Clara Knitted Vest

 

This cardigan was a favourite from start to finish. I made it almost two years ago (pre-blog) and I still love it.

I started this project from the yarn, Rowan Tapestry, nabbed on sale. I believe it is now discontinued. It's a shame, it is a lovely yarn, soft with a high wool content, a lovely range of colours and a slight aura. It was the colour that won me over. I bought everything they had left, 7 balls.

Then I had to figure out what to make with it. I was not keen on something horizontally striped but I definitely wanted something wearable. I eventually found this pattern on Ravelry, the Clara Vest. Actually, before I found it, I admired an identical one on a woman at baby group. I'm sure it was hand knitted and it was lovely.

Now I had my pattern: a wearable garment, vertical stripes and short sleeves to account for my smaller amount of yarn. But the pattern delivered even more than that. It was all in garter stitch! Amazing, just plain old knitting row, after row, after row. Bliss! The yoke is made up of short rows which pull it in and create the line. That is the only time I had to do any thinking. I also really liked the pattern instructions for the sides which gave the hemline a nice finish. I worked really hard on the cast on and cast off, to get even edges along the front.

I learned an important lesson from this project: if it isn't right, I won't ever regret pulling it out and fixing it. I will like it more and I will wear it. The short term pain of ripping out is nothing compared to the long term pain of something that isn't quite right. I started this 3 times in total, once after I had knitted over half of the finished garment. I wanted more length than I was getting so I re-did and re-did until it was the right length.

Instead of the shawl pin, I added a buttonhole and installed this flat wooden button that I got from the Button Lady in Hampstead. After I finished it, the neckline was too stretchy so I went back and threaded a line of yarn through each stitch, pulling the neckline in and giving it something to hang from.

Ravelry notes here.