My Favourite Things Cardigan No. 7 with OOP Vogue 8836: DIY Hand Knitted Cardigan and Wide leg Wool Trousers

Hey Everyone,

Today I am sharing my latest completed knitted project, together with a remake of a pattern I last made about 18 months ago. Let’s start with the cardigan first, shall we?

The pattern I used was Cardigan No. 7 by My Favourite Things (a Danish pattern company). This is my first time working with this pattern company and whilst there were a few challenges, now I through it, I am absolutely in love with the finished garment. This is a raglan sleeved cardigan which is worked top down on circular needles in stocking stitch, with ribbing at the edges. The fit is described as “classic, snug and designed to reach the hip bones. The sleeves are slightly cropped and full, adding a feminine touch”. More on the sleeves in a moment. I would say this pattern is suitable for an experienced beginner.

I used a strand of Drops Air (alpaca, polyamide, wool) in shade 29/ old pink , held together with a strand of Drops Kid Silk (mohair. silk) in shade 12/ beige. I have worked with the Drops Air before and both yarns were easy to knit. The addition of the silk mohair takes the finished garment up a notch: it feels very soft, snuggly and silky. Feels wonderfully warm yet light to wear. My buttons are olive wood buttons I picked up on eBay.

Cardigan fitting notes:

• I knitted the size XL and it’s pretty much a perfect fit. I was worried it wouldn’t fasten over the tummy/ high hip area, but after blocking it was fine. I am just wearing it unbuttoned in these photographs. This pattern goes up to a size XXL (48.75 inches finished cardigan circumference).
• The main issue I had with the pattern was that I just couldn’t understand the instructions to reduce the number of stitches once you had finished knitting the body, before starting the ribbing. I had to do lots of maths to work out how to do this evenly for my size: the given instructions, to me, just didn’t seem to work. Anyway, I got there in the end.
• I knit the sleeves one inch shorter than the pattern and I thought they were the perfect length. Then I blocked the garment (full wet blocking), after which the sleeves had grown by about 1.5 inches. I didn’t like how they looked. So I chopped the ribbing off, ripped back the yarn so the sleeve was 1.5 inches shorter, picked the stitches back up and re-knit the ribbing. Much better. But if I make this again in this yarn I need to watch the sleeve length.
• The thing I was dreading the most about this garment was the button bands. Well, they turned out to be much easier than I thought. As did the buttonholes. And the collar was easy after the button bands. BUT! What I realised is that the number of stitches you are told to pick up and knit along the front edges of the cardigan are a guide. For my size I was instructed to pick up 87 stitches along the front edges. I only picked up 77 stitches. Also, rather than the instructed “pick up 4 stitches for every 5 stitches”, I picked up 3 stitches for every 4 stitches. I think that is a more common formula for picking up and knitting button bands.
• The above changes to the number of stitches I picked up along the front bands also meant I had to re-space my buttonholes. Rather than knitting 12 stitches between each buttonhole, I only knitted 10 stitches.
• All ribbed edges were bound off using an Italian bind off, and I made sure to tighten the edges as I went to ensure my edges lay flat.

I love the finished cardigan. Whilst I was making it I wasn’t sure, but I am very proud of myself for finishing it. I could see me making it again in a different colour. I also love that it is not too oversized.

Next, a quick mention of the trousers, which I also love. The pattern is one I have made before. See my first pair here. Something was off with that first pair, I couldn’t put my finger on it. Then I decided it was the width of the legs. So for this pair I removed a lot of width (I have also gone back and taken some width out of that first pair). I am so much happier with this pair! They are made from a superfine wool twill, purchased from Fabworks and still in stock. I pre-washed the fabric and they sewed and pressed well (use a press cloth though). Very comfortable to wear.

I did bind the inner waistband using some bias binding, and added a nice deep (interfaced) facing to finish the trouser hems.

Vogue 8836 Fitting Notes

(Check my first pair for previous fitting notes).

• Removed a total of 6 inches width from leg openings below the knee. I basically took 1.5 inches from all the inner/ outer seams front and back.
• I deepened the pockets by 3 inches. I should have added a pocket extension, but forgot so had to take a smaller seam allowance from the waist down to the bottom of the pockets. I need to correct this on any future pairs.

Overall: very happy with the trousers. They have already had a couple of outings. Lightweight but still warm. Slouchy bit still a little bit tailored.

See you soon with more winter clothing!