knitting || cha cha cardigan

If you follow me on Instagram, you've probably already seen a few photos of my recent test knit for Amy of Poison Grrls. I "met" Amy through IG earlier this year and she approached me about test knitting, and the rest is history! The Cha Cha cardigan is my third test knit for her and is probably one of my favorite makes of 2017 (thus far).

Yarn: A little less than 2 balls (400 meters each) of Schoppel-Wolle Admiral Stärke 6 (sportweight wool/nylon blend) I picked up at Strickpunkt in Murnau, Germany at the beginning of the year. (Yay for knitting from my stash!) 

Buttons/Trim: I purchased these glass buttons (I think they are vintage, but I'm not sure) from a German Etsy seller; I love the weight, they're a perfect match to my yarn, and have flowers! The crochet trim is a mini Kristin sent to me of Skeinny Dipping in "Space Pants".

Process: This is a very straight forward, top down cardigan. It's joined in the round after knitting the neckline/armholes and made for great tv knitting! I also really like how Amy designed the sleeves with a tiny bit of lace--I think it really makes the pattern special. The bobble trim is crocheted and could be left off if you wanted. I would say an adventerous beginner who maybe has one sweater under their belt and is comfortable with the idea of knitting short rows could tackle this!

Alterations: When I test knit, I tend to follow the pattern and not making any changes because I want to test the pattern out exactly as written. I think in the future I might make the shoulders slightly narrower (by 1 or 2 stitches) since the weight of the puffed sleeves tend to pull things a bit down my shoulder. I did manage to bungle the buttons--the original is only supposed to have 5, but I misread things and ended up working 6! 

I also added rayon grosgrain ribbon to the inside of each button band to help stabilize; I find this is pretty necessary when using glass buttons on knits. For the right side with buttonholes, I worked machine-made buttonholes to correspond with the placement on the cardigan front. Each ribbon was whipstitched to the band, cut edges turned to the inside.

Final Thoughts: I wasn't sure about the light pink yarn and puff sleeves together as I started this project; I was concerned by the potential "twee factor". But I really love how feminine the resulting cardigan is, and am planning on pairing this with my dirndl to wear to fest this autumn! More photos on my Ravelry project page.