I am sitting at my desk staring out at the rain and wondering when it is going to stop. Why? Not just because I think we’ve already had way too much rain already this winter but because I want to wear my MODE at Rowan 008 Cardigan outside! Rain is not the right kind of weather for wearing woolly cardigans outside if you don’t have a long coat to wear over them, and I don’t. I don’t mind if it’s cold but give my a dry day at least and maybe some sunshine would be nice too!
You may remember that I saw this cardigan, amongst many other designs, at MODE at Rowan’s Press Event fashion show last June in the Sloane Room at Peter Jones, Sloane Square, London.
At the event we were allowed to try on all the garments and when I put this 008 Cardigan on, knitted in the lovely squishy yarn Rowan Kid Classic, I didn’t want to take it off! Yes, I could be seen prancing around in it for quite a while.
I decided I would love to knit this design by Annika Andrea Wolke but remember taking a long time choosing the colour. I really loved the shade it was knitted in, Drought 876, but also thought that the shades Iron 892 (black) or Feather 828 (cream) might go with most of my other clothes. And then there are another 14 shades to choose from…
But then I remember how I really loved the cardigan I tried on and maybe this was due to the colour. So, I went with the blue-grey shade Drought 876.
As Rowan Kid Classic is knitted using 5.5mm (US 9) knitting needles knitting up the cardigan was fairly quick despite having such a great length of fabric to create. It was also relatively straightforward to knit with an easy to repeat pattern.
The only part I changed was the depth of the armholes. They were a little long for me and I needed to bring them up closer to my armpits but that was an easy alteration and one that you often have to do. Rarely can you knit straight from the pattern without having to make a change such as increasing the sleeve length or the body length. Knowing how to do this and having the confidence to attempt it is part of being able to knit. If you know you need this skill check out your local yarn shops for workshops on this topic or even watch some online videos .
I spent most of October and November knitting the cardigan and finished it at the end of November but as the rain keeps falling the cardigan sits in a box waiting to be taken out.
Well, I don’t believe it! It has stopped raining and the sun has come out. I better run outside and get some photo’s of my cardigan before it start’s raining again! What do you think…
How about with a belt?
The finished fabric is soft and floaty!
Very floaty…
You can buy the digital pattern on Rowan Yarns website, click on the link below…
Have you knitted anything from MODE at Rowan yet? Please do let me know by scrolling down to “Leave a Reply” below.
Esther x
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I wonder how much yarn would you need for a petite person, 25″ drop from the top of the shoulder to the hem and a sleeve length may be 17″ – 20″ allowing for a cuff? Please. Leftover yarn can make accessories and never wasted.
Thank you for your advice.
Carol
Gosh Carol, you need to buy the pattern and study it so you can work this out accurately! However, most yarn shops will allow you to return full unused yarn and give you a refund. So, when you workout how much yarn you need add an extra ball and then make sure you can get a refund on the full balls you don’t use. Esther x
This is lovely cardi – combined with the glorious kid classic, jumpers of which I first made from the very old Rowan books – and are still good!
Tell me – did you have to pick up all around the long length of the cardi to form a button hole rib edge?
Kind regards,
Carole.
Hi Carole, Yes I did have to pick up and knit stitches all around the edge of the cardi to create the button band. It would be nice to knit this edge as you go but this type of button band does give the edge some strength and helps maintain the structure of the cardigan as the material is quite soft. Esther x