FO: Spring Fling

Pattern: Spring Fling from Knitty Spring '05, size S.
Yarn: Knitpicks Shine Sport in Orchid, less than 6 skeins.
Needles: US 3 straights for ribbing, US 5 straights for lace pattern.
Started: May 11
Finished: May 29

I had a lot of fun working on this little cardigan. The yarn was really wonderful. It shed quite a bit while working on it but I haven't had any problems with the finished sweater pilling or anything. It's remarkably soft and squishy, it's light and has excellent drape, the color certainly grew on me. All in all a wonderful project.

The pattern itself was well written and fun. The lace was just enough interest to keep from dying but certainly not intricate enough to require all of my brain cells. (It's a k2, yo, skp on RS or a p2, yo, p2tog on WS).

I had intended to shorten the sweater because I wanted a real cropped cardigan where the ribbing began just under the bust, but then I forgot to measure and ended up making the body to the same measurements as the pattern indicates, and it's a good thing I did. It is the perfect length. It is exactly where I wanted it to be. I did make the sleeves a little bit longer - I think I did 2.5 or 3 inches of ribbing instead of the called-for 1.5 inches. I also added three buttons to the front ribbing instead of the hook-and-eye closure. I did a 2 sts BO buttonhole. I had intended to just do a YO or two, but wasn't liking how it looked.

I am convinced the model in the pictures at Knitty must be, like, 4 foot 7 or something. It says she is wearing the size XS (31" bust) and it looks quite long on her. I made the S size (34" bust) to fit around my 36" bust, so perhaps the negative ease shortened it a bit? That makes sense, except that mine is a lot shorter than it looks in the picture.

I really like how Knitty tells you what size is shown in the photos, but I think it would be nice if they also gave the bust measurement of the model. I realize many people would not want to be models if they knew their bust size would be broadcast on the internet, but sometimes I'll really like the fit of the sweater on the girl in the photo, only I have no idea how much ease I should use to get the same fit for myself.

This is my second sweater ever, and it also happens to be my second Jordana Paige sweater. Her designs are really lovely. I imagine I will be making more of them in the future.