Green Vianne Cardigan

Roughly a year ago I was writing a blog about how frustrated I was about having not completed a knitted garment yet in 2015. How times have changed! After already finishing Blaithin & cross pockets  (admittedly both started last year) I have just finished my Vianne cardigan and have made a good start on my Puffin jumper, I really am on a roll! I’m so pleased with myself (sorry for the smugness), I hope the productivity lasts.

The Vianne Cardigan by Untangling knots. In a lovely bright green (yarn details on my ravelry page) it’s another shorter cardigan by the same designer as the Miette cardigan I knitted at the end of last year, so I’m hoping it will also go well with plenty of my dresses. It is a brighter colour than I usually go for, however I am planning to make a simple denim dress that will allow me to wear my brighter coloured knits and not detract from them. (Thanks to Knit Nottingham for my yarn based back drop).

I loved the shape of this cardigan and I was intrigued by the sleeve construction as I’ve never done knitted a sleeve cap before, however due to do another sooner having bought Kate Davies Deco pattern at Edin Yarn Fest earlier this year), but it was fairly straight forward and it all knitted up very quickly. One aspect I wasn’t so keen on was the lacy back. I plan on wearing it in the winter (knitted in 100% wool) so I didn’t really want a chilly back and for this same reason I also knitted full length sleeves. I found  a very useful blog (via ravelry) by, By Gum By Golly, who’d also decided to have a solid back.  She compensated for this by knitting the back in a larger size and I followed her lead.

I knitted this cardigan in about 2 months, which is pretty good for me, though definitely helped by being knitted on 5mm needles in dk weight yarn, however I did discover that I should really have washed and blocked my tension square as the cardigan has grown a bit once I blocked it, not to an unwearable extent, however the fit isn’t perfect.

The arm holes are a little long which seems to have created extra fabric making that cardigan little a little batwingy, though it seems much worse to me than the photos show, so I might just be being a little pernickety (though aren’t we all when we spend so much time working on a project). The sleeves are also a little long, but being knitted from the top down I could rip them back, however they work well with the cuff just folded back (having been knitted in the round) and I’ll probably appreciate the extra length to keep my hands warm in the winter.

I’m trying very hard not to buy any new (old) buttons, though I can’t help myself when I see a button tin in a charity shop or vintage fair, however I ONLY buy sets these days and try not to buy brand new buttons when I have so many! I had initially thought I’d go for a contrast and add navy buttons, but as soon as I saw these in my collection I knew they were destined for the Vianne; I love a rounded button with a shank and they match so well.

I have defiantly found my knitting momentum is improved when I alternate slow and fast projects. I have already re-picked up my Puffin Jumper that I cast on, and knitted a few inches of, on the train to and from Edin Yarn Fest back in March and the body is almost complete now, though I’m getting a sense this project will me on the needles for some time the sleeves are next I’m already dreading them – sleeves always seem to take forever, particularly in 4ply on 3mm needles – wish me luck!

Thanks for reading!