Minor Sweater Surgery: Fledgling Featherweight

This year, I've decided my goal is to knit and spin through all the yarn in my stash before I buy anything new. First thing on my list is to finish any unfinished objects hiding out in my closet. Last May I started knitting the fledgling featherweight by Hannah Fettig of Knitbot. This little cardigan was top priority as little people grow rather quickly, and who knows how much longer Sadie will be able to wear it. I knit the size 2, and the pattern is sized from age 2 to 12 years.

I put it away months ago when I only had one sleeve cuff and the collar band left to knit. I was frustrated because I didn't like the way the cuffs were knitting up. It was so sloppy and uneven and I was dropping stitches all over the place. The gauge was so loose that it was difficult to easily fix mistakes, or see them for that matter. I knit the body of the garment with size 6 Addi Turbo Lace needles which seemed to work well with the looser gauge the pattern requires. The problem happened when I switched to my Clover bamboo DPNs (double-pointed needles) to knit the sleeves in the round. You can see from the picture above a distinct line on the sleeve where the stitches begin to look a lot sloppier than the rest of the garment, especially the cuff ribbing.  

After washing and blocking the cardigan, I realized there was only one solution: re-knit the cuffs. 

I picked up stitches in the row directly below the ribbing.

I cut off the bind-off row and carefully unraveled back to my needles. This was not easy as the yarn, Malabrigo Lace Merino, is extremely sticky, especially after washing it. I then reknit the cuff with size 3 DPNs from Knit Picks in their rainbow wood. I used fresh yarn to knit these as the yarn I unraveled was felted and fuzzy and no longer very pretty. Not a big deal as I had plenty of yarn left. 

Huge difference, and I'm much happier with the result. 

Both cuffs re-knit with the waste yarn I cut off.

Oh, what a difference 3 needle sizes makes. It also had a lot to do with the slickness (or lack thereof) of the different types of needles. I have to say that at this point in my knitting journey, I definitely prefer nickel-plated needles to wood. Knit Picks rainbow wood needles aren't bad as they are a lot slicker than some of the plain bamboo ones out there. 

Great fit on my 28-lb 2-year-old. 

Yarn is Malabrigo Lace Merino in Damask Rose.

Finished Object: Eole for Girls Cardigan

Earlier this summer, we visited Guthrie, Ok and made a stop at the local yarn shop, Sealed With a Kiss.

They were having a sale.

This tub was filled with knitted samples, all discounted. Some gorgeous stuff in there. Can I climb in?

The bench outside the shop.

I got to browse the shop while he kept the little one occupied.

I found some discontinued yarn that was 70% off, so I bought a toddler's sweater's worth, and a sweater's worth for me. It's 100% wool, 8ply, DK weight. This should be a hard-wearing wool that won't pill easily. The only downside of buying a discontinued yarn is that if I run out, it will be really hard to find more. I bought all the remaining Lilac and Grey balls that they had left.

Four months later, I cast on the Eole for Girls cardigan.

It has the cleverest design; I love the unique increases on the sleeves, with its windmill pattern.

The sweater is finished with an I-cord bind-off around the entire edging. It took some fiddling with a lot of different needles, but I managed it.

Here it is finished and blocking.

And on my happy little model.