Finished: Knit For Victory 1940s Wind Breaker Cardigan

00:01 Renée 6 Comments


The blog isn't called Renée And The Cat's Meow for nothing!

I finished my very first knitted garment! I finished it last Sunday (5 January) and started knitting on December 15 so it took me exactly 3 weeks of knitting every day. That's faster than I expected for a first project! And well in time for the Knit For Victory deadline! The pattern is Sun-Glo 2726, kindly put on the web by Subversive Femme. I used five 50gr skeins of aran weight Petrol colored yarn (20% wool 80% Acrylic) and one skein of Sirdar Super Soft Aran in cream, 100gr (100% acrylic). (Well I still have 40gr left.)

Source

While I was knitting the back the ribbing at the waist seemed seriously tight to me. I was afraid that it would end up being too small so I decided to add 4 stitches to each front section and then I increased two stitches less than indicated. Looking back now that it's done, this was entirely unnecessary. It actually turned out to be a little roomy. But I certainly don't mind, because in the winter I like wearing layers anyway.






Originally the pattern tells you to do a row of double crochet around the neckline, but I didn't like the way it looked. Also, my crochet needle was way too big so I was afraid I would break the yarn. I really didn't feel like having to go into town with this terrible weather just to get a smaller crochet needle so I started wondering if I couldn't just knit a few rows of ribbing around the neckline. I had seen somewhere that you can pick up stitches and just knit and that this was the way necklines are often finished. So I read a little and then having no clue what I was doing I just picked up a random number of stitches and knitted. And it worked out pretty well! Especially for the fact that I had no idea what I was doing. It doesn't look super neat and pretty but I like it better than the double crochet.




I used vintage plastic buttons from my stash. I would say they are probably from the 1930s. (And I just now realize they look like nipples..) My buttonholes are actually not spaced apart evenly because there was a mistake in the pattern, which I only realized halfway through. Luckily it doesn't show too much.




Conclusion: I love love LOVE it! This pattern was perfect for me as a beginner. Even though it has two different colors this wasn't hard at all. If I where to make this again (and that is very likely, I'm already thinking forest green, mustard yellow, deep red..) I would probably replace the facings with a regular button band. I also would not use this method for buttonholes again (cast off one row, cast on the next) because I think they look very messy. But that could just be my beginner skills..

On to the next knitting project!

6 comments:

  1. ilsebyl8 January 2014 at 23:07

    yes I understand that you love it, I love it too. so Im thinking about knitting one for myself.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Renée9 January 2014 at 10:54

      Leave me a link if you do, I'd love to see it :)

      Delete
  2. Katrin9 January 2014 at 15:09

    What a beautiful cardigan, I love your colour choice (and mustard sounds like a great idea too). And it looks so warm and cozy.

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    Replies
    1. Renée10 January 2014 at 00:05

      Yes it is very warm and cozy, I forgot to mention that!

      Delete
  3. Katie Writes Stuff30 June 2015 at 23:37

    That looks absolutely gorgeous - you've lined the stripes up so well. I'm amazed that you knitted it so quickly, too!

    ReplyDelete
  4. New Casual Games24 December 2023 at 08:22

    Very nicee blog you have here

    ReplyDelete

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