Monthly Archives: March 2007

It’s been a long time, baby:

Pattern: Breton Cardigan from Double Knits by Zoe Mellor
Yarn: Jaeger Matchmaker Merino DK, in Mid Navy (#2346) and Cream (#662)
Modifications: Not many! I changed the shoulders to a three needle bind-off, rather than casting them off. The button band was originally completely sewn on, but I cast on the extra stitches with the bottom edge and held them on a safety pin while I knitted the fronts. This made certain that the bottom edge was neat and perfectly even. Oh, I also used a different yarn to the one in the pattern (Rowan Designer DK which is, of course, discontinued…).

I started this cardigan almost two years ago. It’s a very simple design, but I was drawn to it because the photograph in the book showed it with tiny, white, four hole buttons sewn on with red thread. This simple detail made the cardigan so appealing and I immediately wanted to knit it.

The one fly in the ointment was the buttons. It was unbelievably hard to find tiny, white, four hole buttons. And as nothing else came close to my “vision”, the cardigan was put away and I knitted something else. Last year I found tiny, white, two hole buttons and I almost used them. But I knew that it wasn’t the same (and I’d waited a year, so it wasn’t as if I was desperate to finish it!), so the cardigan was wrapped up and put away once more.

Then last week, I found it hiding in my stash, still with the side seams unsewn and no buttons. This spurred me on to find the perfect buttons again, and finally I found them!

The baby this cardigan was knitted for is now far too big to wear it, but I am prepared for any other babies that might come along!