Despite the zero blog coverage on this project, the Asymmetrical Cardigan has been on my mind for quite a while and not without any drama either. This project first hit the radar almost 11 months ago when i was complaining about my my gauge woes. Silly me misread and failed to see that the swatch was over the stitch pattern, not in stockinette. And with that, my original choice of yarn (Cascade 220) became inappropriate. When I finally found the right yarn, my next dilemma was size. Which size should I knit? By the time I picked and swatched my new yarn, a few knitters had already finished the sweater and I used their experiences to help me determine which size was right for me. Then the last and final bit of drama was with the pattern. The chart for one of the pieces just didn't seem to add up right. But once I figured it out, it was smooth sailing from there. And now she's finally ready for her unveling.

Pattern: Asymmetrical Cardigan by Norah Gaughn, Knitting Nature
Size: 44"
Yarn: Malabrigo in Blue Surf, 7 skeins
Needles: 5.5mm and 5.0mm Addi Turbo Naturas
Extras: 3 oblong plastic buttons, Dale Baby Ull color 5711 for seaming
Started: November 23, 2006
Finished: May 10, 2007

Here are some more photos for your viewing pleasure.

Closed

The Back

Slight bat wing sleeve construction

The collar down

The word that best describes this project for me is resolve. I had to make a lot of decisions for this project. Only one was pattern related and the rest were my own personal issues that I had with the project. The first issue was solved easily, yarn. I got the wrong gauge because I was using the wrong yarn. Picking the right yarn can definitely make or break a project. I didn't want to break my wallet with the suggested yarn, but I loved the color it was knit in (But if the cost of the yarn also included the dress, then I would have definitely bought it). Luckily for me, my dealer had just the right thing, in just the right color. I know Malabrigo is advertised as worsted yarn, but I've been able to knit it in chunkier gauges. After a few swatches, I got gauge and I was ready to get started.

The next thing holding me back was the size. The ease for this sweater seemed very generous, almost too generous for me to think that I needed that much. I really wanted a cozy sweater, something that I could throw on and feel instantly calm and relaxed. Most of the completed ones were knit with less ease than suggested in the pattern and they didn't just didn't have the cozy look like the one in the book. After seeing them and analyzing and comparing them to the pattern photos, I decided to go with the suggested ease.

Now I was ready to begin. So I cast on and off I went. Except that I didn't go very far. I completed the ribbing on the first piece and discovered that my piece didn't end at the spot indicated on the chart. This sweater is basically knit in one piece. Knit each front seperately (which includes the sleeves) and then join them together to continue onto the back. So the piece not ending at the point where the chart indicated meant that there was the potential that the pattern would not line up when the two fronts were joined together. So being the risk taker I am, I knit away. Do you really believe that? Seriously though, I sat there and counted each and every stitch for the left front, the right front, each sleeve, and the cast on stitches for back to make sure it lined up. And luckily it did. The mistake was the placement of the where the left front ended on the chart. Thanks goodness, because I really didn't want to rechart the entire sweater if it didn't line up. Much relieved, I was now free to knit on without anymore worries.

Now onto my favorite parts of this sweater, the little details.

By keeping good notes as I knit, I was able to line up the stitch pattern at the side seams.

I also added two stitches to the button bands so I could put in slip stitch edging a la the Backyard Leaves scarf. So clean, don't you think?

There's tubular cast-on every where you look. And when I say tubular cast-on, I mean it. No where did I tubularly cast OFF. With 1x1 rib, I can do tubular cast off that pretty much mirrors the cast on. 2x2 tubular cast off is an entirely different story. So instead of tubularly casting off when I got to the back ribbing, I omitted it altogether by knitting the back ribbing seperately and grafting it on. And I did this for both the cuffs as well (instead of picking up stitches and then casting off) and the collar.

And as you can see, I used totally different buttons. I have Miss Pamela Wynne* of Flint Knits to thank for them. She was in town this week and we met up at the LYS where she found them in the cubbies'o'buttons. They're white and they're perfect. Their oblong/parallelogram shape complements the stitch pattern well and I decided to put them on at an angle.

So my thoughts? Does "I never want to take this sweater off," express it accurately? This sweater was everything I wanted and more (except I still don't have that dress in the pattern picture). At first I had doubts about the color because the blue surf came out more variagated than semi-solid. But in the end, I don't even notice it. And all the work I put into the details to make it right were all worth it! It's cozy. It's soft. It's divine! Like Pamela said, it's almost like a cloud. I do prefer to wear the sweater with the collar up. But unfortunately Malabrigo is too soft and not structured enough to hold itself up. One side stays up while the other side flops down. You can't win them all, but that battle won't prevent me from wearing this sweater all the time!

But one question for you. The buttons are still "temporarily" attatched. I sewed them on as if I were sewing buttons to a regular garment, but I'm unsure of how to "tie the knot." Right now it looks like this.

I was planning to double knot it and cut the ends short. Will that work? And is that even the right thing to do?

*And Miss Wynne is absolutely charming! It was nonstop chatting from the moment we met. I'm glad her BFF lives in SF because I can try to steal some more of her time the next time she finds herself over here.