The Funky-Grandpa Cardigan

I just finished this cardigan today!

It started as a modified version of my summer jumper recipe but things got out of hand (as usually happens with me when I want to follow a pattern). While knitting it up I was thinking: “ohh… why don’t I make a really boxy body? It always looks good with fitted sleeves!” or “I would like really looong sleeves, something to pull almost over my fingers” or “i-cord castoff… it looks so polished! Why did I stop doing it?”….

And I totally forgot about my initial plan of a spring jumper or cardigan in the same make as my summer jumper…

Well… I can’t say that I am too sad about this outcome! On the contrary… I love my new, old-style, cozy grandpa-ish cardigan with it’s funky sleeves and stripes!!!

I had some Zauberball - Schoppelwolle left from a cardigan I made for my mom this christmas (a tiny amount actually… only 34 gramm) and I bought my favorite sock-yarn from Lana Grossa in a gorgeous medium grey (the Meilenweit in colour 1104) with the thought of combining it with different sock-yarn that was left from other projects. In the end I decided to only use the Zauberball and used everything up. For the sleeves I even needed to weight the 3 gramms that were left, to be able to half it in equal parts for each sleeve and to cut and rewind the two tiny balls of wool to get the same colour-change: I started the sleeves in another black Meilenweit yarn and when I got to the stripes with the grey I just continued the Zauberball at it’s blackest part. It was an experiment but worth it in the end! I think that these are the nicest sleeves I have ever made!!!!

And I had the idea of finishing the button-bands without button holes, washing and blocking the cardi (which grew about at least an inch) and to do the button-holes later on. Like this I was able to choose exactly where I wanted them to be and to know that they would stay there and not get lower after blocking! I made an afterthought button hole… and I even took some pictures (so maybe there will be a small tutorial up here soon!).

And I bought these lovely little buttons that can’t decide if they are yellow or green… I had one left, so I used it as a little asymmetric design element… the one button that does not have to do any work but just makes this cardigan a little different…. the philosophical button, if you like!

For the first time I even thought ahead and sew tiny little buttons from the other side of the normal button. To protect the knitted fabric from getting sloppy after some use of the buttons and to keep them better in place without drooping sadly!

So my buttons are happy… and I am happy!!!!!!

(for you ravelers: you can see more pictures in my project page at ravelry) And if you aren’t on ravelry you can use this link to get to the same page.