Monday, January 14, 2008

FO: Sunshine Cardigan

sleeves and sky

I'm a big cardigan wearer - party because I enjoy conforming to the academic cliché, but also because they are so convenient for layering warmth and letting your Summer/ Autumn wardrobe extend into colder months. The ultimate transition garment.

A few months ago I started to have a hankering for a yellow, dk-weight cardigan. I had an idea for a perfect garment in my head, but it was very vague and, probably because my standards were so high, I kept changing my mind. I cast on for a top-down raglan. Then bottom-up with set-in sleeves, then top-down again with a different design. I played with cable, lace, cable again, frogging and re-knitting just to frog again. Kirsty still hasn't stopped teasing me about how many times this thing was knitted.


yellow cardigan full shot

Eventually, I settled on a simple top-down raglan with a basketweave boarder, a bit of side shaping, slipped stitch edges, an applied button band and double-sided sleeves you can wear up (for working) or down (to keep hands snuggly warm).


yellow hands - up

I had thought about submitting it to knitty, but the deadline day came and we didn't have internet access. Plus the light's been rubbish and I didn't feel there were good enough photos. Most of all I felt that, for all the pattern's finishing touches, the design was too simple. Basic patterns on knitty annoy me, I figured why add to it? I have the pattern written up though, so I'll post it here if anyone interested.


yellow hands - out

Yarn: cygnet superwash double-knit wool in 'gold', 8 balls.
Needles: 3.25mm circ, 3.75 circ (both 80cm).
Buttons: 11 of the big brown ones (from Liberty, 75p each... but worth it) and 7 smaller ones to stabilise them (from John Lewis, in a pre-packed box - these are cheap plastic basic buttons for mending your trousers).
Ravelled: here.


me reading at V&A

This last picture was taken at my very favourite part of London; the Science and Art staircase the Victoria and Albert Museum. Not many people realise, but the Science Museum used to be inside the V&A building, back when it was simply the 'South Kensington Museum' and basically the left-overs from the 1851 Great Exhibition. The science collections were booted out to the west side of the stree around the turn of the century; the main exteriour of the V&A built around the old duel-use building. So although the outside of the building is overtly arts and crafts, you'll find a more mixed set of iconography in the interiour. The art and science sections were connected (and demarcated from one another) with a gorgeous ceramic staircase covered in the letters 'S' and 'A'. The V&A, conscious that their own building is one of the prize pieces of their collection, maintain this staircase, but I think most visitors today just walk through it, perhaps thinking its particularly pretty, maybe wondering why Galileo's name is worked into the design.

EDIT, see the pattern:

33 comments:

Robynn said...

Love the cuffs, and the colour.

Anonymous said...

I love it! it's the details that make it more than just a "simple cardigan." It really looks great!

Elizabeth said...

That's beautiful! I love the cuffs. Will you be posting the pattern? :)

Anonymous said...

Ooh - please post the pattern! I absolutely love it, especially those cuffs.

Glenda said...

yes, please do post the pattern!

I love the colour - it suits you very well, and its the perfect thing to brighten dark winter days! :)

monkeybusiness said...

Fabulous sweater. I would love a pattern for it!

Pig wot flies said...

Gorgeous! I really like the texture and the shape of the cuffs.

Elizabeth said...

I love it! The cuffs in particular are fabulous - I love how you can wear them rolled up or down. Lovely work. And hey, I love that part of the V&A too! Last time I was in London I spent a couple of hours just wandering around in there - the building itself is just gorgeous.

Stacey said...

that is so cute. the color is amazing, and the cuffs - brilliant!

suealex said...

It's beautiful and stylish and I love the buttons. And you look good in yellow, you lucky bummer!

Christie said...

So cute! I especially love the sleeves! And everywhere I've been looking I've been seeing yellow! You're ahead of the fashion trend!

Great pictures too... :)

Anonymous said...

I LOVE your cardigan. It's simplicity is quite stunning. The buttons, the colour and the cuffs are so perfect! I could wear this sweater!

punkin said...

I like this cardigan. I think that the design is lovely. I also like that it is DK weight.

Anonymous said...

Love it! Particularly the sleeves. I would be interested in seeing the pattern, especially as I do love longer cardigans.

Veronique said...

I've already commented on the cuffs on your Flickr page, but I'll say it again: they're genius! And I like the yellow too :)

The A.D.D. Knitter said...

What a stupendous photo shoot, and there is nothing ordinary about that cardi at all. The big buttons are a special touch:)

Rose said...

It is a beautiful cardigan. I am envious of your design skills; the cuffs are wonderful and I love the buttons as well. Thanks for sharing the details of the museum too.

schrodinger said...

Great colour and fabulous sleeves - brilliant!!

Anonymous said...

I absolutely love that cuff detail! I prefer simple sweaters with subtle unique touches, and yours is perfect in that way.

The V&A Museum textile books we have at school are my favorite. I have always wanted to go there.

Nadia said...

So versatile and cute! A winning combination.

loopylulu said...

I am truly in love with this sweater, the cuffs especially.

cseneque said...

This is awesome! Pattern, please, that would be lovely.

mel said...

Hi - I'm here via Barefoot Rooster. Lovely cardigan - simply elegant! The cuffs completely make it for me. I understand your concern about publishing a "simple" pattern & have been having discussions about this with a dyer I am doing a little design work for - as she rightly pointed out, many very popular patterns are those that we describe as simple, classic, elegant, uncluttered... I think your cardigan is worth publishing, self or otherwise - congrats on a lovely design!

spajonas said...

that looks like one comfy cardigan! i love it!

Anonymous said...

This is very stylish and I would be so happy if you'd post the pattern. Congrats!

startare said...

yes, this is one lovely cardigan, and the cuffs are just great; please post the pattern

Anonymous said...

What a lovely sun-shiney color! The cuff buttons are so cute.

Elizabeth said...

I'd love to see the pattern written up - it might be just the thing to convince me to try knitting something other than socks.

twigletqueen said...

I'm interested, love the cuffs!

Jesse said...

Oh dear. It's just been added to my list of things to make, which, at last rough calculation, stretches about 5 years into the future.... But I think I'll bump this one up to the top of the list. Thank you for sharing the pattern!

muebles en jaen said...

I saw a great deal of helpful information above!

maxidus sex shop said...

Goodness, there is a lot of effective info in this post!

Angelia Luki said...

Jika anda ingin menemukan tempat bermain mesin slot online yang paling lengkap dan modern, maka anda bisa memilih agen Winpalace88 sebagai mitra anda. Winpalace88 adalah agen resmi dari slot 918Kiss atau yang sebelumnya dikenal dengan nama SCR888.
http://www.live22asia.com/
daftar slot live22
daftar live22
live22 indonesia
aplikasi live22
download live22 apk
aplikasi slot live22
download aplikasi live22
login slot live22
login live22
cara login live22
Link Alternatif Live22
link login live22
link login alternatif live22