FO: Millefiori Cardi

Pattern: Millefiori Cardigan by Andrea Pomerantz
Yarn: RYC Cashsoft DK
Needles: US 5 and US 4

I'm very pleased with the way this cardi turned out. The cute button band and the 3/4-length sleeves orginally sold me on making this sweater.

The clam section gave me fits at first, but once you get rolling it's a pretty fun stitch. I loved how the buttons were inserted - very clever.

I did make a few mods to the pattern. I knit the length as given, but when I pinned together and tried on I was not happy with the length between the shoulders and the armhole shaping. I shortened from 8" to about 7 1/4" and that did the trick. Then I had to adjust the sleeve cap a little.

I chose to knit the sleeves flat, not in the round. I try to avoid knitting with dpn when not absolutely necessary and I didn't have a circular small enough. So, I knit boths sleeves at once adding a stitch at both ends of each sleeve to allow for seaming.

My gauge was slightly less than given in the pattern using the Cashsoft DK, which was what I was hoping for. I knit the 36 1/4 size, but I was aiming for between a 33 and 34. My row gauge was also less than that given, which impacted the button band spacing.

I can see why the model in the pattern is pulling at the sweater. I blocked the heck out of the clam section, but it still isn't as open as I would have liked.

Overall, I'm very happy with the end result. the pattern was well written and easy to follow. I think I'll be wearing this piece a lot over the next few months.