The Saddleback Cardigan

I was so excited to do this design for the fall 2014 issue of 
Interweave Knits. The Saddleback Cardigan.

bear with me--this is not a professional photo shoot. Just the detail shots I got of the sweater before I shipped it off to Colorado. The lovely yarn is Classic Elite Crestone in Umber.

I had been wanting to try making a cable sweater with the saddle in a different location, say, the upper back, for instance. I love modular pieces, the kind that start with a bit of something and the knitting picks up and branches off in different directions, magically coming together to form a wearable garment. 

The Saddleback Cardigan starts with this cabled panel, which is also your gauge swatch.

From there, you pick up stitches along one edge and work the cables that appear at the back.
Stitches are then picked up at the other side of the saddle to knit the fronts. When each arrives at the depth for the armhole, they are joined for knitting the lower body.
 This sweater features two more details I wanted to try--short-row sleeve caps and sleeve decreases worked at the center of the sleeve inside of hiding them at the inside seam. Both of these techniques produced a rather roomy upper sleeve for me, which gives it a unique silhouette, I think.  

For the finishing, I decided on a wide overlapped ribbed front with toggle buttons along the side. 
These wonderful rolled leather ones are from Fibers, Etc. here in Tacoma. Roberta Lowes, the owner, stocks one of the best button inventories I've ever seen. It's a treat just to go and shop for buttons there (if you can stop wondering at all the gorgeous yarn, that is).  

I hope you can try out the Saddleback for yourself!


Comments

Savannagal said…
Wow, that's gorgeous. I can't wait to get my mail!
Jen Hagan said…
Thank you, Savannagal!
La Rue said…
OMG I love this sweater. It has a personality that speaks volumes.
Jen Hagan said…
Thank you so much, LaRue! It's one of my favorites.

Popular Posts