knitting neels

Hardly the most awe-inspiring name but I am happy with the results.

I’m not sure what’s going on with the white top underneath there… The cardigan actually comes down to my hips!

I am really pleased with how the collar and button bands came out. I left a smidge too little leeway for my steek and was convinced that the garment was going to be too small.

Because I knit this from the top down, by the time I got to the hems I had to put in some sort of detail otherwise my needles would have exploded from boredom. Here are the stats:

Needles: 3mm circular and a 2.5mm hook for the steeking and picking up of stitches.

Yarn: Rowan 4ply Soft in Grey from This is Knit. It is yummy and it held up to the steeking really well. I would definitely use it again.

Pattern: My own.

Buttons: From Rubanesque on Sth William St.

What I did was work a top-down set-in sleeve jumper with extra space at the centre front for the steek. I worked the body and sleeves all the way down to the bottom and left the hem on waste yarn. I steeked the front using a crochet binding (which is brilliant!) and sewed down the hems. Then, I folded back the steeks and sewed them down. I used a crochet hook to pick up the stitches for the button bands and kept trying it on whilst knitting the bands to make sure the buttons would be placed dead centre. Next I put on the collar and the buttons. It fitted fine but the buttons had a tendency to pop out, so I went back with my crochet hook and stabilised all the button holes with some slip stitch.

I’m really pleased with how it came out!