I’ve always said I hate knitting flat and would rather convert everything to in-the-round if I could. However this project made me think twice about my aforementioned statement.

It’s one of the quickest large garment knits I have ever done, but it was not boring or too much work at any point.  If anything, it was a delightful knit!  For starters, the yarn I used made a big difference.  Madeline Tosh’s Tosh Vintage is all it’s cracked up to be: true worsted weight, squidgy and feels so good in my hands plus the colour is just amazing.  Oxblood is one of the most popular of the MadTosh colourways and it felt like I hit the jackpot when I saw it was in stock at The Loopy Ewe.

The buttons have been around for a while, as far back as January last year when I bought buttons for my February Lady Sweater.  They are from the Button Drawer and comes as a set of 6, but my daughter, for whom the cardigan was made, only wanted 5 buttons.  I love the look of the pewter buttons against the dark yarn.  I did a standard yarnover rather than the one-row buttonhole mentioned in the pattern.

Knitting top-down is also so much better, for me anyway, since I was able to check the fit as I knitted along.  One of the first and most obvious modification here is the addition of sleeves.  She is not a cap-sleeve person so thank God I have more than enough yarn to knit a pair of 9.5-inch sleeves.  I trimmed it with 4 rows of garter stitch to mirror the neckline and hem.

The length was also modified since she wanted it longer.  I didn’t knit too much but I pulled it down further than was probably  necessary during blocking.  From the edge of the neckline to the hem is a total of 27 inches – just perfect.  I think it looks good paired with jeans, it adds a little feminine flair to an otherwise rugged outfit.

I will knit this again, next time for me but converted to a pullover.  God help me!  Or rather, Nicole Feller-Johnson will!  I PM’d her on Ravelry and asked if she wouldn’t mind if I picked her brains when I attempt the pullover version, and she said she wouldn’t mind.  Yay!  I have 8 skeins of Sundara Sport Merino in Glacier which I think is perfect for the pullover.

Project: Oxblood Cardigan (Raveled!)
Pattern: Katrina Ballerina Lace Layering Cardigan by Nicole Feller-Johnson
Yarn: Tosh Vintage, colourway Oxblood, used 3.5 skeins
Needles: 5mm
Cast on: 5 Sept 2010
Cast off: 11 Sept 2010
Notes: Mods as mentioned above but otherwise a truly enjoyable knit!