www.prettyinpurple.com

Posted By Laura on May 3, 2009

Pattern: Liesl by Ysolda Teague (the website seems to be broken just now, hence the no linky)
Yarn: Rowan Kid Classic, Colourway 844, Purple
Needles: 7mm Knitpicks Harmony circs, used as straights, 7mm Addi circ, used as a circ for the sleeves
Mods: I used the picot edge finishing, made it waist length and long sleeved. I used the low neck-line option.

Hello! I know, I know. I have been MIA for quite a while now. I apologise. I shall try to do better now. I have my knitting mojo back, which is good! So, I decided to get some UFOs out and work on them instead of knitting anything new or knitting for baby. Liesl was the first of such finishes. Well, it’s also the only one of such finishes, too, because I haven’t finished anything else!

This is the first garment that I have ever knitted. And I love love love it. It is knit using the wonderful Rowan Kid Classic that was first purchased for a crocheted cardigan that never materialised. The yarn was really smooshy and I would definitely knit with it again. The fabric that it produced was lovely and light, but warm at the same time.

The way Ysolda wrote this pattern was just divine. She made is so customizable that my Liesl looks different to all the other Liesls on Ravelry. She wrote the pattern so that it would be exactly how you wanted it to be. And that’s what happened. I decided to use the low neck line, made it waist length and had long sleeves. I also decided to use the picot cast off and the 3 buttons at the top.

The picot edge made it more lacy than the normal cast off and I think that it works really well with the fabric already produced. It is a nice touch as a finishing off.

I steam blocked this cardigan,, which is a technique that I hadn’t used before. It worked really well. I was unsure if I was going to block it but am rather glad that I did. It just opened up the lace that little bit more and makes for a better fit.

The buttons were the bane of the whole project, though. When my parents were here in October (yep, that’s when I started this project!) my dad bought me these gorgeous buttons from Heaths Country Store in Ollerton. They really are gorgeous but they are far too heavy for the light, lacy fabric that this cardigan produced. So, I ended up in HobbyCraft and all sorts of places but couldn’t find anything. Eventually, I went online and looked at Pavi Yarns. They have such a wonderful selection of buttons and ended up finding some that were simply perfect.

They were just perfect. They are simple, shell buttons that don’t pull on the fabric at all and just set the whole cardigan off.

I love Liesl. I would make it again with with different yarn and different finishings to create different effects. Simply a fantastic pattern from Ysolda.

I do love her designs, though. It is her that created the wonderful Elijah (my Bertie!) and Mousie patterns that I have completed. And the next cardigan that I want to make is Coraline, which is another Ysolda creation. Shame her website isn’t working at the moment to share these delights with you all.
Other knitting news includes the resurrection of Kiri, which I hadn’t picked up since August! How shameful.
I shall try and stick around a bit more. I am knitting more and have an idea for a new feature, which will hopefully start next week.

Hope everyone is enjoying their bank holiday weekend.

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