Meanwhile, back at the 'simple' pattern tweak . . .

The last time I posted about my plan to add a decorative panel to my next Wondrella cardigan, I was about to knit a second gauge swatch, this time including the cable pattern I had chosen for my embellishment.

I duly knitted it, and blocked it.

(Over) stretched out to gauge

It . . . didn't look brilliant. The yellow towel underneath was clearly visible in several places, and the sections where there was only a single purl stitch either side of the cable looked especially stretched. I soaked it and reblocked it, this time to what felt like the natural amount of stretch. The result was very close to the original stocking stitch swatch in terms of length, but way off in terms of width.

Comparing swatches of the same number of rows and stitches

The overall difference was about three stitches, but the stocking stitch sections had come out exactly to gauge. The reduction was all in the cable section. The fact that cable knits tighter is probably well-known to experienced knitters, but was news to me. So, I knitted yet another swatch, this one three stitches wider. I added an extra purl stitch to either side of the cable, and a single extra stitch to the stocking stitch section. Once blocked, 23 stitches (instead of the original 20), came out to the desired 10cm.

Second attempt - much better

This fixed one problem, but added another. The front shoulders would now be three stitches wider than the back shoulders, and as the two are joined with a three-needle bind off, the number of stitches need to be the same. The three extra stitches needed to be removed as part of the neckline shaping.

I figured that I could lose one in the initial bind off. For the others, I drew a diagram of the neckline, and marked a straight line along the edges of the 'stitches'. Then I added a second straight line, ending two squares across. I used this line as the basis for the new neckline.

Redrafting the neckline

Then, of course, I had to work out the knitting instructions for the new shaping.

Row by row instructions

Once all this was done, I could consider the positioning of the cable design on the cardigan front. First, I drew a basic schematic of the cable on tracing paper, marking which were the right side and wrong side rows.

It makes sense to me!

Next, I drew out a shortened version of the cardigan front, complete with the altered neckline. The pattern repeat for the cable is 12 rows, so I removed 60 rows from between the top of the ribbing and the start of the neckline. Again, I marked the right side and wrong side rows.

Because I wasn't going to draw out another full-size pattern like this

Once I had both drawings, it was just a case of moving the cable design around the 'front' until I found a position I was happy with and where the Rs and Ws lined up. Then I copied the cable markings onto the squared paper.

Shortened version, with ribbing and cable drawn on

Knitting experts would probably be able to tell at once whether or not this plan is workable, but I am not in that camp. So, I am going to knit a (hopefully, final) test piece starting with ribbing, then a few rows of the front and finally the neckline shaping. Yes, it's more work and yes, I am longing to just start knitting, but I reckoned that it is better to find any flaws in my plan before knitting about 90 rows of cardigan.

Working out the row-by-row knitting instructions for this latest test involved combining instructions from 1 - the original Wondrella, 2 - the new neckline, and 3 - the cable design. My brain was ready to explode by the time I was done! But I now have something to keep me occupied over Christmas (and also a vastly increased respect for designers of knitting patterns!).

And the winner is . . .

I have (I hope) selected a suitable pattern for my next cardigan from the auditions process.

What name is inside the envelope?

Some of my original selections didn't even make it to the first round. They were all 16 stitches wide, and when I tried laying the samples I had already completed onto my blue Wondrella, I realised that this was going to be too wide.

Out of curiosity, I did try knitting up one of the wider patterns. But after frogging it for the third time I gave up!

Beyond my capabilities, for now

One of the samples I had already knitted is 13 stitches wide. Not only did this seem a bit too much, but the pattern is directional. I'm considering doing the pattern on the sleeves as well as the front, but the sleeves are top-down while the body is bottom-up, so this sample had to go.

Not quite right for this project

This diamond pattern with twisted stitches is pretty, and very easy to knit, but doesn't show up particularly well in this marled yarn - I think that it would work better in a solid colour.

This gets a bit lost

The ukuleles pattern was another one which I had knitted already. It's narrow, and shows up well, but I didn't feel I was knitting the shapes very consistently.

Ukuleles, banjos, lutes - they're all in there

Of the samples I had already knitted, this left the chain links (or, as I always think of it, 'the sausages') as my favourite. But there were still a couple of cable designs left to try.

Chain links, or sausage links?

This one was far too wide, but I liked the central element of narrow and wider twists, and wondered if I could just knit that section.

Definitely got potential

Because I'm new to cable knitting, it took a couple of goes to work out which parts of the chart and instructions I could ignore.

Trying to block out the bits I didn't need

But I got there in the end, and it was worth the effort.

Well hello!

This immediately became my new favourite pattern - sorry, sausages. Not too wide, shows up well, not directional. The only one issue was that I wanted something which was symmetrical across the two fronts, not the same. (At this point, I offer my apologies to any experienced knitters who are reading this and thinking, "Oh for crying out loud, it's simple.". As I say, I'm a knitting novice and cable is a whole new subsection of what is still a fairly new area.)

