Boyden cardigan

©Aspiring Threads

It's been a while since I posted, but that's because I was a busy bee, working on my new cardigan!

The yarn has been in my stash for a while, and it was just recently that I found the perfect pattern for it.

The pattern is Boyden (although for some reason, I keep calling it Camden). The yarn I used, has, sadly, been discontinued. It is Cepholopod Yarns Traveller in the "Groton" colourway.

©Aspiring Threads

This is a really interesting sweater to knit. It has beautiful Celtic inspired cables, on the right front, left sleeve, and right back. The subtle asymmetry is really appealing, as it prevents the sweater from looking too "busy", which can happen with cabled sweaters, especially in variegated yarn like this.

I did have a few issues with the pattern, but the designer is very available and approachable, and I got my questions answered very quickly. The first issue I had was with the stitch counts. I wanted to make absolutely sure that I had the right number of stitches, but the counts for the right and left fronts were different, and were not listed in the pattern. The extra stitches on the right side were to allow for the cable, so that it wouldn't pull the button band off-centre. I made a note of this on my Ravelry project page as well.

©Aspiring Threads

Another issue I had with the pattern was that you're supposed to end the cable with a certain row, but mine didn't. I don't know if I made a mistake somewhere (if I did, I can't find it) or if there's an error in the pattern, but the front and back cables are supposed to meet up so that when you graft the shoulders, they flow over the shoulder. Mine appears to be off by a stitch or two. I'm not bothered by it, but if I knit this sweater again, I'll be more careful.

One thing that I learned on this sweater was how to do closed loop cables. I'd never done them before, and they're not as hard as they look. I didn't like the instructions provided with the pattern, as it resulted in a big hole at the bottom of the loop, so I used these instructions instead. The loops turned out quite nicely, I think, however I later found this method, which I will use in the future, as the increases are spread out over two rows, so you're even less likely to make a hole where you shouldn't have one.

©Aspiring Threads

I also had issues with the sleeve caps. This particular sweater is knit in one piece for the body, then grafted at the shoulders. You then pick up stitches around the armhole, and knit back and forth across the top of the sleeve. The instructions were slightly unclear on the last row of the sleeve cap, so I've made a note on my pattern to ensure that I don't get stuck again.

All in all, I'm pleased with my sweater. I love the colour, and it is lovely on. The buttons are a perfect match, though the buttonholes are a bit too big, so I'll have to sew them shut a little bit, or perhaps run yarn through them to prevent them from stretching. I usually wear my cardigans open, but I like having the option of wearing them closed.

I think the only thing I would do differently is to make the body longer. I usually prefer my sweaters to be a bit longer than this one turned out, but I was counting on the superwash yarn growing a bit more than it did. I do find that most cardigans are a bit snug at the bust, so I would probably go up one size if I make this one again. I also find the sleeves a little bit snug, but I frequently have issues with sleeves being too tight, whether I'm knitting or sewing. I probably couldn't wear a shirt with sleeves under this cardigan without making the sleeves look lumpy.

I would not recommend this as a travel project, unless you can count on having long periods of uninterrupted knitting time. The cables are complex, but fortunately there's a lot of stockinette once you're done the cable panels, so you can breeze through a lot of the sweater. I usually prefer smaller projects, like socks or hats for travel knitting anyway.

Would I knit this cardigan a second time? More than likely. I enjoyed knitting it, and the finished result is lovely and very wearable.