So honored to be test knitting this incredibly beautiful cardigan by Irina Anikeeva. I absolutely love her design aesthetic.

This pattern really goes the extra mile because not only does Irina include the usual charts (my preference), but she actually went to the trouble to write out ALL of the instructions for people who don’t like working from charts! Relatively few patterns offer both written and charted instructions.

Finished measurements:

Sleeve length from underarm - 19”

Body length from underarm - 16”

With my row gauge, each vertical repeat of Charts A and B measures about 3” high.

Circumference measurements are per the pattern (3rd size). Note that the top 2 buttons on this cardigan can be buttoned (with some pulling), but are not really meant to be buttoned. So make sure the collar looks nice when folded over.

What I did differently:

• I started with Row 1 of the charts for both sleeves and body. I did 4 complete chart repeats for the body and then joined with the sleeves after completing row 14 of the 5th body repeat. All the way up to the collar required 7 full chart repeats and then I ended after row 12 of the 8th chart repeat. (Sleeves are longer, so required 1 additional chart repeat.)

• I eliminated the “fake underam seam” that results if you follow the pattern sleeve instructions. My size has an odd number of stitches between the BOR and the sleeve chart. Therefore, after finishing each round of the sleeve chart, I started with a purl stitch rather than a knit stitch. This was so that the moss stitch pattern would not be interrupted. (Note that this is only necessary for some sizes.) I also chose to do the increases right next to the BOR/EOR so as not to interrupt the moss stitch pattern.

• I made my front bands 1.75” wide instead of 1.5”. This is mainly because my row gauge was a tad longer. It looks fine the way I did it.

• I used 8 buttons rather than 7.

• I have 17 stitches between buttonholes. This turned out to NOT be a great idea because it resulted in every other buttonhole looking a bit wonky. However, it doesn’t look bad. I just don’t recommend doing this. If you alter the spacing of the buttonholes, just make sure you have an even number of stitches between them. (Interestingly, my wonky buttonholes look perfect on the wrong side of the buttonband. But this is only important for the very top buttonhole which shows when the collar is folded back.)

• I used a 60-inch long Addi cable for the body. This is especially useful after you join the body to the sleeves. You really need to spread out your knitting and check for mistakes after every row. Everyone makes mistakes - especially on designs with many cables. Although I think I made more mistakes with the moss stitch sections since they are relatively easy and my mind tends to wander more. Here’s a great place to buy 60-inch long Addi cables or any length Addi circular needles.

• I picked up only 151 stitches for the front buttonbands. The amount you pick up will depend on the length of your cardigan, but just make sure to pick up an odd number of stitches. I picked up 5 out of ever 6 sts except in the area of the bottom ribbing and the collar ribbing where my pickup rate was 1:1.

• I knit the pockets separately and sewed them on at the end per the pattern instructions. However, if I ever knit this again, I would knit the bottom edge of the pockets contiguous with the sweater and then just sew the sides up at the end. It would look neater and be much easier that way.

Needles used:

Size 5 US - Body

Size 4 US - all ribbing

Size 1.5 US - only for binding off (normally in pattern) on the front bands. I did tubular cast on and bind offs for all horizontal ribbing (using size 4 US needles).

Test Knit Forum

Tubular Cast-On Video Tutorial

Tubular Bind-Off Video Tutorial

I recommend doing this double pickup technique at least on the upper part of the front bands where they will be turned back at the collar. This gives a finished appearance on both sides of the front bands.