In the meantime, I did one final sample of basic cables.

Twists in both directions! What witchcraft is this?

These were a bit too basic, but I did make the exciting discovery that the direction of the twist depends upon whether you put the cable needle to the front or the back!!! Groundbreaking*. Armed with this new knowledge, I went back to the instructions for the previous sample and made a couple of changes. And, voila!

At this point, I did take a moment to bask in my triumph

So now, I am knitting a swatch the same size as my original one, mostly in stocking stitch, but with the cable band included. Hopefully it will not affect the gauge, and I can start knitting.


* - I joke about it, but I am really enjoying all of this. I have been sewing for more than 50 years, about 90% of my entire life. So while I may come across a complex pattern or a tricky technique, the opportunities for me to learn something totally new are few and far between. Starting from scratch with a new skill is exhilarating.

Auditions

If you scroll through the vintage and contemporary galleries of this blog, there’s one thing which you won't see much. Black. I very rarely wear it now, and I suspect that a big part of the reason why Butterick 7598 is taking me so long is the colour.

However while solid, all-over, black is something I avoid, I'm quite happy with black-ish items such as my absurd-but-fabulous 1970s blouse. So when I decided that I could really do with a black cardigan, I looked for a wool along those lines. And found Sirdar Haworth Tweed in Hepworth Slate, a marled dark grey with flecks of grey and rust. It's just what I wanted.

Gauge swatch - the orange threads mark the area to be measured

Yes, I am planning yet another Wondrella (as I suspected when I started the first one, it's a pattern I'm happy to have in multiple colours). But I want to do something a little different with this one. I've noticed that a single column of pattern, usually a cable or lace design, up each side of the front is a feature on a lot of 1950s cardigans.

Lavenda cardigan with lace panels

The Dolman Shortie by Subversive Femme is a particularly good example.

This is on my 'to knit' list

Sometimes the pattern runs up the sleeves as well.

From a 1958 issue of Stitchcraft

So, I decided that I would like to add this feature to the Wondrella. But what pattern to use? When I was in York in the spring, I went to Duttons for Buttons (of course) and bought, among other things, this book.

So many possibilities!

It's a wonderful library of stitch patterns: textured; lace; cables; slip stitches and novelty. To narrow the choice down a little, I wrote out the pattern for the cardigan fronts in my size row by row, and then used this to draw out a chart.

Right front in chart form

The main section of the front is only 36 stitches, with four of those knitted in a ribbed edging for the front opening, so I didn't want anything too wide. It is 88 rows long, so I discounted any very long patterns, as they would have very few repeats and would be tricky to position in a way which looked right. Finally, the author has helpfully labelled some of the patterns as 'easy'. This means that the wrong side row is either all purl, or 'knit the knit stitches and purl the purl stitches' from the previous row. As I still regard myself as a novice knitter, I decided to limit myself to 'easy' patterns only. Finally of course, it had to be a pattern I liked.

Based on all this, I identified nine possible patterns. I then bought an extra ball of wool, and set about knitting samples to see how easy they were to knit, and how well they worked with the yarn.

For each pattern there is a clear photograph, knitting instructions, and a diagram.

Ukuleles pattern

So far, I have completed three of my possible choices.

Two colums of ukuleles on a purl background

Diamonds with openwork

Chain links on a purl background

Once I have completed all the samples, the main contenders will go through to the 'next round' where I knit them up as full swatches to check if they alter the gauge. Who knew I would ever get so into knitting?!

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!

Fabric shopping - in more ways than one

No sewing this week, because I have been concentrating on knitting a summer cardigan. Which admittedly is a slightly odd thing to be doing in late October, given that I'm not planning any trips to the Southern Hemisphere and Storm Babet has been causing havoc for the last few days and making it very clear that summer is over.

Not the most obvious project

The reason for this is that I really want to begin some winter knitting. I have both yarn and plans, but I don't want to start on the slippery slope of having knitting UFOs to add to my sewing PHDs (UnFinished Objects and Projects Half Done, for the uninitiated). So the only way I'm allowing myself to cast on my new project is to crack on and finish my current one first. Not a lot of progress had been made since I cast on the first sleeve in late July, so I've really dedicated some hours to it to get this far.

But a 90% complete cardigan is not a bloggable topic, so instead I'm looking at another area of my creative life where my enthusiasm gets the better of practicality - my fabric stash, and my latest attempt to tame it.

I am lucky enough to have a dedicated workroom, with lots of space. This means that most of my stash is neatly stored, which does lead to a certain 'out of sight, out of mind' mentality. So I am slowly documenting everything, with pictures, to create what I'm calling my Stash Shop. Crucially, rather than just keeping these plans on my laptop or online, they will be permanently visible in my workroom. The hope is that whenever I'm thinking about what to do for a new project, this will prompt me to choose something from my own 'shop' rather than going out and buying yet more supplies.

I started by photographing the fabrics for which I had definite plans. I also photographed the intended use, and put the images together in a spreadsheet. Naturally, most of the plans involve patterns.

