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Wednesday, November 13, 2013

Inland cardigan -- JOURNEY

Inland by Jane Richmond from JOURNEY || Now Available for Pre-Order!

Yesterday I introduced you to Spate, my fingerless mitt pattern from our new book JOURNEY. Today I'd like to share my Inland cardigan.

Inland by Jane Richmond from JOURNEY || Now Available for Pre-Order!

I knew I wanted to design a garment for the book and I'm always drawn to cardigans, I find them so wearable. In my sketch book I've had this idea for a cozy tunic length cardigan. Originally I had envisioned Cowichan inspired details like a rounded garter stitch collar and a bit of a boxier fit but once I started swatching the yarn told me otherwise. The Quince & Co Puffin that I was working with didn't want to look quite that rustic -- no, it was telling me that despite it's loosely spun single ply construction it wanted to incorporate a few more refined details. I had so much fun swatching with this yarn, I love designs that appear entirely from the swatching process, when you let go of the ideas you had and let the yarn do the decision making. A simple 1 x 1 rib knit at a nice loose gauge became a big cozy collar, changing to smaller needles for the body and the lines of rib travel uninterrupted down the faux side seams ending in a wide band at the bottom hem. For the front bands I chose a vertical rib that is worked at the same time as the body, leaving very few details to be finished at the end.

Inland by Jane Richmond from JOURNEY || Now Available for Pre-Order!

After thought pockets really finish off the comfy cozy look I was trying to accomplish with this design. And who doesn't love pockets, form and function, I love to bury my hands in them especially when wearing the cardigan open.

Inland by Jane Richmond from JOURNEY || Now Available for Pre-Order!

Since finishing the sample I've knit my own Inland using a warm shade of grey in Patons Classic Wool Roving. I wear it daily and the yarn does tend to pill (it is a softly spun roving after all!) but it's so squishy and soft I don't mind one bit. I think the Quince & Co Puffin is harder wearing. I promise I'll snap some pictures and share the project as soon as I can.

I hope you've enjoyed hearing a little more about Inland.

6 comments:

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  2. I have my yarn and am swatching today! Kind of hard to put down my sock knitting though! "Climb" is such an addictive knit!

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    1. I can't wait to see what yarn you use! And hooray for Climb knitting, so glad you're having fun with the pattern, it's such a fast knit!

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