Monday 13 January 2014

My winter cardigan - the Hetty



I finished my winter knitting project! Actually it was finished and blocked just before Christmas so I have worn it quite a bit already.

I wrote about my plans in this post.

The pattern is Andi Satterlund Hetty (Ravelry page here) and the wool is Malabrigo Worsted in Sweet Grape bought from Tangled Yarns.

I knitted the medium which gave a couple of inches of negative ease at the bust. I decided not to adjust the shoulder width following the advice of helpful Ravelry people (they are so helpful!). I skipped 2 decrease rows at the waistline to add 2" and added 2" in length to the body and 1" to the arms.

I think it worked out well - it's not tight across the shoulders and the waist is fine.

 

The wool was beautiful to knit with.  It's really soft and smooth and knits up so nicely. It's got a slight sheen which is gorgeous and shows off the stitch pattern well. And given that it's not itchy in the slightest I can barely believe it's 100% wool!

I found the  pattern to be slightly hard going as I'm not the greatest at counting stitches along the row - I prefer to understand the pattern so that I remember it. I had to take so many rows back (probably not helped by the fact I knitted the bulk of this when I was on flights and while jetlagged). But the shaping etc worked well and I found the short rows of the sleeve caps much easier than the first time I did this on my Deco cardigan.  And I love not having to seam at the end! 
 
I had my usual button indecision so decided to go for something inobtrusive. These clear buttons came from John lewis and were chosen by N. They are a little bit small so don't stay tightly done up, but I tend to wear cardigans open anyway so it's not a big problem. 


The colour took me a couple of weeks to work into rotation in my wardrobe but now that I have I have worn it loads.

I've done a couple of smaller projects (to be blogged soon) but I am trying to decide whether to take on another big knitting project. Maybe Miette or Owls (have you seen Lauren and Tasia's versions of this? So cute!).

Following a lot of discussion on KLine's blog about knitting styles I have been thinking about changing my knitting style. I'm a British knitter (as you might expect) and it's quite slow. I've also been suffering from carpal tunnel issues which I think would improve if I didn't "throw" the yarn. Perhaps eastern european style?

What knitting style do you use? Have you ever changed your style? Any cute patterns I should consider next?

23 comments:

  1. Oooh, I love it, very pretty. I've just taken up knitting again, dived back in with a cable and lace sweater which might be done by *next* winter. I made an Owls years ago and still wear it now, such a cute pattern. I knit British but find it easier on my wrists to use a circular needle.

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    1. ooh thanks. can't wait to see yours. owls is very tempting (especially since i could knit owlet for the small person!)

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  2. This is so perfect! I have this pattern in my queue (I ever have some yarn ready and waiting!), but I'm waiting for the weather to warm up a little bit before I cast on. Yours looks great, though, and that color is perfect for winter!

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    1. thanks lauren! it's pretty warm as it's worsted weight so even tho it's lacey it's ok for a UK winter layer! I hope I win your comp. need more!

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    2. It looks soft and gorgeous.

      I knit mostly in the round, continental style, using circulars. I've started steeking openings (cardi fronts, armholes+necks) to avoid flat knitting. Still get a few aches and pains, but that's probably just me being creaky.

      Isn't it funny how sewers go to great lengths to chose seamless knitting patterns + delight at the 'no seams'?

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    3. I hadn't thought about that
      It really is funny! Thank you

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  3. Wow! That's not just a cardi, that's a work of art, lady! So very impressed. x

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  4. Oh, so beautiful! When I knit, I'm British but continental seems so much faster. I'll have to look out for some good tutorials! And when I say I knit, I mean the occasional cowl or pair of socks!

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    1. Thanks Vicki Kate! Don't belittle docks. They are difficult!

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  5. So cute, and I love the colour! I knit British, and have been considering changing to the another style style as I fell on my wrist a while ago, but I can't quite work the other ones out. Need to do a bit more research...

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    1. thanks nicole. how did you end up knitting british style? i am thinking about eastern european as it's super fast and you just hold the wool in the other hand to british and pick up up with the right needle. not sure i could manage swapping over the "active" side.

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  6. This is beautiful! I love Andi's patterns and am currently nearly at the end of knitting the Miette. I plan to give her Aiken sweater a go once the Miette is done :)

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    1. thanks jen - i am torn between miette (as i wear cardies a lot!) and aiken as it's so pretty.

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  7. I knit in the European style - I can show you if you want. I actually didn't realise there was another way to do it until recently. All that 'throwing' just looks like it'd be really slow and hurt your hands (!).

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    1. ooh yes please sally! i also didn't know there was another way to do it until recently. i need to find an alternative way to try and relieve the carpal tunnel (and get quicker of course!)

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  8. I started knitting a few years ago, learning mostly from Youtube. I remember my grandmothers knitting in continental style, I never knew there was another style until I wanted to learn. All videos on youtube were showing the British style and it didn't make any sense to me. It took me a while to find out that I should be searching for continental knitting videos. British looks really slow, you have to move your hands a lot for just one stitch.
    I love Andy's patterns too, I think they were designed for me! :D
    How do you knit on flights? I thought you can't take the needles with you.

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    1. i found out when i was trying to find a you tube video for a technique i didn't know and everyone was knitting the "wrong" way! i think it is slow and the hand movements are not good for my wrists. re knitting on flights, after much discussion on twitter, i got bamboo needles. i asked at the airport and was told in london that they would probably confiscate the needles at security but i was welcome to try. i flagged to security both directions (at heathrow, detroit and dallas fort worth airports) and no one was bothered. i think metal needles would have been an issue tho. you could do as much damage with a sharp pencil as a wooden knitting needle.

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  9. Very pretty - I really love love LOOOOVE the colour!!! It looks like a very versatile wardrobe piece :) I knit Continental style; I have a previous carpal tunnel injury and it doesn't aggravate it at all :)

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  10. It's lovely to see another of Andi's creations knitted up. I had to give up knitting after my first child because of carpal tunnel. I now find I don't have any problems (another child too!!) but I do make sure I switch projects if I'm using particularly tricky needles - for me it's the 10mm & over that hurt or the under 3.25mm. I have started doing a bit of continental knitting but I'm very slow at it. But I would say that if you alternate knitting styles a bit you'll give your wrists and easier time. Finding comfortable needles is good too - I've recently bought some KnitPros and they're fabulous.
    I hope your carpal tunnel starts to improve :-)

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    1. thanks louise. i don't knit too often and my sister in law says bamboo needles will help. i actually didn't have too many problems when knitting hetty (on bamboo circulars) but i recently knitted a pair of socks (blog post to come soon) on titanium lace needles and it really bothered me. not sure if it is the size of the needle or the metalness! i just need to take abreak before the next thing til it subsides!

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  11. it's very cute, I love the model and you look very nice wearing it !

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