Off the Needles || Featherweight Cardigan

Phase four in my saga of Hannah Fettig patterns.  This cardigan was knit with lace weight yarn.  Yes, lace weight!  It certainly lives up to its name, however, as it's light as a feather.  Featherweight.  As I've said with all of these Knitbot projects, despite the small gauge the stockinette pattern makes it a breeze to get through.

I added an inch to the body length since I'm not a big cropped top type of person, though it's still not what I would call a "long" garment by any means.  Perfect for a high waisted skirt or perhaps worn over a tunic, however.  I had to block it a little more aggressively than usual to stretch the arms a little, because initially they turned out a little tight.  The cardigan is fitted, but has great drape so it's not the sort of piece that I feel like I'll be tugging on all the time or uncomfortable in by any means.  This will more than likely go into my bank of repeatable patterns and eventually I'd like to have one or two more in solid colors!

The final comment I have about this project is related to my folly in recognizing that my yarn came in different dye lots.  I was halfway through the first sleeve before I noticed that the yarn used for the body was much duller than the rest which had more of a chestnut hue (the living room where I mostly knit is rather dim…)  Since both sleeves were knit with this other dye lot, it turned out rather symmetrical and to be honest I don't really even notice the difference much.  Sigh of relief!

Top - Loft; Skirt - Forever 21

On My Needles || Featherweight Cardigan

Featherweight is my fourth Knitbot project, and the gauge just seems to keep getting smaller!  I started out with the bulky Effortless Cardigan, moved on to fingering weight Walpole and Brise, and now I've arrived at lace weight.  For a sweater.  It's true to the name though, light as a feather, and I'm sure it will be a welcome addition to my wardrobe come the cooler mornings and evenings in the garden this fall.

Another simple stockinette stitch cardigan that boasts a lack of seaming, the project has gone relatively quickly when I actually have a chance to work on it.  I added a couple of inches to the length of the body because my torso is long and there's nothing I hate more than tugging on a top all day because i can feel a breeze on my back.  I'm currently in the middle of the second sleeve and hope to finish that and move on to the collar this weekend.

For this project I went with the recommended yarn, Malabrigo Lace.  It's my first garment in a colorway of various hues, so it's been interesting to see how it knits up.  Unfortunately, I did not realize until I was into the first sleeve that I ended up with two different dye lots.  The yarn I joined for the sleeve has a much richer brown hue than the body - I must have been winding the skeins in a dim room not to have noticed it.  There was enough for the other sleeve, however, and I think I'll have enough to do at least part of the color in this same cake of yarn so it will at least look symmetrical.  It's not all that noticeable unless you're just staring at the garment as you would be if you're, well, knitting it.

If this turns out well, I may add it to my list of pieces that I may someday in the future want a second one of… after I work on some bulky weight projects, that is.  Just got yarn in for one yesterday.  :)  What are you working on?

Off the Needles || Brise

Brise was really a breeze (see what I did there?).  A long-winded breeze, but a breeze nonetheless, just like the other Knitbot projects I've taken on.  Effortless Cardigan... Walpole... who says miles of stockinette are mundane?  I like having at least one project going that doesn't require my full attention so I can keep my hands busy while watching our fave HBO shows (who caught the True Detective premiere last night?!) or a movie with my husband.  Truth be told, now that this piece is finished I will likely move on to the Featherweight Cardigan (also designed by Hannah Fettig aka Knitbot) using some gorgeous Malabrigo yarn I ordered with birthday money last summer... but that's another blog post.

This pattern called for Quince & Co.'s Sparrow, a linen yarn that the collection was designed around.  Since Hannah's patterns are of course simplistic genius, they are on the queues of many and this yarn was totally sold out when I went to buy it.  This may actually have been lucky for me, because I've been looking for an excuse to splurge on some Louet Euroflax Sport for quite some time... so in the spirit of seizing opportunities (as seemed to be my theme for the year), I went for it.  My normal color choices fall under the bold and bright categories, but since I do like to wear such bright colors I figured it would be great to have a neutral tone in my wardrobe.  This shade is called Ginger and had just enough punch to grab my attention.  (Hey, neutrals can be enticing too).

As I've said before on other Knitbot projects, the seamless design of this cardigan made it simple and non-stressful to create.  Sure, it took FOREVER, but that was due in part to my over-zealous period of cast-on addictions, and then it sadly sat on a shelf for the majority of the fall while I was working furiously on Saprobia and then preparing to move.  If you erase September, October and November from this timeline, it really didn't take all that long.

What do you think?  Have you tried any Knitbot patterns yet?  Have I convinced you yet that they are AWESOME?!?  I do feel like I should put this out there for those of you who have not ever knitted a sweater but are interested in attempting it:  Knitbot patterns are a great place to start.  Seaming is a chore, and it can be especially confusing when you're not that familiar with sweater construction and shaping.  Lining up pieces to sew them up can be tedious.  Why not just get used to the sweater knitting part and not deal with the seams?  All you have to do is put live stitches on waste yarn and then return them to your needles later, or pick up stitches along an edge and knit on.  Just something to think about.  You can do it!

