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.)