Finished red knit cardigan

It's finished!

I love it, it's beyond expectation:
Just the colour I wanted
It's very versatile and can look incredibly smart or smart casual depending on what it is teamed with.
A great style for my body shape
and also well made (compared to many bought ones!) and unique

... and now I've worn this one in public total strangers have asked me where I've bought it from - fantastic.
Now to order teal yarn from Yeoman's for another one of this third stage design. But my next planned knitting project is a Fair Isle jumper for my DH - much planning needed for this.

Construction of the red fine knit cardigan

Knit all 5 pieces
Steam each to final shape and size - this is very time consuming! It fits another of my working 'rules' - spend as long on pressing as on stitching. It is the attention to details like this that give the professional couture finish that I am aiming for.
sleeve as knitted

sleeve pinned

This is what the sleeve looks like once it has been steamed! Finally I stitch the pieces together using a sewing machine (Janome)

Planning the red cardigan

One of my ‘obsessions’ for want of a better word is planning. I believe that time and effort spent in planning is always rewarded.
Stages in planning this project:
Try on my current cardigans of the same pattern
Pin the sides to the new position
Try on
Place on body duplicate as another check, I can see the back that way!
Knit tension square and treat fabric as it will be treated in the ‘real’ garment
Set machine settings … ready to knit now!

Red Fine Knit Cardigan

What do you do when you would like /’need’ a cardigan in a preferred style and colour ? Well in my case it's not to walk round the shops in hope. Online shopping definitely has it’s advantages for some things but not when you want to ensure a good fit; for clothes it is important to feel for the quality too.
This is where being a ‘textile maker’ is so useful. The design I’m going to use is one that I have used before and I have made make a cream and then grey one previously.
Some of their plus points:
Both are easy to wear & weigh little.
They wash well and once rolled on a towel are nearly ready to wear again.
Each gets lots of positive comments when worn.

Each time I have tweaked my master pattern and plan to do the same with the red one by narrowing the horizontal width at the bottom to make the cardigan less flowing. This will give a less casual and more tailored look.

Materials : Hobby yarn from Metropolitan in Cheshire.
Technique: Machine Knit