Yoked Cardigan

I’ve talked before about listening to what yarn wants to become.  More times than not, I find a pattern I want to knit, and then hunt down the yarn to knit it with.  More recently, I’ve been using stash whenever possible to fulfill the yarn requirements, although that’s not always the case. 

But sometimes, when you receive lovely yarn, it speaks to you and there’s nothing you can do but give in.  I received some beautiful HandPaintedYarn from a friend during the E is for Elephant Swap.   I got 2 skeins in a reddish pink color and another in a deep blue-green.   It’s probably of no surprise that the blue-green skein was my favorite. 

I had big plans for this yarn.  I had been scouring cowl patterns for awhile now, having decided that this soft, squishy yarn would be best served around my neck.  I had even settled on a pattern.  I almost cast on when I stopped.  Yes, this yarn would be lovely wrapped around my neck, keeping me warm.  But it wasn’t really satisfied with that.  And then I realized why.

Those lovely deep shades of blue and green would be so striking when wrapping around my little girl's arms and shoulders.  I could even picture just the right pattern.  Lovebug has beautiful blue eyes, just like her brother.  I doubt they’ll change in color.  Squishy’s didn’t.  This would make them POP.

And once I made this decision, I was happy.  It all felt right.  The pattern is Yoked Cardigan by Hannah Fettig (she’s got some great designs).  While reading some other knitter’s notes, I agreed with one who said she doesn’t think of this as a yoked cardigan, but rather a ribbed cardigan.  And that’s what it is.  Hannah has you slowly increase the purls between the knits the further down you get in the sweater.

Simple, top down construction, this is sized from baby to adult.  The 4 x 1 ribbing is flattering, and especially cute on a baby!  I knit the 17” bust.  The next size up was a 21” bust, which I felt was just a bit too big – I wanted Lovebug to wear it now.  Knit in a heavy worsted yarn on US 8s, this took no more than 2 or 3 days, tops.  If I were to knit it as a gift, I would use the 2^nd bust measurement just to make sure it fit the baby I was gifting it to.

I did add a few mods to the pattern.  Instead of a garter button band, I followed the example of another knitter and did 1 x 1 ribbing, picking up 40 stitches on each side of the front. 

I wasn’t sure if I had enough yarn, so I kept the sleeves a bit short. I followed the pattern to a point, then went my own direction.  After picking up the arm stitches, I knit 10 inches in the 4 x 1 rib pattern.  Then I purled 1 row.  Then 5 rows of 1 x 1 ribbing.  Finally, binding off in pattern.  This draws in the bottom of the sleeves nicely and keeps the edges from rolling.  I wish I had the forethought to add ribbing to the bottom of the cardigan.  It’s a sweet cardigan without it, but I feel as though it would have been more congruent with the overall look of the sweater.

And what’s better than finding perfect buttons to finish it off!  I added some buttons I’ve had in the stash for awhile.   They made me think of Paul Revere for some reason – with a man riding a horse.  Not girly, or masculine.  They stand out nicely against the dark background. 

So get yourself some yarn and knit your own Yoked Cardigan for a little one you know. You won’t be disappointed!