Ruby Cardigan (Test Knit)
Finished
November 3, 2018
November 27, 2018

Ruby Cardigan (Test Knit)

Project info
Ruby by Jennifer Wood
Knitting
SweaterCardigan
Sawyer, age 18 (12/6/18)
43 (allowing for 6" positive ease if you match gauge)
Needles & yarn
US 3 - 3.25 mm
20 stitches and 28 rows = 4 inches
in Stockinette Stitch
2,349 yards
Just Yarn Mohair
4.85 skeins = 1125.2 yards (1028.9 meters), 121 grams
204
Blue-green
LoveCrafts.com
July 30, 2017
Knit Picks Stroll Fingering Solids, Heathers & Twists
5.3 skeins = 1224.3 yards (1119.5 meters), 265 grams
199598 (5), 193331 (1)
Blue-green
Knit Picks
May 17, 2018
Notes

Wow! Jennifer’s Cardigans are beyond gorgeous. And the construction is always my fave - top down and seamless. SO excited to be participating in this test. I absolutely LOVE the feel of mohair/silk lace combined with merino fingering weight yarn. Yarn was held double throughout. Nothing could be cozier.

This is a great project for learning new knitting techniques - even if you are an experienced knitter like me. It’s great fun and never boring. Once you see the gorgeous lace design appearing, it will be hard to put your needles down. Also, Jennifer really went the extra mile in having this pattern tested, so hopefully, everything will be very clear and accurate. She’s also extremely helpful in answering questions, if there should be any.

Yoke:

It would be hard to find a prettier lace yoke design than this. Swoon…

I made very few mods in this project. Aside from the buttonhole band (an option in the pattern), the only thing I did differently (than Jennifer’s sample) was to add 6 plain rows before separating the sleeves from the body. This was mainly because my row gauge was slightly off.

Body Increases:

Jennifer likes using lifted increases. There are a lot more of these in the back of the cardigan than in the front. Perhaps this is because her initial design idea did not involve a front closure except at the very top. Due to many requests from the testers, she has added a right front buttonhole band chart which can be used as an option. The little cable motifs intrinsically have a tiny hole in the middle which will accommodate a 1/2” diameter button without any further effort required. You don’t have to sew a button opposite each one of them. I placed 2 buttons close together at the top and then every other buttonhole after that. I used 12 buttons total.

If you knit this cardigan without the pockets, you could actually wear this “backwards” with the buttons down the back. The lace detail is spectacular in front and back, so if you’d like to wear it as a pullover, there’s plenty of room for boobs due to additional increasing in the back. I’ve always liked the look of cardigans buttoned down the back. There is no short row neckline shaping in this design which is another reason that it’s potentially reversible.

I’ve actually decided that I will knit this for myself (without pockets) as a pullover. And the front of my pullover will be identical to the back of this cardigan. I like the extra increasing in the back, and I think this extra ease would be just as flattering in the front. There are some photos of me modeling this worn backward so that you can see what my future pullover will look like.

Pockets:

The pocket technique that Jennifer uses is very clever. I had never knitted a pocket like this. But there are some things you should know. First of all, when you place alternating increased stitches (from Kf&b) onto a holder (I used narrow ribbon), those extra (pocket lining) stitches should be held in BACK of the stitches on the working needle. I have a photo at left showing my held stitches on the purple ribbon.

The pattern states to knit the pocket 5 inches long (first step). This is exactly the measurement of the OPENING of the pocket upon completion. I had to actually knit my pocket almost 6 inches long in order for it to end up with the 5-inch opening. Due to various factors in how the pocket is constructed, I found that there was considerable vertical shrinkage upon completion of the pocket. So keep this in mind if you want your pocket OPENING to end up being 5 inches. The latter is just about the minimum needed to get your hand inside the pocket. So measure this part again after completing the next couple of steps in the instructions. If you start out with 5 inches, you may notice that it only measures 4.5 inches after you complete the next couple of pocket instructions. I had to go back and add 8 more rows after discovering the vertical shrinkage. Also, I know that my tension was tighter when I did the pocket TRIM EDGE than it was during the stockinette portion of the pocket. This was another contributing factor to the vertical “shrinkage”.

Also, although it will not be immediately evident (unless you read through the entire pattern to begin with), the pockets actually go all the way to the bottom of the cardigan hem. So they are fully functional pockets - not just for keeping your hands warm.

Bottom Garter Hem with Twisted Stitches:

I urge you to use markers before or after each twisted stitch. Otherwise, you’ll breeze right by them - especially when working on the wrong side where they are virtually invisible. See my photo at left which shows a right side view. The cardigan hem is at the top in this photo. Since we are knitting top-down, this is how it will appear while knitting.

