Overview
For the 1950s KAL in All Things Vintage.
Pattern uses a simple tuck stitch (makes a thick and squishy fabric!), with the purl side as the RS…but i prefer the other side--it’s more interesting and my tension looks more even--so I flipped it.

Mods

• used the WS of the stitch pattern as my RS
• k first and last st of every rw as selvage stitch (stockinette)
• extended sleeves
• used Tulip Buttonhole and expanded buttonband from 6sts to 8 to accommodate it

Resources
Old Norwegian/twisted German cast on
Techknitter’s Tulip Buttonhole (but easier to follow Eunny Jang’s video)

Yarn

Notes
The pattern is interesting and a bit confounding…given the gauge of 3sts/1”, the smallest size (12) measures ~39” at the waist, just above the ribbing where the stitch pattern starts. Even taking into account the slightly bloused look, I find it hard to believe the sample on the model has that much positive ease (and her welt looks barely stretched).
I thought it would look silly on me with 14” of positive ease at the waist, so I charted and then recharted the pattern to accommodate my waist measurement (and different rw gauge)…but the tuck stitch spreads quite a bit horizontally, so even allowing for 7” of positive ease right above the welt didn’t leave enough sts for the ribbing--I had to stretch the welt to the max to get it to fit my waist and it looked…just bad. Really tight, distorted ribbing with blouse-y, loose st pattern right above it.
The tuck st had to be k on US10s to get gauge and a nice fabric; I initially k the ribbing on US 8s, then tried 9s and eventually 10s…it helped some with stretch but the ribbing looked loose and gapey. I could have CO extra sts for the ribbing and dec’d when starting the st pattern, but finally decided to scrap my changes (except for rw gauge) and just k the pattern as written. I want to maintain as much of the intended vintage shape as possible and worst case scenario: oversized, 80s-style sweaters seem to be acceptable right now.
The only thing I’m worried about now is the buttonband--when buttonband is worn closed, there will be a double layer of bulky weight fabric down the front and with the fitted hem, I’m afraid the buttonband will protrude due to stiffness. Will have to be careful with the length, I think, and be sure to not make the cardigan too long--has to hit right at my natural waist so there’s no excess fabric to blouse.

9/9
CO back using German twisted CO.

Used e-loop to CO at the beginning of inc rws, alternating colors for each st on the R side. Because the number of sts to be CO is anywhere from 2-8, and each color is used for 2 rws, if only one color is used to CO then the next time the other color is needed it would have to span two rws and anywhere from 2-8sts (big loopy mess). I couldn’t think of another way to do this (without cutting the yarn anyway…and bulky, blown yarn is such a pain to weave in as it is).
Using both colors also helps the newly CO sts blend in with the pattern. Because they need to be k right after they’re CO, there’s no way to do it in pattern on the RS (since the RS pattern is p1, k1 below…there’s nothing below to k into; also tried cable and knitted CO but both stood out too much). It’s far from perfect but the best I could come up with.
But this is just on the R side of the back…when casting on the L side (WS rws), only one color is available--the other is still hanging out on the R side--so new sts are made all in one color on the L. It’s more obvious where a greater number of sts is added so I may use alternating colors to seam, hoping a peek of contrast will break up the line of solid color.

9/10
First skein of charcoal ran out rw 97 of back (~4” into sleeves)…worried I may not have enough and of course the yarn has been discontinued for a while. I should have k the ribbing in beige since I have an extra skein of it but I think accent ribbing frames garments better when it’s done in the darker color.

Alternated colors for R side BO rws as for inc’s.

9/11
First skein of beige ran out rw 112 (10th dec of shoulder shaping).

Finished back. Had 13sts left after last dec rw instead of 14; no idea what happened. BO last 12sts, slip the last st bound off (12th) to L needle, k2tog with last st--eliminates pointy corner often left after BO.

9/12
CO fronts, 2AAT. The welt is k in one piece, then the 6sts on the inside edge are put on hold until the front is complete. These are then picked back up and the buttonband is k parallel to the front, then seamed to edge of the front. I’ve seen this type of construction in older patterns but haven’t yet attempted it. Sounds much easier than picking up sts along the edge.

Swatched so. many. buttonholes (seriously, my bh swatch was ~12sts wide but almost 4’ long!)…tried every one I could think of and then looked up new ones…nothing worked in this thick yarn--eyelets looked nice in the ribbing but were way too stretchy; every BO/CO variation just looked sloppy and stuck out like a sore thumb; didn’t even try three-rw bhs because nope to weaving in all of those ends in bulky yarn.
Finally thought to consult the omniscient Techknitter (for real, I adore her--her analytical approach to solving problems and attention to minutiae make me so happy). Of course she has in/unvented the perfect buttonhole. It’s pretty involved, requires a smaller dpn (US8) and crochet hook, and is a bit fiddly at first but damn…it makes a beautiful buttonhole. Totally worth the effort when bhs are so big and visible.
It also requires a minimum of 3sts to be bound off, so I expanded my buttonband to 8sts total--4st bh, 2 edge sts each side.

9/17
Found and ordered another skein of charcoal! Same dye lot, even.