Materials: 2 skeins Malabrigo Yarn Sock in Lettuce.  Size 3 needles.  Pattern: Featherweight Cardigan.

Time: A couple of months.

Cost: $40.

I made this sweater to fill a very specific niche in my wardrobe: I wanted a brightly-colored, cropped, open-front sweater to wear on days when I find myself outfitted entirely in shades of black and gray.

I wanted either a bright green or a bright red, and I had a hard time finding colors I liked. Why must we always be so muted and tasteful, I ask? While on vacation, I picked up two skeins of Malabrigo Sock in Lettuce, which is a happy but not-blindingly-bright green. It ended up costing a lot more than the equivalent amount of lace weight, but a) vacation!, and b) I suspect that I’ll appreciate the added heft and durability whenever I inevitably snag it on something. Also: it’s SOFT!

I picked up every stitch for the collar and knit it in 1×1 rib until I felt that it was good and long enough. If, however, you were aiming for the square front that the pattern is designed for, I wouldn’t pick up every stitch like I did or would use smaller needles: it might just be my half-hearted blocking job, but the front band did expand. I actually quite like the result, because it curves in an almost bolero-like fashion over my shoulders, then droops downward all comfy-like. The bottom of the back, as you can see, is of course squared off like it should be.

I knit the front band first, because I wanted to make sure I had enough yarn to make it as long as I wanted it to be and because I didn’t particularly care about the length of the sleeves (I knew I’d push them over my elbows anyway). I used my kitchen scale to divide the remaining amount of yarn in two, and even had a little bit left when finished.

This is by no means a difficult pattern, but it did languish for long stretches while I was working on it. Because it’s straight stockinette, I basically saved it for TV and movie-watching. Now that it’s done, though, I think I’ll be wearing it lots.

This entry was posted on Friday, July 2nd, 2010 at 9:42 am and is filed under diy, projects. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.