Knititude

Nerodia Cardigan for Women

While updating my website, I realized that the five designs I mentioned in my last post were not the only ones that I have not yet blogged about. Add to those the Plumage Wrap and Zephirine Cardigan (both from Interweave Knits Spring 2014), AND several of my self-published designs: the Amphorae Shawl, the Nerodia Cardigan for Women, and the Fiamma hot water bottle cover.

Since there are so many, I'm not going to go chronologically, but instead pick the one that I feel most like blogging about at this moment, and that is... the Nerodia Cardigan for Women.

Like the Nerodia Cardi for Babies and Children, I created this design in honor of the Chinese Year of the Snake (2013), and the repeat for the snake bodies is the same. I also used garter stitch edgings (pun intended) and snap closures for both. But after that, these designs diverge: on the version for women, the snakes adorn the yoke, not the lower body. In addition, two of the three snake heads overlap the other front and actually form part of the front closure, so I reworked those heads to be 3D (a fun part of the design process!). I also moved the tails, to make room for these heads to fit between them when the cardigan fronts are fastened.

The snake band is worked sideways for both cardis, with the two 3D snake heads added after the rest of the band stitches have been bound off. Stitches for the body are then picked up from the long edge of the band, but unlike the Baby/Child version, the body and sleeves are worked down (body flat, and sleeves in the round). Decreases shape the curved front hems. For the upper yoke, stitches are picked up from the other long edge of the snake band, and rapid decreases follow the contours of the shoulders, ending in a garter stitch neckband. The front and hem edging is added in finishing, and snap closures are sewn on (you can see them in the above photo). And don't forget the snake eyes and tongues!  

I really love the Madelinetosh Tosh DK yarn I used for this project; it's a pleasure to knit with and holds up well, and the Filigree colorway, a lightly variegated mix of greens, golds and a bit of blue, is a wonderful match for the design. In fact, after this colorway was chosen for the Arc & Line Cowl in knit.wear Fall 2012, I liked it so much that I used it again (held doubled) for the Rockweed Cowl.

Related articles

Nerodia Cardigan for Babies and Children

Oscilla Wrap

Bingham Hill Scarf, Interweave Knits Holiday Gifts 2013

Errata for Arc & Line Cowl

On the final decrease round before top ribbing, the * at the beginning of the sentence has been omitted. Should read: Next Rnd *[K2, p2] 5 times, k1, k2tog, p2, k2, p1, p2tog, [k2, p2] 2 times; rep from * one more--72 sts rem.

Arc & Line Cowl and Ribbed-Waist Pullover

I have two patterns in the Fall 2012 issue of knit.wear: the Arc and Line Cowl and the Ribbed-Waist Pullover. When the premiere issue of knit.wear came out in Fall 2011, I really liked the clean, modern feel of many of the designs, so I was quite excited when two of my submissions were accepted for the Fall 2012 issue.

The Ribbed-Waist Pullover is a variation on a very classic design: the raglan pullover. What sets it apart are the ribbed accent panels; they are shaped into triangles (sleeves), inverted triangle (upper back) or diamonds (side waist), and thus provide more shaping at the widest part of the panels, where it is most needed: cuffs, back neck, and natural waist. 

In the original swatch for this design, the ribbed panels were bordered with diagonal strips of stockinette stitch, 2 stitches wide. When the editor of knit.wear, Eunny Jang, contacted me about using the deisgn, she suggested I try using the panels without the borders, to allow the ribs to flow more organically into the stockinette body of the sweater. I was a little concerned that this would make the ribs look sloppy, as the knit stitches in 2X2 ribbing tend to be a little bigger than the knit stitches in plain stockinette, when worked on the same size needles. But after swatching I decided I liked the effect, so I went with Eunny's suggestion.

I really liked the yarn for this project (Juniper Moon Farm Chadwick, in Hannah, a lovely muted green)--it was soft, bouncy and a pleasure to knit. And the design worked up quickly; the only rough spot was the calculations for the upper back ribbing: since it flows into the neck ribbing AND the ribbed raglan seams, it was a little complicated figuring out where the point of the triangle should be so, that everything came together properly for all sizes.

And when I tried on the sample, I did notice that for the most flattering fit, the widest part of the side waist ribbing should fall at or slightly above the natural waist. My back waist length is slightly shorter than the standard sizes, and the sweater honestly didn't look great on me, because the widest part of the side waist panels were pointing right at my abdomen. Then I pulled the sides up slightly, moving the side "pointers" up to my natural waist-- and it made a huge difference!

As for the Arc and Line Cowl (photo courtesy of interweave Press), it was a fun, fast knit, with a delightful yarn (Madelinetosh Tosh Vintage), in Filigree, a gorgeous green/olive/gold colorway. With yarn held doubled, and US size 10 needles, I was amazed at how quickly the work progressed. For this project I wanted to make use of the way the lace stitch pattern distorts the fabric, to shape the cowl into a face-framing curve. And yes, even though the fabric is quite solid, the stitch pattern is in fact a so-called "true" lace, with yarnovers and decreases on every round.

I hope this doesn't sound conceited, but I'm a little surprised that this project isn't more popular on Ravelry, because in my opinion it is a little unusual, very wearable, and works up quickly-- all great characteristics for holiday gifts AND personal knitting.