FO Number 1 - Fair Enough Cardigan

I'll be blogging about a couple of new FO's during this week since knitting sweaters isn't that interesting until they are completed. Let's start with the Fair Enough Cardigan which was finished for weeks but languished around waiting for buttons. Fair Enough was knit in Karabella Aurora 8 in the pattern's suggested colors on a number 7 needle.  I needed two additional balls of the main color due to my gauge being smaller and my changes to the bottom width of the sweater.

This cardigan didn't get much blog time during construction.  That might be because it was a straight forward knit with very little deviation from the pattern. The only change was increasing the stitch count for the bottom of the sweater, since my hip measurement is not the same as my bust. I took my gauge and did some simple math to figure out how many stitches would make a 41 inch width.  Then calculated how many decreases would need to be made to get the pattern's waist stitch count in the suggested length. 

The rest of the sweater was knit according to the pattern which is clear and well written.  I'd recommend this design for anyone wanting to dip their toe into stranded knitting.  The yoke colorwork is very simple even when having to strand from the wrong side.

Things that I would change if knitting this design again.....

1. The Aurora 8 grew in length a lot more than expected.  I'd knit the sleeves and body at least an inch shorter than suggested in the pattern.

2. I'd knit the neck band double the length and use a three needle bind off on the inside to keep the band from stretching out of shape. 

3. The button band is not to my liking which was talked about in the last post.  I'm still not sure how I'd change that but there is plenty of yarn to knit a new one. 

All three of these are minor gripes and this sweater has been getting plenty of wear in the last couple of days. It's gotten the husband seal of approval because it is super soft and a flattering color.