Pirta

Next up is a gorgeous and really interesting make, Pirta cardigan.

What: Pirta / Own pattern

How: Circular needle 4.0 mm

From: Kässäkerho Pom Pom Donegal DK, 567 g

There is a lot happening in this cardigan so it sure isn't a boring project. The cardigan features a lush garter stitch cowl and you can find traditionally inspired colourwork on the yoke, sleeves and hem.

Pirta is worked in the round and steeked. I usually recommend non-superwash yarn for steeking but I really wanted to use this stunning handdyed yarn with beautiful tweed spots on it.

Therefore, I recommend reinforcing the steek with a sewing machine to make sure no yarn ends can get away. For non-superwash yarns, a crochet reinforcement is usually enough but for more slippery yarns, I use a sewing machine.

The cardigan features three colours but only two are used at a time so the colourwork shouldn't be too difficult. The traditional patterns are adorned with cute little nupps on the yoke and on the cuffs.

The colourwork stripe on the hem hides pockets behind it. You will first knit a waste yarn in the place of the pockets and once the cardigan is finished that waste yarn is unraveled and you will pick up stitches around it to work the pockets.

Since the cardigan is steeked, the button bands are worked just before cutting the steek. The button bands, cuffs and the hem are worked in garter stitch.

You can find all the info on the design below to start planning your own project. Some of the photos were taken by Laine for the book and some we snapped ourselves.

Size

XXS-XS-S-M1 [M2-L1-L2-XL] 2XL-3XL-4XL-5XL

This cardigan is meant to be worn with positive ease. Choose a size with approx. 1.75’’ / 5 cm positive ease at bust circumference.

Finished measurements

Bust circumference: 32.75-34.5-36.75-39.25 [40.75-42.5-44.75-48.75] 53.5-56.75-60-66.5’’ / 82-86-92-98 [102-106-112-122] 134-142-150-166 cm

Yarn

Kässäkerho Pom Pom Donegal DK (85% merino, 15% rayon, 212 m / 100 g), or other DK weight yarn. Shown in colors Hiekka (MC), Teräs (CC1) and Haave (CC2).

4-4-4-4 [4-4-5-5] 5-6-6-7 skeins of MC, 2-2-2-2 [2-2-2-2] 3-3-3-3 of CC1 and 1-1-1-1 [1-1-1-1] 2-2-2-2 skeins of CC2.

Yardage

MC: 720-765-805-840 [890-925-970-1050] 1140-1195-1285-1395 yrds / 660-700-735-770 [810-845-885-960] 1045-1095-1175-1275 m,

CC1: 305-310-345-350 [365-385-390-430] 560-570-615-645 yrds / 280-285-315-320 [335-350-355-390] 515-520-560-590 m,

CC2: 160-160-180-180 [190-200-200-220] 300-300-325-340 yrds / 145-150-165-165 [175-185-185-205] 275-275-300-310 m.

Needles

US 6 (4.0 mm) - 40’’ / 100 cm long circular needles and dpns if you prefer to work the sleeves with them. Adjust needle size if necessary to obtain the right gauge.

Gauge

20 sts x 26 rnds = 4x4’’ / 10x10 cm in stockinette stitch and color work, worked in the round (after blocking).

Other

6 stitch markers, 7-8 buttons (1’’ / 2.5 cm diameter), tapestry needle.

Tiny knits for a tiny person

One of the best things in life is when you get to be a godparent to child. As a godmother, I'm assuming I have to right to loose all control when it comes to Christmas presents. This time, I made two little knits for our little goddaughter.

What: Unicorn Trails Child Sweater / Sophie McKane

How: Circular needle 4.0 mm

From: Kässäkerho Pom Pom Donegal DK + scrap yarns, 106 + 24 g

One category in the Indie Design Gift-A-long is garments: cardigans, sweaters and dresses. And of course, being a statistician, I had to optimize. You see, the rules state that kids' clothes are ok as long as they're not for a 1 year old or younger. If they are, they're counted in the baby category. So I was very happy to run into this lovely little pattern for which the smallest size was 2 years. And even better, I just so happen to have a one year old goddaughter so it'll be perfect for the spring or next fall.

