I recently cast off on the very cute Garter Yoke Cardi. This is the second cardigan I’ve made for my little man, due in 5 weeks (!).

This was my first project using the i-cord bindoff and I love it! I was hesitant to try it because the instructions included with this pattern were very confusing to me. I found some great videos online that showed me how to do the i-cord bindoff, and I modified the pattern a little bit to make it easier for me. My first i-cord band came out very tight and caused the button band to warp, so I ripped it out and tried again. The second time I used a larger needle and did one additional repeat of the unattached i-cord, and the results were much better!

Some of my mods:

• To shape the sleeves, I decreased with k2tog every one inch (3 times total).
• For the i-cord button band, I knit to 3/4” per instructions. Then I marked where I wanted the button holes to be on, knit on the WS and cast off 2 stitches for each button hole. Then on the RS, I did the i-cord bindoff using a needle one size larger, making 3 unattached repeats for the button holes. I’m very happy with how it turned out!

Pattern: Garter Yoke Baby Cardi by Jennifer Hoel
Yarn: Lion Brand Wool-Ease in Denim and Natural Heather
Buttons: Joann’s Fabrics
My Ravelry project:  Sailor’s Garter Yoke Cardi

I just finished my second Baby Sophisticate cardigan. I made the first cardigan as a gift for a friend, and I liked it so much I decided to make one for my little man (due in 10 weeks).

You can read my project notes from the first cardigan here.

A note about the yarns. Both colors for this cardigan are Lion Brand Wool-Ease. Working with the grey color was easy and I liked it, but for some reason the blue was a pain. I kept sticking my needles in-between the plys and I just wasn’t as happy with how it stitched up. Shame because I love the color.

Pattern: Baby Sophisticate by Linden Down
Yarn: Lion Brand Wool-Ease in Gray Heather and Indigo
My Ravelry project: Grey and Blue Baby Sophisticate

I recently cast off on the super cute Baby Sophisticate cardigan. This was actually my second Baby Sophisticate as I frogged my first attempt. This sweater is part of a gift set that includes the Dino Cap I finished a while ago. My first attempt at this sweater was in green and orange to match the hat, but I just didn’t like the color combo in sweater form. I learned a lot of techniques with this project, and I am really happy with how it came out.

Some of my mods:

• My gauge did not match the pattern, so I cast on an additional 10 stitches.
• I slipped the first and last stitch knitwise on each RS row, and purled all stitches on the WS. I found that this gave my knitting a more consistent look with the slipped stitches. This method is known as the English Method. I learned about it here.
• When I knit the cuffs on the sleeves, I used Kathryn Ivy’s method for knitting jogless garter stitch in the round. Super easy and gave a more professional look to the sleeves.
• I used Jeny’s Super Stretchy Bind Off. Easy to learn and works great!

Rather than just assuming I knew how to do some knitting techniques, I decided to google everything to see if there was something I was missing. Here are the new techniques that I learned while knitting this project:

• Closing the gap when casting off in the round. Now that I’m aware of this technique, I don’t know how I lived with the gap on in-the-round projects! I followed version 1.
• Pick up and knit stitches. Again, this is one of those things that I just assumed I knew how to do. So glad I found this easy to follow tutorial!
• Wrap and turn. Very Pink Knits has two great videos about wrap and turn. The first covers the technique, and the second covers picking up the wraps.

Pattern: Baby Sophisticate by Linden Down
Yarn: Berroco Vintage in Green and Lion Brand Wool-Ease in Gray Heather
My Ravelry project: Baby Dino Sophisticate

After restarting the Spiral Cowl for my mom, I finally castoff with this project and am happy with the results. I didn’t have a chance to take good photos before giving this cowl to my mom. I’m still not 100% satisfied with the edges, and I’m making it my new mission to practice cleaner edges.

I found a post comparing stretchy bind off methods, and on my next cowl project I’m going to try Jeny’s Super Stretchy Bind Off. I also found this great tutorial on how to avoid the gap when binding off on circular needles. The gap is something that has always bothered me with cowl projects.

I found a great post about two variations for slipping the first stitch and I’m planning to use one of these methods on my next project. This wouldn’t really have helped with this project since it’s knitted in the round, but it will help out with stockinette stitch projects.

I found this yarn at Tuesday Morning for a great price! It was a soft wool and I enjoyed working it. Too bad it’s been discontinued.

Pattern: Spiral Cowl by Keri McKiernan
Yarn: Aslan Trends Del Cerro in Khaki
My Ravelry project: Spiral Cowl