Unseasonal work

Just in time for Bonfire Night, my summer knitwear is finished! This is my second Wondrella cardigan, knitted in West Yorkshire Spinners' Elements, a DK Lyocell/wool mix in shade Cool Aloe.

I rang the changes a bit by knitting this one with a collar, rather than just the plain neck band. Reading the pattern, I couldn't remotely envisage how the row increases on ribbing would work. I decided to go for my usual approach of just following Tasha's instructions (one of the joys of knitting is that any mistakes can simply be undone without wasting the wool, unlike fabric) and, not for the first time, I discovered that they were spot on.

The collar being blocked

As a knitting newbie I'm fascinated by the way that, even though they knit to the same gauge, this yarn has produced a very different garment from the acrylic Stylecraft Highland Heathers DK which I used for my first Wondrella. One place where this was really evident was in the ribbing for the button bands - the end result was far more see-through. This was unfortunate, as I couldn't get any grosgrain backing ribbon in anything close to a suitable shade. The light brown shown was the best of a bad bunch. I did at least have the perfect buttons, and a choice of threads to use. In the end I went with light apple green, on the right, as dk eau-de-nil was slightly too blueish.

Thread and buttons match, ribbon doesn't

I solved the grosgrain problem by covering it with a satin ribbon in exactly the right shade. It was only available in a narrow width, so I needed two lengths, but this worked perfectly when I got to the buttonholes - I just sewed the two edges down separately.

Fixing the ribbon

It also had the effect of stiffening the grosgrain a little and making it more like the petersham I used for the blue Wondrella, so a win all round.

Showing the see-through nature of the buttonhole band

And here is the end result. It can be worn with the collar down, or popped up at the back for a more vintage look.

Collar down

Collar up

I'm delighted with it. It's got a lovely silky feel, and a softness and drape which will be perfect for the warmer weather. So it's going to be carefully put away for now but come the spring, I'll have a brand new cardigan to wear!

And on top of that, I can now start my next knitting project with a clear conscience!