• Home
  • Suggest A Craft
  • DIY Newsletter

Knitting

Patterns, projects and techniques

  • About CraftGossip
  • Our Network
    • Bath & Body Crafts
    • Candle Making Ideas
    • Crochet Ideas
    • Cross Stitch
    • Edible Crafts
    • Felting Patterns
    • Glass Art
    • Home & Garden Ideas
    • Indie Crafts
    • Jewelry Making
    • Kids Crafts
    • Knitting Patterns
    • Lesson Plans
    • Needlework
    • Party Ideas
    • Polymer Clay
    • Quilting Ideas
    • Recycled Crafts
    • Scrapbooking
    • Sewing Patterns
    • Card Making
    • DIY Weddings
    • Not Craft Ideas
  • Giveaways
  • Roundups
  • Store
  • Search

Growing A Better Knitter….

December 4, 2009 by Terrye

daniSo one of my daughters decided she wanted this, from Nashua Handknits, City Streets Pattern Book from the Autumn 2008, Winter 2009 collection, but, and here’s the kicker, she wanted a cardigan, not a pullover.

How hard can it be? Just knit in a button band and we’re good to go right?

Wrong. As usual, I didn’t take into consideration everything when I went into my “pattern alteration” mode.

The sweater itself turned out beautiful, in a gorgeous bright blue, but, see the cable band across the shoulders? It’s too heavy to support itself since it wasn’t joined together.

Several options. I could “winch it up”, with a strand of yarn run up both sides of the front before I put on the buttons, but that resulted in a “bunchy” area, not very pretty. So, what I ended up doing is just sewing it back together and putting buttons up the front, just a if it were really a cardigan, but it’s not.

Looks great, she likes it, all is well, but I sure wish I could forsee these things!

What would you have done? (other than the obvious, duh, what did you think would happen when you left that much cable unsupported…)…

Looking for knitting patterns for knitted Cardigans? Check out these Knitting patterns we found on Etsy.

Looking for pullover and sweater patterns? Check these books out.

Next Pattern:

  • Little Things to Knit to Make Winter Better
  • Make Your Knitting Machine Scarves Better
  • Meet Tom Daley, Olympian and Knitter
«
»

Comments

  1. Jeanne says

    December 5, 2009 at 8:07 am

    Wow, that is a heavy cable – so beautiful. Your “winching up” involved just sewing a single strand of yarn up to create some tension. The winching I’ve done involved crocheting a chain up the saggy part. This means that there are two strands of yarn doing the work. I’ve done this on neckbands, when the designer thought having a continuous neck to body stretch was great then the whole thing started sagging around the neck.
    On my sweater the sagging was vertical, so I crocheted a horizontal line about where the neckband should have been picked up if it weren’t continuous. I’m wondering if your winching could have been done in a star pattern following the lines of the sweater from the neck down to the bottom of that beautiful cable yoke. That’s what I would have tried. I’m glad your daughter was happy with your solution too.

Have you read?

A Sweet Skater Dress to Knit

I know knitting a dress sounds like a major time commitment. And that’s before I even tell you that this particular dress, the Sixth Ave Skater Dress by Briana Luppino, is worked in light fingering weight yarn. 

But would you just take a moment to look at it and tell me if it doesn’t look like it would be worth all the time you would spend knitting it? And it’s miles of stockinette stitch so it’s actually beginner friendly and a great semi-mindless knit you can take with you on your travels this summer and wear when it is done. 

The dress is worked from the top down with tank straps, a scoop neck, waist shaping and a flowy skirt for a fun and comfortable fit. 

The pattern has 10 sizes, with finished bust measurements ranging from 28 to 64 inches, or 71.5 to 163 cm. The sample shown was worked with 4 inches/10 cm of negative ease at the bust, and the designer says most people like between 2 and 6 inches/5 to 15 cm of negative ease in the bust and around 10 inches/25.4 cm positive ease in the hips. 

(To refresh your memory, negative ease means the measurement of the garment is smaller than your actual body measurement, while positive ease is bigger than your body.)

To pick a size you’d work from the bust measurement because you can always add more or fewer decreases as you need to get your desired fit at the waist and hips. And because it’s worked from the top down you can try it on as often as you like to make sure it’s the perfect fit. 

The I-cord edgings give the dress a super casual feel, and I think this would be a great one to add to your summer rotation. (Yes, even with a wool blend yarn.)

You can see lots of cute finished versions and grab a copy of the pattern for yourself on Ravelry. 

[Photo: Briana Luppino]

Book Review – Knitted Tanks and Tunics

How to Knit a Simple Sweater Dress

Categories

baby hat Baby Patterns Beginner Book Reviews cardigan Christmas CraftGossip Giveaways Craft News and Events Free Kntting Patterns Giveaways! Hats Knitting Articles Of Interest Knitting Patterns Knitting Technique & Ideas mittens Quick scarf shawl patterns socks Sweaters

RSS More Articles

  • Achieve The Perfect Quarter Inch Seam With This Tutorial
  • How to make Curried Eggs – Classic Curried Eggs with Keen’s Curry Powder
  • How to Make Your Own Taco Seasoning (Better Than the Packet!)
  • Amazon Deal Roundup – CraftGossip Picks!
  • Chats on Needlework by Emily Leigh Lowes – A Vintage Stitcher’s Treasure Trove
  • Designer Spotlight: Haunted Frames
  • Press Bubble Animals Crochet Kit with keychain
  • Build Big Memories on a Budget: DIY Cubby House Using Recycled Pallets
  • 12 Handmade Stamped Card Ideas Featuring Bears
  • How To Sew a Banner from felted wool sweaters

Copyright © 2025 · CraftGossip | Start Here | Contact Us | Link to Us | Your Editors | Privacy and affiliate policy