Wednesday, January 30, 2008

Buttony

A couple of weeks ago after Gillian had gone back to school and I was no longer spewing forth scarves for she and her friends I needed and wanted something else completely different to knit.

I decided to make Buttony by Katie Marcus.



I'm posting this today cuz today is when I finished it. It is a super quick knit and it would have been completed weeks ago except for the fact that I had an issue with yardage....again.

I used stuff from stash again. I had a few skeins of cream and couple of black of a discontinued yarn from Bernat named Krysta. A yarn I'd never buy myself, but it's ok. 100% acrylic and shiny, but not in a good silk shimmer way :o) It's constructed as if it is a single ply super bulky so it does feel sort of cottony and not really acrylic-y. Between the two colors I had enough yards to make the sweater, the problem was the yarn I decided to carry along. It was WoolEase, plain old WoolEase.....sigh. I knew there were a few more yards of it laying around. I had a swatch from Joe's Hiking Socks someplace, but I just couldn't put my hands on it at the time, so this sweater has sat unfinished with only 3 rows of one cuff to be done.

I found the swatch today, ripped it out, finished the 3 rows, and sewed on the buttons. And this was how it all ended.

Yes, that tiny little end is all the yarn I had left of either of the yarns. I gotta admit, when you cut the yardage estimates soooo close it makes for suspenseful knitting. :o)

Of course I changed the pattern a tiny bit. The fabric I made is obviously a bit heftier. I mimicked the garter stitch that formed the button band on the hem and cuffs instead of ribbing and I also added a strip of garter stitch down the length of each sleeve.

I liked this pattern. It's a quick top down one piece cardigan with a nice neckline and offset buttons. If I had more yarn I might do a little more at the neck, but then again maybe not. I like the way it sits. Buttony has LOTS of possibilities for modifications! This pattern gets put in my sloper file. :o)