Yay for two-toned stripey cardigans! Last week, when I was contemplating all the new projects that I wanted to start, I was particularly fixated on a two-toned cardigan in these colours. Remember that photo of the yarn on the cake plate? Well, it stayed there until last night when I actually baked a cake. I just loved looking at those colours together and am hoping that I'll get hit with a wave of inspiration if I leave them out next to each other to contemplate every time I walk by.
Anyways, when I was thinking about a two-toned sweater, I immediately thought of this gorgeous little number by swayinglights on Ravelry (project page, blog). This sweater was knit in TFA Green Label Aran weight yarn in Midnight and Sand, a lovely combination.
There are several things that I love about this sweater. First of all, I got to see it in person this spring at the Knitter's Frolic, and it fit beautifully and looked just how a favorite sweater should. Do you know that look? When a sweater just fits right and looks super comfy and cozy? Like its the first thing you would grab to throw on with jeans? I love that look, and I LOVE cardigans, but I don't yet have a handknit TFA cardigan to reach for when I'm looking for comfort, I think its about time I remedy that!
I think that wide stripes really work, and I like how she worked the ribbing on the hem and the cuffs over two stripes, one of each colour, a little detail that shows how much thought went into it.
Finally, one of my favorite things about this sweater, and surely the most inspirational aspect for me, is the fact that these yarns were originally knit into a entirely different sweater! That sweater was also lovely. Isn't it interesting how different the original sweater looked from the final wider striped version? Same yarns, similar concept, totally different result. The first sweater had fit issues and was completely frogged, not skipping a beat swayinglights' re-swatched and started over! I admire that kind of perseverance. I'm pretty sure I would have let the sweater just sit there for a few months, eventually frog it and then wait another year before I was ready to face the yarn again. I love her finished result and now I have a lot more confidence in my ability to knit myself an equally successful two-toned cardigan.
I'm pretty sure I'm going to go with stripes, I haven't decided on what width yet, I'll have to do some swatching myself, but at least now I know that if it doesn't work out how I planned the first time, I'll just rip and re-knit!
