14 February
Finished, and I’m very pleased with this one. Willow looks so sweet in it.

I made my own closures using i-cord, after failing to find commercial buttons I liked. Each of the buttons is a 4cm length of i-cord (3st wide on 2.25mm needles) tied in an overhand knot and sewn down, and each loop is an 8cm length arranged in an infinity shape, sewn on one side and left free on the other. It holds together quite well and I love the look with the ribbing and the slightly raised collar.

12 February
Three hours to seam! For a baby cardigan! Buh! I found a few places tricky - areas where an extra selvedge stitch would have helped to maintain the pattern, that sort of thing. A lesson to engage my thinking-brain during the knitting of each pattern piece, though I have to say, my next knit will definitely be seamless :) It’s looking quite good though, blocking tonight then buttons tomorrow.

7 February
Back and left front also finished, just the right front to go. I’m making a couple of mods on the front pieces, knitting the ribbed edging one repeat (4st) narrower, and the large stitch pattern a little wider. No real reason, I just liked that balance better! I also decided to make crocheted loops at the edge instead of buttonholes.

1 February
Both sleeves finished. I joined the saddles at the centre back with a three needle bind off and I think it looks much better than the out-of-alignment grafting in the pattern. I’ll do the same when I’m joining the collars. I draped the pieces over Willow to check the fit and it looks good so far!

27 January
Finished one sleeve in a fit of insomnia last night. With the slipped stitches compressing the row gauge this pattern is slow going! But the yarn is soft on my hands and I love the colour, so it’s okay :)

24 January
L’illo for Willow = W’illow :D

Started this morning after swatching yesterday. I originally meant to use a DK yarn closer to the specifications, but just couldn’t get gauge even on tiny needles, so I went with this bright red Skeinz 4-ply instead. It’s labelled fingering but is more like a sport weight IMO. The gauge worked out anyway, and that’s what matters - plus my blocked swatch is super soft.

So far I’ve just got a little piece of sleeve but the stitch patterns are fun already. The only change I plan to make to the pattern is an alteration to the grafting at the centre back, since the half-stitch jog in alignment looks sloppy to my eyes. I’ll see what other kind of join I can make when I get there – either a tidy seam, or a little strip of stockinette which will graft neatly.

This project is shown in episode 17 of my video podcast Gentle Ribbing!