The design is a cute and simple cardigan with color work yoke and sweet little pockets. My stash had just enough mint colored DK tweed yarn for the main color and then all I had to do was to dig up some scrap yarns for the color work.

I'm more than happy about the beautiful scrap yarn gradient from dark purple to sassy pink I managed to find. I haven't been holding on to the smallest left overs for nothing.

And hey, how cute is that cardigan!

What: Elfbaby hat / Robynn Weldon

How: Circular needle 2.75 mm

From: Kässäkerho Pom Pom Donegal Tweed, 34 g

For the baby category I found this sweet little elf cap. The pattern was really nice. It had several options for the edging - and of course I just had to go for the most difficult one with twisted purls...

If the edge took its sweet time the rest of the hat flew off the needles. A big reason  for that was the yarn. The tweed yarn felt like melted butter. I don't think I've ever tried a softer yarn than this one.

I'm really bad at tossing away left over yarns. I hold on to the smalles little scraps thinking that one day I'll figure out a use for these. And today was one of those days! I had more of the yellow yarn so I worked the edge with it and then started striping 3 rounds stripes as far as the grey would last. I did run out of the grey yarn just before the end but that's fine because there's this funny little knot on top and it kinda hides the fact that the yarn ran out.

At first I thought I don't know any baby to give this to. But since it almost fit me (let's not go to those pics!) I figured it would be just perfect for our goddaughter.

100% awesome

This spring, I visited Edinburgh Yarn Festival for the fist time. One of my treasured purchases is available at the Jyväskylä knit fest market place this weekend. So, now is the perfect time to publish a pattern for that yarn.

What: Dre / Own pattern

How: Circular needle 3.75 mm

From: Walcot Yarns Opus, 350 g

I fell in love with the yarn at the market place and had to cast on the same night. The yarn was very chatty and told me it definitely wanted to become a boyfriend cardigan with some crisp finishing toutches.

I was in such a rush, there was no time for swatching. And I got quite far the next day before it became obvious I really should have swatched. But hey, there I had a pretty big swatch so I got my tension and recalculated the whole thing. And this time it worked.

Dre is a boyfriend cardigan with V-neckline. The sleeves are a fun hybrid of saddle shoulders and raglan sleeves. Usually, for saddle shoulders you would first knit the shoulder separately but I designed this so that you work it all in one piece right from the beginning.

The design has lots of lovely details. My favorite thing are this mock seams at the shoulders and the sides. The shoulder seams meet at the underarm and twist together in  a little cable pattern to continue as one for the sides. The seams can be a bit tight before blocking but should open up nicely wit soaking.

The long hem has a rounded slit and decent sized pockets. The pocket edges, hem and cuffs have a few rows of crisp looking broken rib.

Finally, you'll pick up stitches from the fronts and back of the neck to work the button band. It's shaped with short rows to be a bit wider at the center. The whole thing is topped off with i-cord bind off, during which you'll make the button holes. The cardigan got its name from these gorgeous moose buttons I also found at Edinburgh Yarn Fest. Dre means moose in Albanian.

And the yarn! It was new to me. Walcot Yarns Opus is a gorgeous and soft. The label says it's 70% Falkland merino, 30% Baby alpaca and 100% awesome. And it really is!

And the best thing is that today and tomorrow you can find Walcot Yarns with Opus at Jyväskylä Knit Festival. Come see Dre cardigan at their booth while you're choosing your colors. You can get the pattern with 20 % discount with the code OPUS until Tuesday July 7th.

