Booklet Progress: Project 5 Pattern Completed

Next up on our journey in my progress on the new booklet is a cute simple project I am all jazzed about.

Project 5: Cardigan

Pattern Complete, Sample in progress

1. Why did you choose this project for your booklet?
I know I told you about my love cardigans, so it should come as no surprise I wanted another one in the book. The last one was a bit trendy, so I wanted this one more classic. Classic, yet contemporary. Think Ann Taylor. Also, I wanted another advanced beginner project. Something with minor shaping, but still will give you all the practice at making and seaming garments.

2. What drew you to this crochet stitch/square?
I was looking for a textured pattern again, you have heard that before! Again, It needed to be able to drape and be pretty simple to get the hang of. This time I wanted a pattern that if you messed up you really wouldn't notice. Like if you seamed it with the wrong side facing; in this pattern it wouldn't matter. I really like how it makes the yarn look like its a boucle, when its really a basic cotton. The edging is just rounds and rounds of single crochet- easy.

3. Did any of the project change while you were writing?
The main thing that changed was the construction. I was really hoping to make this a seamless top down cardigan, mainly because I think its cool. Unfortunately, there is really no simple way to describe this to a beginner. So I decided to save the top down construction for an intermediate project, and do a classic drop in sleeve for this one. The other change is in the buttons. Originally, I was only going to do a single button closure at the waist. When I went to pick out the buttons, I really fell in love(which are still a surprise) and decided to put them on the entire front. The cardigan will still only be closed at the waist, so the crocheter has the option to put on as many as they want or don't want.

4. What inspired this project?
Vogue Knitting Holiday 2007 cover project. That's it. Did you see it? It was a simple clean line cardigan coat. I just loved it. I was first drawn in, because I used the exact same buttons on a sweater in the book- and thought of how small the world really is- when there are hundreds and hundreds of buttons on the web and two designers both pick the exact same button to use. Then I looked more at the cardigan itself. Its clean lines appealed to me and at the same moment I knew it would appeal to my mom's taste too. Classic Contemporary- check. Besides that this cardigan is knit, mine differs at the sleeves, hip, edging, and scale. I really like the bell sleeves that are popular now, but 3/4 sleeves can drive me nuts. For my cardigan, I shortened the sleeves to end at the elbow so you have full range of motion, and still got the look. I shortened mine to hip length, so it is more of a sweater then a coat. The edging is going to be much stronger in mine (which effects the scale of the project), since its in a different color (not shown in the swatch) and the buttons will stand out more on purpose. Still I held to the basic shape, because it is what drew me to the coat in the first place.

5. What is your goal with this project?
The main goal with this project was to create a classic contemporary cardigan that you could make for multiple women in your family. I am really hoping that I will strike that when I get the sample back. Wish me (and Ginny who is helping me crochet it- thank you Ginny) luck!

Stay tuned to see the sneak peek to see how the project came out.