Made in Home: The Double Moss Stitch Cardigan

More on my embroidery here

Happy Monday everyone! Well, isn't it hard to take decent pictures these days. Natural light is quite a precious commodity between the dark hours and the rain. I managed to snap some pictures of my finished cardigan, and I can now tell you how much I love it (now that it has pockets). It is my usual style, an easy to wear oversized cardigan.

I was really worried about the construction of the cardigan. It is not knitted in the round, - you have to sew the pieces together. You would think that because I sew it would be quite logical that this construction appeals to me, well it does not. I actually like knitting in the round. However after this cardigan I may be not so opposed to knit pieces and sew them together. I am not sure my technique is great yet, I totally bluffed it, and it worked, so did not investigate more, but I probably need to pay more attention to the sewing part.

Pattern: Veste Femme (pattern 22) in Phildar Catalogue A/H 010-11

Yarn: Ecological Wool from Cascade Yarn in silver (see my ethical review here)
Yardage: I think I used 2 full skeins (unfortunately I had used the yarn for something else, so it was not in full and intact skeins when I knitted with it).

Needles: 7 mm (to get a light fabric - do try to make a sample to get the right fabric)

Size: I made the size 46/48 based on my gauge

Modifications: I did not make any modifications - even added the pockets. I did block it differently however. I did the neckline, shoulder and arm seams, and block it flat - and then did the side seams.

Future Modifications: Although I love the double moss stitch, I think it would be interesting to knit this in another stitch to add some visual interest based on the same pattern. Also I may make the front panels larger to add even more drape.

Here is a quick review for you:

Wearability: 4/5 - It is totally wearable - as soon as it is finished. I did not give it full marks because I do not like the way the edge looks, I would like them a bit neater to make it less hand-knitted (any tips?).

Time spent: 4/5. I did not keep exact timing, but 3 months for a hand knitted garment for me is fast knitting, I think this could be done in a month if you really focused on it.

Boredom factor: 4/5. There is so much double moss stitch one girl wants to knit over a month. I was easily distracted by other projects.

Difficulty: 2/5. There is quite a bit of shaping at the shoulders, but overall it is quite easy to knit as it is mainly based on rectangles.

Pricing: a bit less than £30 for the yarn and a few evenings of watching your favourite series on Netflix. Not bad value.

This a great pattern to have for a basic cardigan in any wardrobe. It looks easily adaptable to your needs, and you can easily add more interest than I have done here. I may consider making another one of these.