Calligraphy

I have high hopes for the Calligraphy Cardigan. I’ve been searching for a go-to cardigan pattern, something that’s straightforward to knit, that meets my requirements for a cozy, button-up sweater, and that adapts well to fit different sizes of knitted-gift recipients. So far, Calligraphy is looking good. The yarn I’m using is Peace Fleece DK in Fathers Gray, and as usual with Peace Fleece, it’s very nice to handle and to knit with. I’m hoping to finish the raglan increases this evening.

The big, floppy collar is one of my favorite things about Calligraphy.

And as promised, here are a couple of shots of CeCe. It grew when I blocked it. A LOT. It could be a dress. It would be hard to overstate my ambivalence about the finished sweater. The Madelinetosh Pashmina is luscious, but I’m just not that happy with the sweater.

The lace pattern itself was fun to knit and not at all difficult to memorize, but some aspects of the sweater’s construction were unfamiliar. This was the first time I’d done lace shaping where I had to figure out the details of the increases and decreases myself. This article from Vogue Knitting (Part 2 in particular) and the discussion of shaping in Stitch ‘n Bitch Superstar Knitting (starting on p. 71) helped a lot. I’m psyched to have gotten  some experience with this technique.

What I’m not so psyched about is the neckband. The pattern has you knit the neckband separately and then attach it. Not only did attaching it turn out to be pretty fiddly, but I never was able to make the transition from the knitted-on section to the sewn-on section look as seamless as I would have liked. It’s kind of hard to tell in this picture, so you’ll have to take my word for it.

I didn’t situate the button very well either as you can see. I think I’d just lost my enthusiasm for the project by the time I got to that point.

The last thing I’ll say about CeCe is that it’s designed to sit quite far out on the shoulders. I should have realized this before I started and either planned to make adjustments or chosen another pattern because in practice this isn’t an easy style for me to wear.