The Champagne Cardigan by PetiteKnit

First experience with mohair

Last winter, I felt an urgent desire to knit with more colorful yarns. I've always been a big fan of timeless, muted shades and items that are easy to mix and match. I sense a profound evolution on this matter, a genuine desire to brighten up my everyday life with bolder colors. My choice fell on purple to embark on this journey to new horizons.

The beggining of a new adventure...

Naturally, I deliberated between three distinct options, the three "it" colors of the season: emerald green, vibrant pink, and purple. I ultimately chose the latter.

All I needed to do was select a design. Having already taken (quite a few) risks, I opted for a classic, a pattern I had previously knitted.

But not too much!

Inspired by the designs showcased above and on the opposite (Les Petits Hauts and Sezane), I chose to knit the Champagne Cardigan By PetiteKnit. To give it a lighter and more sophisticated look, I selected mohair yarn and added gold buttons for contrast.

It was the first time I knitted with mohair and I must say I was quite surprised by its fluidity and delighted by the softness of the material.

The result exceeds my expectations :

My takeaways from this first experience :

Begginer's mistake, I miscalculated the amount of yarn I would need for this project and ended up having to re-order one skein for the buttoning tab. Une louve dans les bois is a brand that exclusively hand-dyes their products and, unfortunately, that new yarn was a slightly darker than the first which created a contrast between the body and the edges. I'll do better work in my calculations next time !

The blocking process hasn't be easy and the yarn stretched considerably, especially on the bottom part of the body. I think I'll use a piece of yarn to avoid the over-stretching next time or maybe (I know it's bad) skip blocking altogether.

My buttons are a little bit (too) heavy for the yarn (and a little bit too far appart from one another too) and I expect some potential deformation of the tab over time... I'll opt for lighter ones next time !