Crush

A list of things I love in knitwear:

1. Soft, squishy yarn
2. Overly long sleeves
3. Big collar
4. Pockets
5. Brioche

A list of things found in my new sweater pattern:

1. Soft, squishy yarn
2. Overly long sleeves
3. Big collar
4. Pockets
5. Brioche

A coincidence? I don't think so.

What: Crush / Own pattern

How: Circular needles 5.0 and 5.5 mm

From: Skein Queen Crush DK, 485 g

Last year, my LYS TitiTyy moved to a bigger building and quickly started to fill all that new shelf space with new yarns. One of the new yammies was Skein Queen from UK. I was instantly drawn to all those glorious uncolors and just had to cast on for a sweater with this thicker Crush DK immediately.

The sweater starts at the shoulders. First, you'll work these little cable panels and then pick up stitches for the body which is worked in brioche. The brioche body is boxy and loose - although, the yarn is so heavy that it pulls down and creates a bit more fitted look.

The sleeves are worked in stockinette stitch with the cables running from shoulders to wrists. Finally, you work a long cuff in ribbing. The sleeves are meant to be extra long to keep your palms warm.

Since I can never settle for complitely mindless knitting, there's a cable looking pattern in the front - though it's worked with increases and decreases instead of actual cables. And, there are pockets! Because, pockets, you know!

My most favorite thing about this sweater is the huge squishy cowl. It's worked in brioche to keep it light and airy. The collar is finished with Italian bind-off which works magic with brioche. The cowl is so tall you could easily fold it in two but I like it most the way it's shown in the pics.

You can find the pattern on Ravelry with 9 sizes, XXS-XS-S [M1-M2-L1] L2-XL-XXL. Oh, and if you don't happen to use Ravelry, the buy now link should work fine even without Ravelry.

Thank you TitiTyylle for once again sponsoring the yarn for the design. I fell head over heels in love with Crush DK. It's a merino nylon blend and would work even for socks. And yet, it feels so soft I was sure it wouls have some cashmere in it!

Soulful

I've been bitten by the designing bug. Which is a bit of a trouble maker if you've just agreed to design and knit something and then get the inspiration of the year for something completely different. Luckily I didn't loose my inspiration while keeping my other agreements, so I can now present to you me newest knitting pattern.

What: Soulful / Own pattern

How: Circular needles 2.5 mm ja 3.0 mm

From: Holst Garn Coast, 144 g

I had a vision of a light as a feather spring/summer cardigan. It would have a neckline higher than usual for me but a wider lace neckline below the actual neckband. At a local knit night, I ran to Holst Garn shelves to look for just the perfect uncolor. It was a tough choice between all those lovely grayish whites and pale beige colors. I asked a friend to help me and still couldn't make up my mind. At first, I wanted to make this pattern for the new Holst Tides but it didn't have this color I fell in love with. It did have a similar color but that one looked kind of soulless next to this - hence the name for the cardigan.

The cardigan is knit top down with simultanious set in sleeves. If you've knit my Uan cardigan, you know the drill. The vocal point of the garment is the lovely lace front that slowly disappears. I like how it kind of forms a V-neck below the actual neckline.

The cardigan has waist shaping and 3/4 sleeves. The neckband, hem and sleeve cuffs are twisted ribbing. I used smaller needles for the neck band to make it snug enough. Size M2 took 14 buttons. The button band is also knitted in twisted rib.

The very best thing about the cardigan is how light and airy it is. I made mine in size M2 and it took less than three skeins of Coast! That's like nothing. The garment feels light and gentle on. Half of the yarn is cotton which makes it an excellent choice for summer knits.

As with all my pattens, this has 9 sizes. The lace has both a chart and written instructions.

The cardigan also sports these cute little pockets that are knitted seamlessly. The pattern has a photo tutorial on the technique. You can buy the pattern by clicking the link below.

How about it, would you like to join a KAL? My LYS TitiTyy sponsored the yarn for this design and they promised to also sponsor a yarn prize for the KAL. Head on over to Ravelry to talk about yarn choices and your progress on the pattern.