The finished fluffy cardigan at last and a tale of two sleeves (very long post; get a cuppa tea) …

Yay ! jazz hands !

The biggest obstacle I encountered was ‘self-doubt’. It is fine to do so when you’re not 100% happy with something and change things, but I need to be faster at it.

I designed this cardigan with the simplest possible sleeve shape : no shaping.

I then felt it would be too bulky when the arms are not stretched out. The two photos above show you the ‘bulk’. I feared it would make this cardigan shape not comfortable at all and decided to make changes.

The two photos below show the options with the arm bent down ( left : no change; right : shaped). I decided to return to the ‘shaped sleeve’ and just make it slightly bigger.

It was no problem to do so because it just meant redoing what I’d started (and discarded). I was much happier with the result.

I feel the simplest (no) shape sleeve is fine for finer yarn, but this yarn was quite thick and I feared otherwise it would all be too stiff.

The photo above shows you the flat sleeve pinned to the shoulder. I have marked the sleeve width.

I felt lucky to have those longer length pins because it was easier to pin everything in place before sewing - although the pins were sharp and rather lethal…

I have just finished sewing the sleeve in the photo above and I feel happy there is ‘no under-sleeve bulk’ (yay… more jazz hands!). I left the edge rather unfinished in case my friend decides against her original ¾ sleeve length; there's plenty of yarn left.

The photo above shows preparation for sewing under the arm and the side of the cardigan.

… Nearly there… The two fronts are one row shorter than the back by design (honest :D)

Pockets ::

Above is a photo of before and after of the pockets.
I made a foundation chain of 10 stitches and crocheted 4 rows in half double crochet (hdc).
On the fifth row I increased a couple of stitches at each end so the bottom of the pocket wasn’t square but more like a trapezoid (well, slightly like an upside down flowerpot).
To neaten the edges I crocheted a row of hdc all the way around.
I made a the soft corners by crocheting one hdc, one chain and crocheting one hdc on the same hole.

I then position the pockets on the fronts of the cardigan and pinned them to sew them (fuzzy yarn = fuzzy photos).

Buttons::

Choosing the buttons was good fun but totally time consuming. I have many more buttons, but I could find these quickly.

I settle for two diamond looking buttons because they looked pretty. I sewed them with thread because the hole on the button shank was extremely small and my favourite needle couldn’t go through it.

I also opted for the totally lazy soft option of no button band at all.

The stitches were quite tall and because I am a maverick I used the edge stitch as the button-hole. I strengthened that edge stitch quite a bit though so it will last a few months :D

I'm pleased with the result and now need to finish off a couple of other projects.

… and did it really take this long ? 😁



photos by @cryptocariad



With thanks to @crosheille for hosting the @needleworkmonday group of enthusiasts every Monday and to @crystalize 🌷

💗 Thank you for reading 💗

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I love it, it looks great! And I totally feel you on the time consuming button choosing ...I love a good button stash. ^_^

I think a good winter project / snowy day would be to join all my button collections together and try and find a use for the ones I'm totally unlikely to ever use, @phoenixwren :D

My jazz hands are going!!! 😄 Yipeee you finished nice and strong! I love the shaped sleeves, I think it all fits well together. I hope your friend is pleased and her daughter fits it well! You should feel very accomplished knowing this is your own design!!! OWN it my friend!! You did it! 😃🎉

Thank you, @crosheille. I'd like to 'upsize' this cardigan shape for me at some point, but I'd like to make a couple of tweaks along the way too 😄 : the shoulders will be less straight and the sleeves will be full length.

I really admire your creativity in crocheting your own patterned cardigan!! You should write the pattern down and sell it :)

Hehe.. I actually like this part of the cardigan:

The two fronts are one row shorter than the back by design (honest :D)

And love the colour of the cardigan, the pockets and the collar too. You have quite a collection of buttons there! I think the diamond looking buttons are pretty too :) Yay! Own patterned cardigan done ✅ :)

Aww... thank you, @marblely ! :D :D I also like the colour of this yarn a lot and there's probably enough for a (small) scarf.

