There was a turning point when I decided to frog a project I felt I wouldn't be pleased with if I finished it and knitted a couple of swatches to check gauge for different kinds of patterns and needle sizes.
Suddenly I remembered I had ideas how to modify an intriguing cardigan design by Marianne Isager that I knitted two years ago, "The Fan" from Japanese-inspired Knits.
Modifications:
1. Different border pattern decreases for a smoother look and feel (attempt to illustrate in photo above).
2. Back and fronts knitted together instead of separately to avoid seaming. If I make it a third time I will knit the border in the round to avoid a seam at the back of the neck.
3. Casting on a lot more loosely for a more pronounced scalloped effect than in my first version. I also used the cable cast-on method instead of the long-tail method and added a row (knits knitted on the wrong side) for the edge to curl a bit more. This may also be seen in the photo above, at least if you know about it!
4. Adding a row between border and main sections. This entailed making slipped stitches on the right side (easier to see when to make them) and decreases on the wrong side (looks smoother from the right side) instead of vice versa.
5. Adding an extra stitch for a selvedge, starting each row by slipping the first stitch with the yarn in front.
What else to say about this project? The yarn is lovely Lucca Fino Tweed from BC, and I use 3½ mm needles (US 4).
4 comments:
Oh, I love your modifications, and these are as usual wonderful.
I'm looking forward to see how you will solve the problem of transition between the border and the rest of the cardigan if you knit the border in a round.
Your blogpapers are always an inspiration to me.
You are some knitter!
It is so satisfactory to bring a project to perfection in every little detail.
Do you know Hanne Falkenberg? Maybe you don't like her designs, but her patterns are always thought out and perfect in every detail. You would love her patterns - but when I come to think of it - you probably wouldn't have anything to modify. Boring for you.
What a wonderful comment, Ann - thank you! :-)
Yes, I've seen Hanne Falkenberg's designs (my LYS Litet Nystan) sells kits) and am in complete awe. They're so beautiful and seem so perfectly constructed. Form and function always seem to go hand in hand in her designs. Danish knitting is really something extraordinary!
Thank you for such a detailed description! I cannot agree more about the advantages of seamless knitting.
Anna
It is a wonderful idea to knit a design again you already realised. And with the second trial to modify it. That is really perfection!
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