More cold weather in Chicago and more frantic digging in my chests of drawers to find things that keep me warm and make me feel good. Out popped another Silk Garden Sweater.
This sweater is Debbie Bliss' Scoop Neck Cardigan from Noro #1 knit in Noro Silk Garden colorway #71. This sweater was finished in the fall of 2003 for the next winter season after the raglan Silk Garden pullover that I talked about in my last retrospective. While it's a lovely sweater, it really doesn't get the same love and appreciation that the pull over gets, even though I love the scoop neck and the sweet crocheted edging.Why? Well, "popping" out of drawers isn't the only kind of popping this sweater does. It has a lot of buttons (which is one of the details I love). Unfortunately, I picked buttons just a touch too small for the loops and this very fitted cardigan pops open more often than I like. On the positive side, lazy finisher that I am, I never actually sewed the buttons down (I used button safety pins instead) so probably all I need to do to move this sweater into more regular rotation is to get some bigger buttons. I love it when it's so easy to fix my mistakes.
The other thing that makes this sweater a little less useful is how cropped it is. I'm pretty short waisted, and if it looks cropped on me, then you know it's meant to be cropped. And for going to work in the winter, I generally prefer sweaters that cover my entire midriff. Especially post-baby.Given how early on in my sweater making career I knit this garment, I'm still very happy with it overall. But there are some definite learning experiences here, in particular that I like my sweaters to fall below the belt line. At the time, I had no concept of how to modify patterns, but if I were to make this sweater now, I'd order a bit more yarn and lengthen it. Given that it's knit so the stripes run vertically instead of horizontally, that would have been trivial to do without altering almost any of the shaping instructions.
So there you have it. Two Silk Garden sweaters, I love the yarn for both, but one sweater turns out to be much more utilitarian than the other. Which leads me to another conclusion: special purpose sweaters get much less wear. No doubt something that will come up again in future retrospective segments.
Have you seen those long-sleeved t-shirts that are longer, coming down past the hips? Kind of tunic style, but fitted? I feel like those look really good under cropped sweaters. I, being hip-py, am a bit loathe to wear things tight over my hips, but with a cropped sweater, it can look hip instead of hip-py. A short shirt under a short sweater just seams to make everything look shorter. I was out with a friend this weekend who looked so chic in a short sweater with a tunic-length, fitted undershirt.
Mandy's comment describes one way I like to wear short shirts or sweaters. The other is over a simple solid color dress. I have a black cotton tank dress that sees lots of wear with cropped tops that would otherwise be long gone from my wardrobe. That way the eye isn't drawn to where the top falls in relation to the pant line; all is camouflaged.
I love that sweater! I've considered making a long version for myself (I'm way too tall for cropped anything).
What are button safety pins?
Sew it shut and wear it as a pullover. It looks like a cardigan, but doesn't bust open like the Incredible Hulk is wearing it.
Very nice! I like your sweater retrospective series.
I just started a scarf with Silk Garden and am really enjoying the colors. I may consider buying more and knitting a sweater.
Have you thought about picking up and adding an edging? You could make it longer and thus more wearable.
Indeed, the special purpose sweaters are more about the fun of making, rather than the wearing. I've especially found difficulty with the scooped neck on warm sweaters. Its too cold to have an exposed neck in the winter!