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Fall is here (more like winter where I live) and I’m in the cardigan knitting mood.

I’ve been looking on Ravelry and have found some gorgeous patterns, like the beautiful (and currently my favorite) Manu shown above. I love the puffed sleeves and puffy pockets!

Here a few others I’m interested in (click on image to go to the Ravelry page):

Abalone

abalone knitted cardigan gray

28Thirty

28thirty cardigan knitted gray

Nimbus

nimbus cardigan

There are SOOO many more I’m looking at and drooling over. Decisions, decisions.

When searching for knitted cardigan patterns to make, or shopping for sweaters, I keep several things in mind:

1. Height- I’m short. I don’t look great with sweaters that hit me at the mid-hip. They need to either be above my waist, cinched at the waist, or fairly long. Anything that elongates me. 🙂 If you’re taller, you can get away with more.

2. Shoulders- Many knitted cardigan patterns I see are so gorgeous, but I  know the model wearing them has broad, angular shoulders and that just isn’t me. I have sloped shoulders and have to keep this in mind. Puffed sleeves are ideal. Any accent at the shoulder helps. Raglan sleeves are not the greatest, and boat necks are out. They tend to slide right off my shoulders! If you have angular shoulders, you have more options and can wear most sleeve types.

3. My Wardrobe- I love many sweaters, but that doesn’t mean I’ll actually wear them. I have to think of what I will actually grab out of my closet and want to put on. No matter how beautiful it is, if it isn’t comfortable and functional, I won’t wear it.  Ask yourself what you would wear this sweater with. Does it need to have long or short sleeves? Should it have buttons or hang open?

4. Color- I might enjoy knitting a sweater in a beautiful autumnal orange shade, but will I wear that color very often? Maybe. Maybe not. I usually prefer knitting sweaters with neutral colors so I can get the most use out of them. For me, that means gray, black, teal or purple. But that doesn’t mean I stick only to those colors. It’s just something I keep in mind.

5. Fiber- The yarn chosen is key. I once made a very long sweater with an alpaca/silk/wool blend yarn. Alpaca sags and drapes. So does silk. So the sweater grew upon washing and became MUCH longer. 100% wool is ideal for knitting cardigans as it is resilient. It holds its shape well, is warm, but not too hot, can be blocked (hand-washed and pinned or layed out into place to shape how you wish), is readily available and many more benefits. I love wool! Don’t think, however, that you can’t use alpaca or silk or other fibers. Just know how they will react when knitted up and make sure this is the effect you want in your finished garment.

 So! Given the above criteria, I think I’m leaning towards the first cardigan. The Manu.

-It has puffed sleeves (LOVE!)
-I could make this in a lovely, soft gray and it would match most everything in my closet
-The pockets are so cute. I can’t get over them.
-I could wear this with a myriad of outfits. Jeans and a tank top? Check. Pencil skirt with a blouse? Check. Dress? Check. Heels or flats? Check, check.

So we shall see!

Tomorrow I plan on writing my blog post about my finished Honey Cowl. I am REALLY in love with the pictures!

Oh, and did I mention I finished spinning my qiviut? It’s Arctic Musk Ox down. I spun up 1 oz into light fingering weight yarn (was shooting for lace weight, but it ended up being a little thicker, more like light fingering, which as it turns out, is really what I need for my intended project). I already know what I’m going to make with it, so once it dries, I’ll get to boogeying on that. Yes, yes. More info on this and the Honey Cowl in the upcoming posts!!