A New Knitting Project, and a Note of Knotty Caution

Here's a before-and-after for you, readers: this was, I think the first garment I ever knitted for myself, probably back around 2006.  I got the pattern from a Rowan book (Classic Knits: 15 Timeless Designs to Knit and Keep Forever) that I had excitedly purchased from Liberty, no less.  As the name suggests, it is full of classic knitwear, so I was convinced that I would never need to buy another pattern again (oh, the naivety!).  The pattern was for a sweet, simple cardigan, whose name was Kelly - Grace Kelly came to mind.  It should have been a dainty, fitted, three-quarter-sleeved, round neck cardigan.  A quick glance on Ravlery tells me that 128 people have successfully knitted this piece, and it looks lovely.  But what happens when you use completely the wrong size yarn, just because you've found a nice light brown with a gold thread running through it and you simply have to use it, even though you know nothing about tension squares and needle sizes?  This is what happens:

 

A shapeless nightmare.  If any of you are new to The Knotty Arts, I cannot stress this enough: you have to use the right size yarn and needles!  You have to get the right gauge and tension!  However, you do not have to use the exact yarn the pattern tells you to.  The reason I didn't, in this case, is that I think Rowan yarns are fairly expensive, so off I went to find a cheaper alternative.  In retrospect, I'm impressed with such pioneering spirit in my very earliest days of knitting, but I really wish I'd known how important it is to get the right size!  At the risk of sounding completely patronising (I know many of you have such mad knitting skills that they put mine to shame) let me give you two quick tips for getting it right, just in case you are new to this game - I really wish someone had explained it to me when I was starting out.  Luckily, this was a modern pattern, so it listed the yarn's gauge (how many metres of yarn you get for the weight).  I could have used this as a basis for finding a suitable replacement yarn.  Of course, the pattern also included instructions for a tension square (even vintage patterns have this), which tells you approximately how many stitches and rows you need to knit to make, for example, one square inch of fabric.  If you're too small, use bigger needles.  Too big, use smaller.  Or, you can change yarn thickness/weight.  Simples!  

(As a general aside, it's also worth looking up conversion charts for UK/US/Australian terminology: yarn thickness/weight and needle sizes are called different things in different countries, so make sure you know where your pattern comes from!)

Ignorant as I was of these simple facts, I forged bravely ahead and finished the cardigan, and of course, I was heartbroken when it was completed and I realised that not only did it look nothing like the pattern, but it looked pretty hideous on me, too.  It was baggy and bulky, and I had to wear it as a wrap-around because it was so wide!  I decided to shorten the sleeves, to try and make it a bit more flattering, and on the two or three occasions when I did wear it, I fastened it with a fancy brooch, to try and make it all look a bit more deliberate.  All to no avail.  It has been languishing in drawers and then storage boxes for months and months (possibly years?) unworn: a terrible waste of my time and of a yarn that I still really like.

Finally, a couple of weeks ago, I bit the bullet and decided to unravel the bastard.  Yep, the whole cardigan!  I had been too scared (and, I must admit, ashamed) to destroy something I had worked so hard on, but I know I am a much wiser and better knitter now, and that I would be able to re-use the yarn to make something I could actually wear and be proud of.  So I spent a blissful weekend pulling it apart and rolling the remains up into lovely little balls.  I had a one-and-a-bit balls left over from the original project, too, so I have ended up with a satisfying stash:

And what, you may ask, do I have in mind for this glorious glittery bounty?  Here's my new goal:

She's called Flatter Yourself, and you can download the pattern free from Ravelry - yes, free!  I am doing well with free goodies this week, aren't I?  As with my Owl Jumper, I will have to learn a new Knotty Art - the sleeves are done in Coin Stitch, so I will have learnt a new skill by the end of it.  We're ticking along nicely, and I am very happy to be working with this yarn again.  It's Sirdar Romance, if you're interested, but I don't think they make it anymore because I couldn't find it on their website.  It is lovely and soft.  According to Ravelry, it's technically aran weight and the pattern calls for DK, but I have recently discovered that I am a pretty tight knitter, and I was a good girl and made tension squares and everything, so I am fairly confident that I am on the right track. 

Progress so far:

Er, slow, I'm sure you'll agree!  The dark brown is the waistband, which you knit in a long thin stocking stitch, then you pick up the stitches for the body from the side, so the rib ends up horizontal - a cute detail I've not come across before.  Doesn't it look chocolatey?!