Top and Jeans: Loft

On My Needles || Brise

Once again, I'll talk a little bit about how much I love Hannah Fettig's patterns.  Brise went on my queue as soon as the collection of Knitbot patterns for Quince and Co's new linen yarn, Sparrow, came out.  Unfortunately, Sparrow sold out before I could get my hands on some (good for you, Quince/Knitbot!), and I didn't really want to wait until the warm weather left us to cast on such a perfect summer project that I can wear through the fall.  Enter Louet Euroflax Sport.  What better excuse did I need to let myself live a little and indulge in some of this luxurious linen?  My colorway here is Ginger, and while I always question myself about knitting fingering weight cardigans (I mean, really?) I can't stay away.  It's going slowly, but I love the yarn.  It's a perfect project for finishing the evening on the couch after putting in a few hours on Saprobia.  My love for Knitbot lives on, and my love for linen has just begun...

Off the Needles || Walpole

Yes, it's finished!  I started Walpole just after Christmas and after a slowdown in late February I buckled down last month to crank out the second sleeve and finish up the yoke.  The pattern is designed by Hannah Fettig, who is also the brilliant knitter who dreamed up the Effortless Cardigan (which I also LOVE).  I used Knit Picks Capra yarn for the project, in the Celestial colorway.  Capra is 85% merino and 15% cashmere, making this my first project to utilize even a small amount of cashmere.  It is seriously cozy--- super soft and warm, but also light since the gauge was so small.  TINY gauge by my standards, when it comes to sweaters.  This piece definitely worked on my patience, but I'm so happy with the outcome and have already worn it multiple times.

My sleeves for the Effortless Cardigan ended up a little shorter than I wanted, so I knitted an extra couple of inches on the Walpole sleeves.  Maybe I should have measured instead of guesstimating it, because after blocking I found that the sleeves hang nearly to my fingertips.  I'm not really bothered by it though, because in the cooler months I enjoy pulling my hands inside my sleeves when I'm outdoors, and the sleeves are easy enough to roll up.

On My Needles || Walpole

It feels like so long since I last made one of these posts, almost to the point that you probably think I haven't been knitting anything other than fungi and heart motif hats, eh?  Well, that's not exactly the case.  I did finish another lingering project recently that I have yet to get photos of, and the rest of my time has been spent on this fingering weight beauty... Hannah Fettig's Walpole.  I've sung of my love for the Knitbot patterns before, and this time is no different.  My only complaint is how slow going the piece is because of the tiny gauge.  BUT, it's oh so soft, and the yarn looks gorgeous and I can already tell that this is another sweater I am going to love to wear.

My yarn choice for Walpole is Knit Picks Capretta, an utterly luscious merino yarn with a hint of cashmere... the first time I've made something for myself with a remotely fancy fiber such as cashmere.  I know it's only 10%, but I don't care!  It's SO soft!  Did I mention that?  SOFT.  I can't wait to finish this cardigan.  I just completed the waist decreases this week, so I'm hoping to get to some sleeves in the near future.  Have you tried out any Hannah Fettig patterns?  Which one is your favorite?

Off the Needles || Effortless Cardigan

My Effortless Cardigan is ready for wear!  This is the coziest sweater, and I absolutely love how the colors turned out.  Eventually, I wouldn't mind purchasing more of the Swish Tonal yarn in a different colorway to make another bright, happy, cozy cardigan with.  This is going to be the PERFECT piece for fall, and I'm ready for 90 degrees to go away so I can basically live in it for the rest of the year.

The pattern was so simple, and the absolute best part about it was the fact that there is ABSOLUTELY NO SEAMING.  Every section was knitted into the next.  You either reserved stitches on a stitch holder to join yarn to later or you picked up stitches along an edge.  This was the perfect technique for me, because as I've mentioned before I tend to finish knitting the pieces for a garment and then let them sit on a shelf in a tote bag for months (or years) before I stop being lazy and seam them together.  I HATE seaming.  But the Effortless Cardigan had none of that.... it truly was EFFORTLESS.  And fast - I highly recommend this pattern!

I will post later this week about my current projects.  Knitting this time of year is so very enjoyable.  Happy Fall!

 

On My Needles || Effortless Cardigan

Look at that photo and tell me you don't love that colorway.  Green is my favorite color anyway, but to have so many glorious shades of it in one piece is pretty magical... or at least for me.  The yarn is Knit Picks Swish Tonal in Canopy.  I can already tell I'm going to love wearing this cardigan, so much that I might have to make another eventually.The Effortless Cardigan is just that: effortless.  Completely.  Since it's all knit in Stockinette stitch (with exception of the rib section at the bottom), it's a perfect mindless project for traveling or watching a movie.  I decided to start on it so I would have something to work on during our vacation to the northwest, and it really helped pass the time on our flights and in the car, or just during downtime at the hotel/campsite when I was too tired to do anything else.

At this point I'm about to bind of the body section and then all I will have left is the sleeves!  I can't believe how fast it's gone.  I'll probably be able to share some photos of the finished product in the next week or two, and with the way the weather has been going recently I might be able to start wearing it (for real!) by then too!  Thank you Mother Nature for giving us a 20 degree break from that horrendous summer weather.