I could actually write the pattern because the stitches are so big; they're really easy to count :D ... not sure who'd want it though; there are so many brilliant patterns around - I don't wish to reinvent the wheel! ... having said that :D

You won't be reinventing the wheel because every pattern is unique! I would want!! :) 🙋 But am not sure when will I actually start crocheting one :D. I still have @neumannsalva's one to try. Need to kick self to start haha.

Oh.... okay, @marblely... I will start counting the stitches before I give it to my friend :D

Hehe.. take your time, no rush 👍

I hope your cardigan is enjoyed as much by the person who wears it as by the person that created it :) love the pins with the heart tops

Thanks for the comment, @steven-patrick. I enjoyed the whole process and it will indeed make me very happy to give it to my friend for her little daughter :D

Wow so impressive. I hope to get to this level in knitting. I do a little crochet but have switched back to knitting.

Thank you, @rebeccabe! I enjoyed designing and crocheting this cardigan... if someone like me can, anybody can :D I must catch on with my knitting ...

so nice to meet you :)

It's darling! I really loved seeing your process! The pockets make it perfect!

Thank you, @kimmac :D I considered the shape of the pockets a lot, especially the angle of 'hand entry' but I'll just see what the wearer says - at this point I think it will be 'it's too itchy!' as my children used to say :D

Rome wasn't build in a day ;) (and let's not talk about the sweater I started in February, ok?)

I hope your friend likes the cardigan and loves to wear it. There's nothing more lovely than things you made really being used.

Upvote will come later this week - my VP is down to 80% and I want all Needleworkers to get my whole 4 Cent ;)

Thank you very much for your comment, @muscara... as 'makers' we appreciate that projects often take longer than we would hope :D - I'm now looking forward to the next challenges.

The shaped sleeves are so much better. Your direct photo comparison makes this more than clear. It is a really cute cardigan with its pockets and the collar <3 And I am happy no-one was killed by needles:.-DD By the way: cute heart shaped needles.
And with the time .... you made something for someone else. I can totally understand, that this needs more time (it would for me) because you want to be sure, all is well and usable.
Beautiful cardi, I am sure it will be happily accepted :-)

Thank you very much, @neumannsalva. Another little change I'd like to make in the future is the shoulder shape. I think it would actually sit better at a slight angle. I will see what happens when my friend's daughter wears it, but that's certainly a change I'd make to that design - again to do with the angles an 'relaxed' fit.

Hi cryptocariad,

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Thank you so much, @curie. I truly appreciate your support :D

Hey, @cryptocariad.

I've never knitted, sewed or crocheted in my life, but I've been around people who have and I'm always amazed at what gets created. You have my utmost respect for what you've made.

The projects I'm aware of take quite a long time simply because they're usually done in those pockets of time where there might not be something so pressing to do. Doesn't mean there's nothing to do, just that priorities have been rearranged. :)

I would imagine it takes all kinds of patience to do this.

When you talked about redoing the sleeve, I could sympathize. I've put together furniture and different "Some Assembly Required" items over the years, and inevitably, I'm finding myself spending more time correcting something I did wrong than I do ultimately putting the thing together the right way.

I probably missed this from an earlier post, but is this a gift for someone or will you be the one sporting the cardigan? :)

Thank you for your comment, @glenalbrethsen.
This cardigan is for the 8 year-old daughter of a friend. She gave me the yarn and told me to make the sleeves 3/4 length rather than full length so that her daughter can do her crafty projects comfortably. In fact comfort was the key word for me - hence the redoing of the sleeves :D
I wish I could put furniture together actually. As you say it all takes time and therefore in the end it pays off to redo things that don't make us happy.

re: redo things

Or else you can't use it properly, which is often what happens in my case. I'm always concerned when I have left over parts, too, though I think some of it is planned. Not all of it. :)

Okay, eight year old. I probably could have guessed it was for a child but it's hard to get dimensions from images. At least for me. At any rate, I'm sure you can't wait to see what the friend's daughter does with it. Hopefully, she'll do it justice. Hello Kitty ruffles, or Moana, maybe? Whatever eight year old girls are into. :)

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