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Featherweight Cardigan KAL

Announcing a new KAL...

You have asked for it and here we go again! Ever since Emily, of Viola, brought in her sample of the Featherweight Cardigan in to show off the gorgeousness of her amazing Viola Fancy Lace many people have said they would love to make it...so after the 10th person we decided...Knit-A-Long!

There has been a request for a special tag for Ravelry so we can see each other's progress very easily. So let's tag our featherweights as:

PP-Featherweight2010

I know it is a long tag...maybe cut and paste to avoid spelling errors?

Viola Fancy Lace

1300 yd/100g,
70% baby alpaca, 20% silk
10% cashmere
lace weight

Featherweight Cardigan
by Hannah Fettig

Our chosen yarn yarn for this Knit-A-Long is Viola Fancy Lace. An Alpaca, Silk, Cashmere blend in delicious colours...it is really tough to put the single skein of yarn it takes to knit this sweater down. We estimate that one skein will be sufficient for up to the 43" bust measurements. This cardi is lovely, and we have a sample on display...pop in to see it !

Hannah is quite tickled that this pattern is so widley loved and is looking forward to seeing the results of the KAL... we will have to send her a group photo. Happily we have also discovered we can get the pattern in for you all! Hurray!

So here is the plan:

Emily, of Viola, has provided us with a shade card of her colourways and has graciously agreed to dye to order! We will be taking orders until August 15th for a September 1st delivery...at which point we will also have the patterns in. One skein of Viola Fancy Lace retails for $48. And for the participants of the KAL we will be providing the pattern free with purchase of enough laceweight yarn to make this sweater.

Here is a link to the Feather weight Cardigan on Ravelry so you can explore the pattern a little more!

This sweater is just so lovely. It will become an absolute wardrobe staple! And we will of course arrange a big ol' group photo shoot. Sunday March 27, 2011

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There have been questions...

as to deciding on size, especially if you want to deviate from the written instructions and do stuff like: reduce your needle size for a firmer fabric like the sample.

1st tidbit of guidance:

Don't panic. One of the really terrific things about top down sweater patterns is that you can make sizing decisions on the fly. For every size of this sweater you cast on 76 stitches and start your raglan increases right away ...knitting and knitting and knitting until you have worked the recommended number of increase rows ...OR...until it fits around your arms and across your back without too much stretching out. Top down is great because you can try on your sweater at each stage to get a good fit.

Soooo... when you have a handful of increase rows left it may be time to check in and have a peek that you are on track for size. You are welcome to pop in, or if you have a friend handy you can place it over your shoulders, center the sleeve portion atop your shoulder and try to join the increases under your arm... is it too loose? You may need to rip back (this is why the recommendation to start checking fit before you get to the recommended number of increase rows...see???? smart!!!) Is it too tight? You will need to increase some more, so keep on trekking. Is it just right? Time to put the sleeves on holders and join up under the arms to knit down the body. Do you need reassurance or help measuring or just plain old moral support? Pop in!

2nd tidbit of guidance:

The Make-1-Right is Fiddly. But it is well worth the effort to do the directional increases, so power on dear knitters. It is helpful to be careful to work quite close to the tips of your needles to avoid overstretching your stitches. Be sure to pick up the bar between the stitches from back to front. To get that picked up bar to loosen up so you can knit into the front of it, try placing your left index finger on the bit of yarn that is that bar and rolling it forward on the needle to create a loose area in which to ease the tip of the right hand needle. And then knit it! It will get easier, but it is fiddly especially with such fine yarn. You might want to try it on a swatch of some thicker yarn to get the hang of it if it is your first go at the M1R increase.

And 3rd tidbit of guidance:

After you have knit about an inch or two of the body...we strongly recommend you then stop, pat your self on the back and move on to the arms and knit them both before adding more length. Why? Because while we are pretty confident with the yardage recommendations we have made, it would be pretty terrible to be on the second sleeve about an inch before finishing and run out of yarn. But if you are on the collar band, knitting those very long rows, and you are a few rows short, there are many more options for finishing. Dye lot issues would not be horrific if you needed more yarn Adding a little laceweight in a coordinating or contrast colour from your stash for 1/2 an inch of band could be a design feature, but not so much for an inch of one sleeve. Make sense?

The reason for the recommendation is that the consensus for this pattern is that it is a bit short, and many people intend to add length and do the modifications that Emily made in knitting up her sample. Personal gauge variations and personal length choices make definitive yardage estimates impossible on our end...so let's just do it the easy way!