A Second Sunday Cardigan

When I started sharing my crafts online (almost 10 years ago now!) I pretty much exclusively shared knitting. I had caught the knitting bug and would spend hours every day stitching away. I had a go at pattern designing, yarn-bombing, and plenty of personal knitting projects as well. But these past few years I have been much more focused on sewing and embroidering. I think it’s natural for interests to shift like that and I’m sure in a few years I’ll be focused on something else. I still like to always have a knitting project on my crafting back-burner, it’s a cozy and easy-to-pick-up project in between my other projects. I decided to make a second Sunday Cardigan because I wear the first one so much, and also because I like repetition sometimes. You can read about the first Sunday Cardigan I made here.

I decided to make this second one a more neutral taupe colour, so I used Blue Sky Fibers Woolstok Worsted in the colour Gravel Road held with Lichen and Lace Marsh Mohair in the colour Linen. I knit with three strands of wool, one of worsted wool held with two strands of mohair. Before I started knitting the sweater I took a quick photo of the beautiful yarn. I just checked the date on this photo and I took it in towards the end of 2021, which means this sweater has been my back burner project for two years now!

It turned out absolutely perfect, just like the first. I am a huge fan of this pattern, these sweaters are my two most worn! Will I knit a third? Maybe! But after working on this one for two years, I think whatever sweater I choose for my next one, I will try to start and finish in 2024. Let’s see how it goes!

Knitting Pattern: Sunday Cardigan by Petit Knit

Worsted Yarn: Blue Sky Fibers Woolstok Worsted in Gravel Road

Mohair Yarn: Lichen and Lace Marsh Mohair in Linen

A Vintage Pattern and the Three Day Cardigan

Drawing sketches of my garment plans and then bringing them to life is still new to me but I love how it turns the process of making my clothes into what feels like a purposeful story. Each project starts to take on its own narrative in my head and finishing becomes so exciting as all the elements start to come together. I first did a sketch for my Wattlebird Cami + Fawn Skirt combo and I'm hoping this habit will become the prevailing practice for me.

The Three Day Cardigan by Plystre Knitwear has been on my mind for some time now because I thought if I loved the fit, it could become a pattern I knit up in multiple colours. I also really thought I might be able to knit an entire cardigan in three days (we may as well note here that was absolutely not the case). I ordered some yellow yarn from Knitting for Olive and while I waited for that to come in the mail I did the quick watercolour sketch of the cardigan paired with a wool skirt that I just started sewing.

I've been getting some sewing inspiration from browsing Etsy for vintage patterns and then starting to plan from there. This wool skirt is from a 1940's pattern which is so simple but still has some beautiful details. It did take me 2 mock-ups to fit before I could cut into the wool and make the real skirt, but that's also because I'm still fairly new to altering patterns to fit me, so the adjustments I make to patterns don't always work perfectly the first time. Anyways this skirt became such a special project to me because I put so much care and attention into the details. The lining is a pomegranate dyed silk habotai fabric, the linen yoke facing is from that same dye, the wood buttons up the back were very carefully considered, and the linen bias tape as a hem facing looks so professionally finished to me. This skirt had so many tiny little hand finishing stitches put into it to make it look polished on both the outside and the inside.

Eventually my intention is to add some floral wool embroidery to the cardigan but I'm holding off because I'm still undecided on the colour. The cardigan is knit up using Knitting for Olive Pure Silk in Quince and their Soft Silk Mohair in Marshmallow Yellow, and I think these two colours together create a tone that just doesn't complement my skin. So while I love the idea of a soft butter yellow fitted cardigan, this particular one might get a dip in a dye bath before I add the embroidery. Still undecided, but for now I will try to wear these pieces as often as I can before spring arrives and wool skirts and fuzzy cardigans become impractical.

Links for cardigan resources:

Pattern: Three Day Cardigan by Warunee Bolstad

Yarn: Knitting for Olive Pure Silk in Quince

Yarn: Knitting for Olive Soft Silk Mohair in Marshmallow Yellow

Links for wool skirt resources:

Pattern: A lucky find from Etsy

Wool: Atex Designer Fabrics

Lining: 8mm silk habotai from Maiwa

Dye: ground pomegranate rind from Maiwa

Read about my experience dying with pomegranate here.

