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Wednesday, December 8, 2010

Finished: Delancey Cardigan/WIP: Weekend Getaway

My Delancey Cardigan has been finished for a couple of weeks now, and I had high hopes for a real photo shoot with this one. I wanted glamour shots, darn it! But with the holidays, finding time and a willing photographer was too hard and I decided the inside photos would have to do.



The pattern is by Alexis Winslow (just a tip: it can be purchased through the Knit Picks site for a few bucks less than the Ravelry download costs), and I'd say it's a great pattern in every way. If you get gauge, you're off and running since the pattern is very specific and clear for row-by-row instructions. I mentioned my short row problems earlier--the pattern doesn't specify *how* to do some things, just that you need to do them, so I'd say it's not a complete beginner pattern, though. It's totally seamless, so if you like that sort of thing, this is a perfect cardigan!

I used my go-to yarn, Knit Picks Swish DK. I love this yarn--it's soft, washable, and comes in beautiful colors. When it's knit at more of a worsted gauge, the fabric is so light and drapy, yet snuggly too! The colors in Delancey are Beach Glass, the perfect greeny-turquoise, and Pampas Heather, a surprisingly interesting and complex neutral. I would call it green, but as you can see, bronze buttons look like they were made for it:


In that photo you can also see the slight fuzzing on the sleeve that happens with wear--I've been wearing this a ton! Usually I'd take a sweater shaver to it, but I thought someone might be interested in what the yarn looks like after a few wearings.

One thing I am not too happy about is that since this is knit at 18 sts/4 in with DK yarn, it's pretty loose, and my purse keeps catching on it! I've had to carefully work several snags back into the sweater.

Anyway, the fit is really nice. I made the 36" size, which matches my bust size with zero ease and has a few inches of negative ease on the hip--the right choice for this pattern, I would say. It's very stretchy because of the diagonal construction. After wearing it a bit, I ended up sewing down the back of the shawl collar because it wouldn't stay folded properly. Once I did, the front of the collar looked perfect, so I'd recommend doing that.



It feels good to be done with this, because I sort of fell out of love with it as I went along. I've realized that I don't have very many "plain" sweaters, the kind I can just throw on with a casual outfit and run to the park. I've got one in the works now that is really just a glorified hoodie--I'll share more about that one later!

For now, though, guess what I will be doing tonight?



(That's the back of the intarsia panel for my mom's Weekend Getaway Satchel...almost done!! I'm really having fun with that project.)

6 comments:

  1. It looks great: warm and cozy. I love the colors you chose!

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  2. Tell us more about the intarsia!

    The Delancey looks awesome. I really adore the colors you chose for it. That might actually be one way that I could wear *some* beige and not look like the undead.

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  3. WOW. That's incredible. If I really (really) wanted one, would you make me one? For a price and a bunch of sincere compliments, of course. It's just that I'd give my right arm for that sweater in peach and grey. Or lavender and green. Or.....I could go on. It's so purdy, bravo.

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  4. Thanks guys!

    Sassy--how 'bout I teach you to knit instead? I've been trying forever and a day to get a group together to knit (including people who want to learn) once a month or so and you could totally learn on this sweater with a little help from your friends. :) Joy, Annie, Liz, Annie's sister, and several others have been interested at one point or another. Let's make it happen!!

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  5. What beautiful projects. The sweater is adorable. Intarsia scares me. It's almost as scary as steaking!

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  6. oooooo! I like it! Unfortunately, that makes me one step closer to buying more yarn and starting something else I don't have time to finish. But your finished product makes it very nice to think about :)

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