Sleeves:

Each sleeve has a single column of purl stitches right down the center. This was not obvious in the test pattern photos, so I had to go back and fix this. It was not hard to ladder up and fix. I’m just giving you the heads up. Somehow I missed this in the instructions until I resumed work on the sleeves.

I had wanted to knit full-length sleeves, but was a tad short of the Knit Picks yarn (even though both yarns state identical yardage on their labels). There was no time to order more with the test deadline looming close. So I was forced to do the 3/4 length sleeves which are cute nonetheless.

Sewing the Left Front Band Facing:

I used thread rather than yarn. I think it’s less bulky and just as strong, if not stronger.

Note about Gauge:

I did not match gauge with size 3 US needles. However, I think this was best for my niece who does not like loose fitting sweaters. If I make this for myself, I will use size 4 US needles because of my broad shoulders, etc. Also, 7 balls of the Knit Picks fingering will be necessary for full length sleeves.

I actually started off knitting with the recommended size 4 US needles. But I panicked because the neckline was huge (measurement much larger than stated in pattern). Do not panic as I did if you have the same experience. The neckline will shrink considerably once the first neckline cable motif is complete. Also, part of the neckline is the left front band facing which gets turned under and hemmed. So do not count that part in the neck measurement - nor the front band overlap area.

About this yarn:

The mohair and the Knit Picks Stroll Fingering each have identical yardage listed on their labels (231 yards). Either the Knit Picks yarn has considerably less yardage than stated or the mohair has more than stated (unlikely). Since these two were held double at all times, they should have ended up using approximately the same number of balls which was not the case. The Knit Picks used almost an entire extra ball. I think I’m going to actually measure a ball of this yarn to see if the stated yardage is accurate. I will report back later.

Okay, I have measured. Read my report below.

Skimpy Yardage on the Knit Picks Stroll Fingering Yarn:

So here’s the story about the Knit Picks Stroll Fingering yarn yardage… Last night I measured the remaining ball (with my helper) before attaching it to the final sleeve. The label says “231 yards”. We found that it was 7 yards short of this amount. Multiply 7 yards x 6 balls and you have a shortage of 42 yards. That amount might have enabled me to have long sleeves since I wasn’t all that short of yarn. However, in my opinion, there’s nothing in between 3/4 and full length sleeves. With these (skimpy) six balls of yarn, my “full length” sleeves would have been an inch or two short which just makes the sweater look like it doesn’t fit properly.

This yarn is mainly used for socks. Perhaps Knit Picks thinks that nobody is going to miss the 7 yards, since people with smaller feet often don’t use the entire ball. However, all yarn should have accurate yardage listed on the label. I did not have a scale handy, but I imagine that the weight (50 grams) was accurate because that’s a lot easier for people to check. When the weight is off, lots of people are going to complain. However, there aren’t too many people who will take the time to measure an entire ball of yarn. This is the first time I’ve done it and only because I had another type of yarn that far outlasted the Knit Picks yarn. Both of my yarns (held double) list “231 yards” on their labels.

Another reason for the discrepancy is probably because finer yarn (like the mohair/silk lace I’m also using) wraps itself around the needle a little more economically. But this difference is minimal, because lots of times it ends up on top of the thicker fingering yarn during the wrap. By the time I finish this cardigan tonight, I’m estimating that I will have used about 3/4 additional ball of the Knit Picks than of the Just Yarn mohair/silk lace. I was counting on using an equal number of balls, and there was enough of the mohair/lace yarn to make full length sleeves.

Now I’m wondering if ALL Knit Picks yarn is short on the yardage. We used our (exactly) 36-inch wide TV as a measuring device. Denny measured/counted and I rolled. I was also counting to make sure he didn’t make any mistakes. It took us about 5 minutes. He’s definitely not the most patient person in the world, but he did not mind helping me with this unusual task.

Test Knit Forum

viewed 963 times | helped 21 people
Finished
November 3, 2018
November 27, 2018
 
About this pattern
26 projects, in 181 queues
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About this yarn
by Knit Picks
Fingering
75% Merino, 25% Nylon
231 yards / 50 grams

75913 projects

stashed 55403 times

kimmyz's star rating
kimmyz's adjectives for this yarn
  1. Super soft and comfy
  2. Machine Wash and Dry (very well)
  3. Love the heathers, tonals and tweeds!
About this yarn
by Just Yarn
Lace
75% Mohair, 25% Silk
232 yards / 25 grams

37 projects

stashed 36 times

kimmyz's star rating
kimmyz's adjectives for this yarn
  1. great value
  2. soft and silky, nice halo
  3. strong
  • Project created: October 20, 2018
  • Finished: November 28, 2018
  • Updated: March 16, 2022
  • Progress updates: 9 updates