Cardigan, Bardigan

Hey loves,

    Since my newfound love  (knitting, just in case you didn't know), I've been leaning more and more towards clothing.  I've been fortunate as a beginner to have been given the opportunity to test knit for a couple designers and so when a customer ask if I could make her a cardigan I was over the moon.

I sent her pics of the ones I had patterns for (not confident enough to design my own.... Yet);

@theeasydesign 

@expressionfiberarts

@hearthookhome 

She chose @hearthookhome's design (a classic cardigan), with yarn in hand I started to make her choice, but it just did not resonate with me (again leaning towards knitting), so I send her another picture (see below) and she loved it.  

Pattern ✔
yarn ✔
needle ✔

With the necessary tools in hand I did my swatch (honestly, don't normally do this), I didn't get a 4" square as I should, instead, I got 4.5". That's good enough for me.  I selected my size and got the ball rolling.  Cast on and then a bummer..... I thought I was following the pattern, wasn't I?  Panick was creeping in, but not today.  Sadly I had to 🐸🐸🐸🐸 (pull out) what I've done so far, but it was worth it.  The pattern started taking shape and as it grew so does my excitement level.

It was not after I basically completed the full length and cast off and was getting ready to do the sleeves, front panel, and neck that disappointment sets in... It's too big😫😫😫. I was going for a 39 bust for the finished product but mine was measuring 44" without the front panel being added.

Then I thought... If I was doing the size M (39" bust) and got the size 2Xl... Then doing the XS might work.  I didn't" bother to frog the first one, I just cast on the other size with what little thread I had left.

I worked so hard to finish my cardigan, all while praying it turns out nice.  I completed the top and started the front panel... Following the pattern to the tee, but with the difference in yarn weight that would not work.  Instead of doing 2 full repeats and then the half repeat, I did only one.  After many, many, many hours of continuous work, it's finally completed.

It looks amazing but felt sooooo bulky. Then my eureka moment came sometime after midnight.......

Steam press... Awesome right...

I pinned the pattern in place, placed a cotton blanket over it, and steam pressed, and OMG, it felt ooooh soooo soft. It was at that very moment I felt the warmth of accomplishment.

I hang it on a wire hanger and went to bed, praying she liked it.

I didn't take any measurements, just asked for her bust measurement. 

Look at this back, wow

The first one... Oh so big

This was how it all started.

She loved it, and praised me for being almost accurate when I didn't take her measurement and just went by mere memory. 

This was such an accomplishment for me.

Winter chills and spills and then some

Hi Loves,


    With the completion of my cowl and scarf, they were delivered.  At first, she was complaining (and my heart sank);

"the cowl seemed a bit big for his little neck" (I tried it on my 2-year-old, thinking to myself)
"the scarf rolls too much" (I blocked it and it looked nice, even so, it's going to wrap around the neck, also thinking to myself).

She took them, paid me and I was thinking so much for my first impression, she's a goner, then a few days after I received a WhatsApp message.

"Can you make the little hats with the ear flaps"
"yes, I can" (even though I have never even tried, but how hard can it be?)
"I want one for my grandson"
"Sure"
"you know what, and one for my granddaughter as she would want one"

Thinking to myself (doing that quite often these days).  Do I have the material as I know that the skein of the stripe was finished?.

I messaged her back;

"I have more of the yarn for the boy's matching hat, but the scarf used the one skein I had"
"Can you find anything to match the colours"
"Oh, sure I can"

I started my research as I had the concept but didn't really know how to execute it.  I watched two YouTube videos, one starting from the top down with it all worked in one and then seamed, the other made 2 ear flaps and then attach while doing the hat (oh, by the way, they were both knitted).  This is where it got tricky (if I had only crocheted the cowl and scarf, this would have been easy peasy, lemon squeezy).

Did I tell you I wanted to make the hat and scarf with the same stitch pattern I used for the cowl and scarf? It's a set, isn't it?  After watching the videos I came to the conclusion that making the 2 ear flaps and then the hat would be easiest.  I started the little boy's hat.  It took me a few short hours to have a finished product.  Grinning from ear to ear, a ran to my neighbour's house to show her my lovely creation (psst, this was after 8 pm.  I felt so accomplished.

Now the most difficult one. sighs..... why, why, why didn't you crochet a scarf... No, you just had to knit with your beginner self.

After doing a bit of thinking, calculating, and more thinking the idea was clear as mud... Sorry meant day.

And after a bit of a challenge, my hat was completed... Now the hard bit. Will my client like/love them...

They were delivered and she did (well I think she does as she hasn't made any complaints to date).

I used the same pattern as the scarf, I just had to modify it to work in the round.

Perfect Fit

It's not her size