instead of Myrna. Also, both Hetty and the dress have an eyelet pattern, so a perfect match. But Myrna is on my knitting list as well, so you might see it in the near future :)



Wool: Berroco Blackstone Tweet in Wild Rose. I was lucky and got the skeins for 54% off from the Loop Knitting Shop. It was the first time that I knitted with an expensive wool. Being expensive I thought the wool would be of high quality, but there were hard bits entangled in the thread. 



Construction: Me and Hetty were no friends during construction :( Although the lace pattern is really easy, you have to focus quite a lot and when your thoughts slip a moment you easily make mistakes. I had an especially hard time with the 2nd sleeve. Whereas I had no problems with the 1st sleeve, I somehow miscounted the lace pattern on the 2nd one. My lace pattern shifted by 5 stitches and that meant that the beginning of my row started not at stitch one, but somewhere in the middle of the lace pattern. I only realised after having finished the sleeve cap shaping and couldn't convince myself to rip back. In the end I changed the lace pattern slightly for the 2nd sleeve. Luckily, you can't see it and I think nobody is going to stare at my sleeves and count stitches, haha. 



Finishing: I unraveled the neckline and hem line twice, because I was not happy with the fit. In the end I finished the neckline and hem with a stretchy bind-off. I was a bit scared that the hem would stick out from my sway back as happened with my Agatha Cardigan. But it fits perfectly :) To bring out the beautiful lace pattern, I wet blocked the cardigan. It took 2 days for the cardigan to dry and I had a hard time to be patient and wait!



Buttons: I wanted to use some lovely white buttons that I brought from Kiev with me. But I was one short, because I bought the last 7 they had in the shop. The pattern calls for 8 buttons, but I was determined to use only 7. It didn't matter how determined I was, it wouldn't have looked good with seven buttons only (the spacing between the buttons was perfect for 8 but not 7).  As I didn't want to risk a gaping button band, I settled for self-cover buttons in the end. I got the buttons and fabric from Charlie for my Birthday in March (Thanks!) and I'm super happy to finally use them. They are playful and look great with the cardigan :) 



Have I worn it yet? Once, but only inside the house because it was a bit chilly. The weather is so lovely hot in the UK at the moment, that there is really no need to wear cardigans. Instead I finally wear my handmade summer dresses, yeah. The cardigan is a bit scratchy, although it got already a bit softer after its first wash (for the blocking).  



Do I like it? Yes, I finally do :) Seeing it on these pictures makes me happy. It does go perfect with my new sandals, doesn't it?!



I hope everybody is getting on with their projects for the Outfit Along. I for sure can't wait to see all these lovely outfits, color combinations and patterns! Inspiration! I really enjoyed to participate in the Outfit Along 2014. Thanks so much Lauren and Andi for coming up with such an amazing idea. I usually make my cardigans for garments I have already made, but I never planned both before and worked on them simultaneously. 

12 comments:

  1. I love, love, LOVE your Hetty! It is so pretty and goes perfectly with your dress AND your shoes! It is definitely moving up my queue on Ravelry I think... I'm starting the Myrna tomorrow (altho not doing it as part of the OAL). Also just wanted to say your photos look fab, very arty but natural at the same time. Really impressed!

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    1. Thank you Sabs! My boyfriend developed an interest in photography just when I started sewing. So he is always super happy to take photos and practise. I'm so lucky :) have fun knitting Myrna! As soon as I'm done with my current project, I will cast on Myrna as well :)

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  2. It looks the perfect summer outfit and rose colour suits you very well. perfect!

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    1. Thanks Wendy. I definitively will make another cardigan in a similar color, I just love it so much. I actually have started to look into my color profile and try to choose colours that suit my skin tone. I think rose is one of them :)

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  3. Your Hetty is lovely, and the whole outfit looks great together. And nobody is ever going to count the stitches on the arms of your cardigan, don't worry! I'm still not sure if I'll finish my cardigan in time for the end of the outfit along, we'll see how it goes!

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    1. Thank you Ruth. I will cross my fingers that you finish your cardigan soon :) I'm knitting more at the moment because the weather is so nice and I just don't want to be inside the house. So I take my knitting outside with me into the sun :)

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  4. This is gorgeous! The colour really suits you, and it looks great with your dress. Nobody will ever notice the lace pattern on the sleeve. I admire anybody who knits a lace pattern garment, lace knitting is not for wimps!

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    1. Thank you Lynne! I guess I'm not knitting another lace pattern soon. I need a break :) But instead I'm trying my luck with some fair isle knitting now. Probably not easier, but I will see.

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  5. This is a really pretty outfit. It looks gorgeous on you.

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  6. I love your cardi! It looks really pretty with the white eyelet! While I don't knit, I can appreciate all the time it must have taken and your end result - is perfect!

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  7. Awww, it's an incredibly lovely outfit! :) Very romantic.
    And such beautiful photos! I love the backgrounds you used!

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