Backing a Knit Scarf with Wool Fabric

When I designed the Clayr Scarf, my intention was to create a wonderfully light and long airy scarf. It was a beautiful scarf, knit up in Shibui Knits Pebble, which is a blend of silk, merino wool, and cashmere. Although I loved the scarf, it has ended up sitting folded in a drawer for years, it just doesn't suit cold Canadian winters. I always find myself reaching for something warmer, so I thought I would put some time into making Clayr a scarf I reached for more often.

I decided to back (or 'line') Clayr with a woven wool fabric, which would give the scarf both structure and warmth. I chose a fairly heavy and dark wool, so that the lace triangles would be emphasized. To start I cut a piece of wool the size of the scarf (I ending up having to do a little bit of piecing to get a piece of fabric long enough).

The wool was a little too heavy to hem around the edges, so instead I used a linen tape to bind the edges. I hand stitched the linen tape along all 4 sides using a running stitch, which kept the bulk down compared to hemming. I chose to hand stitch this project because it gave me more control, and I was able to perfectly hide the stitches in the linen tape. I've also been wanting to get quicker at hand stitching with a thimble, and this project gave me lots of practice with that.

After binding the piece of wool, I whip stitched the knit scarf onto the wool backing, going around all 4 edges. Again I hand stitched this, which gave me a really clean finish. I blocked the scarf at this stage (essential!), and then tacked the two pieces together every couple of inches with some thread that blended in really well with the wool fabric. This gave an effect similar to double gauze fabric, which gives the scarf lots of body and structure, and keeps the layers lined up nicely.

This was a very tedious project, but relaxing to do in the evening with a cup of tea while watching movies. Of course I finished the scarf right in time for the first few days of spring, but alas, that's the way these handmade projects seem to go. Next winter this will be pulled out plenty!

Some recent blog posts for you to check out:

Summer FO's

FO #1: Miette Wrap Skirt in Robert Kauffman black Essex linen-cotton blend (top left)

FO #2: Short Sleeve button up shirt (Burda 6527) in a grey cotton chambray with fancy copper buttons from Button Button in Vancouver, BC (middle right)

FO #3: Indigo dyed scarf made at the Indigo Social event in Vancouver, dyed using the scrunchie method (bottom right)

FO #4: Salt marsh skirt made using hand-woven cotton from Maiwa Handprints (woven in India) and the Sat marsh Skirt pattern from the Merchant and Mills Workbook (middle left and bottom middle)

FO #5: Striped Beach Tank modified to have a low back and knit in Bernat Handicraft cotton yarn (top right)

FO #6: Palmer Cardigan knit in Brooklyn Tweed Loft (middle and bottom left)

FO #7: Indigo dyed bed sheets and pillow cases (top middle)

Summer of Basics Wrap-Up

FO #1: Saltmarsh Skirt

Size & Modifications:

I made this skirt in size 8 exactly as the pattern directed, just shortening it 7 inches so it would hit me mid-calf instead of at the ankle.

Materials:

• Saltmarsh Skirt pattern from the Merchant & Mills Workbook (which was available at my local library!)

• 100% cotton handwoven cotton with a subtle stripe from Maiwa Handprints

Cost:

2 meters at $15.00/m= $30.00 (Canadian Dollars)

FO #2: Striped beach tank

Size & Modifications:

I made this tank in a size S, the front of the tank was knit exactly as the pattern describes I just added the stripes. The back of the tank I modified so it would have a scooped back. I just cast off in the middle of the row where I wanted my scoop to start and then worked each side separately, decreasing in a nice sloped shape. This is my submission for #sob17bestmod

Materials:

• Beach Tank Pattern by Jess Schreibstein

• 4 balls (2 black and 2 white) of Bernat Handicrafter cotton yarn

Cost:

4 balls at $2.50/ball + $7.00 pattern = $17.00 (Canadian Dollars)

FO #3: Palmer cardigan

Size &Modifications:

I shortened the cardigan by 2.75” and the sleeves by 1”.

Materials:

• Palmer Pattern by Michele Wang

• 7 skeins of Brooklyn Tweed Loft in the colour Sweatshirt

Cost:

7 skeins at $19.95/skein + $12.00 pattern = $151.65 (Canadian Dollars)