A pattern-based section of the spreadsheet

But there are a few other sources.

Inspiration from my 1940 Vogue counter catalogue

Photograph from a 1940s costume book

Quick on-the-train-home sketch of a dress I'd seen in a shop

Once I had built up enough of these to fill a sheet of A4, I printed them off and pinned the sheet on a noticeboard in my workroom. And so it goes on.

A completed sheet

Of course, these plans are not set in stone. My original intention for this jaunty print was a Butterick reissue, but when I found some peach cotton poplin which was a perfect match, I immediately thought of a contrast section at the bust, and found a suitable picture online to illustrate the idea.

Original idea, and the current one

Admittedly, this hasn't stopped me from buying some fabric recently. But at least it wasn't an impulse buy. My self-drafted pinafore is starting to look a bit worn - hardly surprising given that it's been on heavy rotation in the six years since I made it. There was nothing suitable for a replacement in my stash, so I felt that in this case I was justified in buying new.

Just the right weight, and a subtle pinstripe to boot

It's a charcoal remnant of either wool or a wool-heavy mix. The lining will be from stash however, even if it ends up being a couple of different colours, so hopefully the overall effect will be stash reduction. And for once, I actually have a zip of the right colour and length - wonders will never cease.

But first, I really do need to finish this cardigan!

July review

This is going to be a very short post because, as expected, I had very little free time in the month.

I have discovered that one of the joys of knitting is that unlike dressmaking it lends inself to working in short bursts - you can just pick it up and do a sneaky row or two if you have a few spare moments. Thus the body of my new Wondrella cardigan is complete. I decided to do the sleeves next, rather than the collar and bands. However, I picked up the stitches in a bit of a rush, and after I had knitted the first row I realised that I had picked some of them up in the wrong place.

The two stitches to the left of the marker were picked up too far in

There were more iffy stitches than just those two, and because I am that fussy, I decided that I needed to fix them all. However, I didn't want to take the whole thing out and have to space out and pick up 118 stitches again. So I undid the row of knitting, and then tried an experiment.

I transferred all the stitches to the right of the stitch marker, plus the two that were wrong, onto a length of scrap yarn. Then I took the leftmost stitch off the yarn, and pulled out the loop for the stitch, used a crochet hook to pull it back through in the correct place, and placed it back onto the needle. I did the same with the second stitch, and then returned all the other stitches on the holding yarn back onto needle.

All now in the right place

I suspect that this is nothing new to seasoned knitters, but I was very pleased that I had worked this out for myself. I'm used to (mostly) being able to fix sewing hiccups, but knitting is a whole new world. To be honest, it probably took longer to do it this way that if I had just frogged the sleeve and started again, but learning a new skill was far more satisfying.

More new skills await with my dress. I have got as far as sewing bodice darts and shoulder seams, and the next stage is the side seams and sleeves.

Progress so far

I went for the radical approach of actually looking at the instructions, and discovered that they differ slightly from the methods I used for the peppermint batik dress. Hopefully once we are into August I'll find some time to try them out.

This and that

It's been busy week, with not much free time, so I don't have much to show for it sewing-wise. I have started a couple of projects, though.

First up, a new dress. I'm using another of my 1979-with-a-whiff-of-the-1940s Style patterns.

Style 2911 - I'm making view 1

Like so many patterns of that era, it has no waist seam.

The main pattern pieces, and the all-important pocket

The ruched sleeves have an interesting construction. Modern patterns, such as my well-used New Look 6093, achieve the effect with a strip of elastic sewn onto the sleeve - which pulls the sleeve hem up a little. This one is made from two separate, curved pieces, sewn together and then gathered up the seam.

Sleeve pieces

The fabric is a mystery item unearthed from my stash a few weeks ago. Try as I might to remember, I have no recollection of buying it. It's a strange combination of very fine, black, warp threads, and a thicker dark purple weft, with occasional weft threads of the same fine black.

Showing the fabric construction

I suspect that it will fray - a lot. The difference between right and wrong sides is hard to spot (and even harder to photograph), but great enough to make any mistakes obvious, so I will have to clearly mark the wrong sides with chalk.

The right side is more textured

Judging from the pre-wash, the finished dress will have to be laundered separately.

That's a lot of dye run!

The pattern calls for two ball buttons, but when I spotted these at the Festival of Vintage, I thought that they would be perfect with the fabric.

Purple and black - perfect

Meanwhile, my other project. The other week, I went over to Liverpool, to see all the build-up for Eurovision before the city got completely manic. I loved the Soloveiko Songbird Trail - 12 nightingales (the national bird of Ukraine) decorated with designs from 12 different regions of the country.

Songbirds and Liver Birds

Somehow, while I was out and about being cultural, I also managed to acquire yarn for a second Wondrella cardigan! It's another DK, and a mix of wool and lyocell, in a pale green. Judging from the swatch, the end result should be a more lightweight and summery cardigan. I had better get on with it for the summer, then.

All swatched up and ready to go