The Viveka Cardigan By My Favourite Things Knitwear

I was missing something...

Usually, I'm quite hesitant when it comes to knitting with materials that produce very defined stitches, like cotton or with needle sizes larger than 5mm/US8 UK6. You might wonder what I'm afraid of. Well, it's this!

Il me manquait quelque chose pour sortir les poubelles

But this pattern made me change my mind

I must admit that some of my earlier knitting projects had that slight "mop-like" quality!

However, I had spotted the Viveka pattern a while ago, and it really appealed to me. But it took me some time to decide to tackle it. Since I wasn't ready to work with materials that produce very defined stitches (as mentioned above!), I thought I'd go for a wool/mohair blend to achieve a slightly more "fluffy" look. Here is the result!

I really wanted a more "cuddly" feel, and I must admit that, unfortunately, it didn't quite achieve that. Nevertheless, the cardigan is still very pretty and comfortable to wear.

In terms of crafting, it's not a very complex pattern, although it doesn't forgive irregularities of knitting. It has the advantage of building up quite quickly, which is extremely satisfying, especially for someone like me who is used to working with size 3 needles! Completing a knitting project in 2 weeks doesn't happen often!

My takeaways from this first experience :

In retrospect, I think that a single strand of mohair isn't enough to stand out sufficiently against such a thick yarn. Next time, I'll use two strands.

I followed the number of stitches specified in the pattern to pick up for the button band, but it turned out a bit too short compared to the rest of the body.

I'm not a big fan of the "Italian bind-off." Although it has the advantage of retaining the ribbing's elasticity, I never manage to make it neat without creating a wavy effect on long stretches. I can only do it neatly on the armholes..

In conclusion

As a result, it was a very enjoyable pattern to work on and brought me a lot of satisfaction. Perhaps it might even reconcile me with larger needles, who knows!