I had enough skeins of yarn remaining after finishing an adult-sized sweater for myself to knit my younger sister her own cardigan. I picked a pattern I’ve knit several cardigans from over the years and discovered very special buttons to add on as well. Read on to learn all the details of this completed knit.
Yarn: Knit Picks Wool of the Andes Worsted in color, Evergreen
Pattern: Sunday Sweater by Ginny Sheller
Needles:
- US 6 (4 mm) and US 5 (3.75 mm) interchangeable circular needles
What I Enjoyed:
- Knitting this particular pattern once again
- Modified sleeve
- Using buttons from Wooly Moss Roots
- Using up skeins from a previous project
When I saw enough skeins left from my Buttonside Sweater to knit an entire toddler-sized garment, I eagerly casted on a cardigan for my almost-2-year-old sister. As I was knitting with a familiar pattern, I flew through rows and enjoyed stitching through several lectures I needed to watch for my UX Design certificate course this July and August. I enjoyed watching my lectures much more and had a finished, fitting cardigan just in time for fall.
Materials
Pattern
Years ago, I purchased the Sunday Sweater pattern by Ginny Sheller. I was attracted by the simple and wearable design Ginny had created that also incorporated a sweet lace detail on the fronts.
Also, I’ve found cardigans to be practical knits for young children as they don’t always like to leave their sweaters on long. Also, getting a pullover sweater over a newborns head can be a little more involved than buttoning on a cardigan.
With a large size range from 0–3 months to 10 years, I haven’t regretted this pattern purchase for a moment and have already knit several Sunday Sweaters.
Yarn
I wrote my thoughts and details on this yarn in the project post for the Buttonside Sweater. I’ve enjoyed working with Wool of the Andes Worsted and was happy to work with it once again.
Notions
I had 2 heart-shaped buttons made from cedar wood in my button bag from Wooly Moss Roots. I thought Faith, my sister, would appreciate heart shaped buttons, and I had been hoping I could find a project to display them on. They ended up being the perfect buttons.
Needles
Which needles did I grab? I knit this cardigan with Symfonie Dreamz interchangeable circular needles from Knitter’s Pride.
To match Ginny’s gauge, I ended up knitting the sweater with a US 6 needle size. A few years ago, I knit another sister of mine a red Sunday Sweater also with Wool of the Andes yarn and needed a US 7 needle size to get gauge.
This situation reminded me that relying on the gauge you achieved when knitting the same pattern with the same yarn years ago could be fallible.
Modifications
Shorter Sleeves
As I mentioned above, I was working with limited quantities of yarn. To be safe, I made this cardigan with short sleeves.
I put the sleeve stitches from the waste yarn on my needle and picked up a few stitches under the arms. After knitting some rounds, I did some quick math to create a decrease pattern to work evenly over the number of stitches I had on my needles.
” *K1, K2tog, rep from * to end of round,” was the stitch pattern that I could work evenly over the round with no remaining stitches, yet the resulting number of stitches fit around my sister’s arm without being too snug.
Off-Pattern Neckline
At this point in knitting, I had lost my printed copy of the Sunday Sweater somewhere in the house. On top of these missing papers, I couldn’t find the email with the attached pattern. That’s the only reason why this sweater has a modified neckline.
Have you ever misplaced your pattern in the middle of knitting an item? It’s quite the bewildering experience especially when I’m eager to keep knitting.
I picked up and knit stitches around the neckline with the smaller needle. I picked up approximately every 2 out of 3 stitches.
As I picked up stitches, I made sure that I picked up the same number of stitches for both the left and right sleeves, fronts, and button bands. Obviously, it didn’t matter for the back of the cardigan.
Then, I knit the neckline in garter (knitting every row) for the same number of rows as the hem and sleeve cuffs.
I was pleased with the resulting fit.
3 Buttonholes, 2 Buttons
Instead of making buttonholes down the entire front of the cardigan, I decided to just make 3 buttonholes.
I already mentioned how the buttons that caught my eye amongst the bag of buttons were heart-shaped cedar wood buttons. Since I only had 2 of these buttons on hand, this cardigan has an empty place for if I ever decide to sew on a third button.
The place for this missing button is at the top of the button band right beneath the chin. Since I find the button in this place is often left unbuttoned anyway, I think this cardigan will be quite practical even lacking the last button.
Conclusion
I’m pleased to have this little cardigan ready to be worn in time for the cool weather. This morning was cold enough for me to wear my Columbia jacket while feeding our ducks this morning. The autumn weather has arrived!
Though I was wondering if it will get worn as much with short sleeves, Ginny’s pattern, even with short sleeves, looks perfect for throwing over a long-sleeved shirt to be worn both at home or to the store.
If you were wondering, I have just a little yarn left. I think it will sit in my hutch until I decide on the best use for it. Maybe it will be a baby hat or a sock’s heel? I’ll have to wait and see.
Have a blessed day, friends! I will be back with more to share soon.
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