Annabelle Edit, Part One

I can't go back and edit every single pattern that I have written, but oh how I wish that I could!

The problem with pattern writing is that I keep learning new things and when I look back at the mistakes I made in my early years, I desperately want to fix them. The problem with being the publisher of my patterns is that I can...and I can also get stuck in this vicious cycle forever and never move on to something new. I can't fix them all, but I can fix a few. 

Right now, I am fixing the Annabelle Cardigan.

Let's look back. 

We started working on the Annabelle Cardigan in 2009.

My first sample was made with Marr Haven Sport. Here it is on Mia in a promo picture I took of her and her brother Georgie, who sported the first sample of the Declan sweater. Cutie pie models, for sure, but notice how short the sweaters are! I must have been stuck in the 80's. Remember crop tops? 

We later rephotographed Georgie wearing an adjusted Declan, thank goodness.

Here is the second incarnation of the Annabelle that my tester Stormy knit with Pagewood Farm Kiana (no longer available) and that is being modeled by her daughter Tempest.

I happily followed Tempest around while she played with a ladybug in the park, snapping pictures as I could. Isn't she precious?

My notes tell me that I eventually added an inch to the length in the pattern, but it was still too short!

That's not the only glitch with the pattern. The sleeve caps have been bugging me for a while and my overuse of seed stitch was making the whole darn sweater too wide. Add all that to its length issues and you have yourself an ill-fitting cardigan. Recently I got it in my mind to tackle two problems--knit a new sweater for my growing granddaughter Lucy and fix the Annabelle!

Here is the new one after finishing the body and joining the shoulders. This sample is made with Butternut Woolens Superwash Falkland sport weight (no longer available). It's sort of a soft pumpkin hand-dyed color. I am quite enjoying knitting with it! I have kept most of the stitch patterns intact, except for changing some of the seed stitch to Stockinette stitch. I also adjusted the stitch patterns on the front pieces to exactly match those on the back so that the panels flow continuously from back to front. Oh, and, yes, I added lots more length! I pinned the body out at this point so that I could examine the armhole more closely and decide what to do next.

I'll be back with part two next time. I have a good plan, but I would rather wait to see if it will actually work before I reveal the plan. Side note: notice how most of the yarn in this post is no longer available? Yep, I am working from my stash this year. I'll bet you are, too.

Onward!