A-hah! Got the hang of the lace pattern

I kept trying and trying, and finally figured out that I was leaving out the last yarn-over in Row 4, which totally messed me up for the next row. So between that and finally finding the earlier post about Row 7 (thank you for the tutorial, Hot Coals Only!), I'm in the groove. And after trying different needle sizes and types, I'm using size 6 of the new Addi Lace needles. First time I've tried them, and now I don't think I'd use anything else for lace patterns. Great needles for knitting or purling two together and psso. And they aren't as slippery as regular Addi's.

So I plan to finish the swatch tonight, then wet and dry it, and start on the sweater tomorrow.

getting gauge & kicking off

hi all,

yesterday i started the back of this fabulous cardigan and can´t barely stop knitting - it´s such a fun!
i´m using 100%cotton-yarn (scarlett from ggh) in black (so it´s hard to take good pictures but i will do my best). my swatch was perfect and i really like the way the yarn looks like (it´s a little bit gleamy).
so have a great knitting time!
kiki

Finished!

I've finished my sweater! I'm pretty happy with it overall, but my sleeves came out really long and big (I didn't do any mods to the sleeves.) Something to watch out for those of you knitting now! I loved the lace pattern, and I think I'm going to miss making this sweater! More on my blog!

Swatch/Lace Pattern Challenges

Hi,

This will be my first sweater and, like Margaret, I've got questions about the swatch and lace pattern. I'm using the Reynolds yarn the pattern calls for. I'm doing the swatch in the lace pattern, and keep increasing the needle size to get the right gauge. I'm up to a 7 from the recommended 5! Is this unusual? I have to admit that up to now, I've only knitted scarves and hats, so never did a swatch first. So maybe I'm a tight knitter and didn't even know it.

The good thing about doing the swatch over and over again is that I get to practice the lace pattern, which I find to be very challenging. Trying to go from increase to decrease in each row, with some stitches going into the yarn overs in the previous row and others not. Whew! I can't get into a comfortable routine. And I keep either having one stitch too many or one too few in some rows. Is anyone else struggling with the lace pattern?

Thanks! And thanks for having this KAL.

The swatch

Time to dive in~~~I finally got the KP Options needles that I want to use, and the Soft Linen is ready to go. Now for the swatch. How did you all do your swatching? I've never swatched in anything but stockinette, so doing the lace is a bit daunting. Do you cast on and immediately start the lace or what? It is so tempting to make a sleeve as my swatch, but rarely do I get the correct spi on my first swatch!

Dollar in Pink

Hi everyone! I'm making my Dollar and a Half out of Brown Sheep Cotton Fleece in "Pinkaboo". I did a bunch of swatches and finally decided on US7 for the needles, and it seems to be working out about right.

I finished the back, and thought I'd block it before starting on the front pieces, just to make sure it would be in the ballpark.

I've also decided that I'm going to do both sides of the front with the cable pattern, instead of one cable and one stripes. I had a hard time with that decision - I like the asymmetrical look too, but I think I'll like it better with both fronts the same.

Finished Knitting

WOOHOO! I have a $1.50 now! I finished all my knitting this morning and did the three needle bind off on the shoulders. I have just started the laborious process of sewing it all together. I'll post a photo with an update later.

Have officially started!

Ok, I actually started last week and then added a bit last night, but tonight I just got a new camera so I have photos to share. (oops just one, so, photo)

Isn't it purty? I haven't been able to work on it as much as I'd like yet as I have two gift projects going. One is overdue and the other is due by the end of the month. So, whenever I get bored with those I supplement with the buck fifty and there is less guilt. :)

I'm really loving working with it so far. The yarn is very nice to work with and I haven't noticed it being splitty at all. And if it really does soften up once it's washed? Heaven!

Almost a Dollar

I'm almost finished with the left front of my Dollar and a Half Cardigan and all I'll have left is the sleeves--WOOHOO!!

I'm using KnitPick's CotLin in Royal Plum. I love this yarn. It's soft and it's not splitty at all. I had a brief panic attack after I started the back and finished the first lace repeat. It was too small and I decided to frog and go up to the next size. I went to KP's website to order more yarn and it wasn't there! I finally called customer service and was told that even though it's not on the website anymore, you can still order it over the phone. I felt much better after my extra yarn arrived this week.

I don't like the way the shaping looks. It suddenly dawned on me last night that normally you ssk at the beginning of the row and k2tog at the end of the row. The pattern and Veronik's tutorial have you k2tog at the beginning of the row and ssk at the end of the row. I put a post out there to see if anybody else thought the pattern should be reversed but I didn't get a response, so off to the frog pond I went this morning.

I frogged a few rows of the right front and reknit it using ssk instead of k2tog. The good news is that it really doesn't look any different so I don't think I'll frog all the shaping. The bad news is that it really doesn't look any different so I'm still not happy with my shaping.

The more I look at it, the more I think it's the selvedge that I don't like and not the shaping. I hoping that when I sew it all together my issues will be resolved.

This KAL is great! I've been lurking here for a while and I love seeing what everyone else is doing.

Hi from Liverpool

Thanks for inviting me to this KAL. I started the back on Tuesday 20th March. I am using Jaeger Luxury Tweed which is a 65% merino wool, 35% alpaca yarn. It's one of my favourite yarns ever but unfortunately is discontinued. This is the last I have in my stash and I've been waiting for something special to knit with it. The photo was taken in a rush but it should give you an idea of how I'm getting on.

Angie

Got my Yarn

I got my yarn Monday night and almost immediately cast on. I've gotten through the ribbing on the back and will be moving on to the first lace pattern next. Yay!

The yarn (I decided just to wait for the Soft Linen, which is why I'm starting this so late) is wonderful. The brown is lovely with little red highlights shot through it.

I wish I had a picture to show off, but for now I am camera-less. I might bring it in to work and snag a pic that way, but only after a few repeats of lace are done...

I have to put it aside for a couple of days to at least start the socks for my eldest. I'm making him a pair of the BMP socks from Knitty for his birthday. I'm also going to be juggling finishing up Clapotis for my step-mother. My son remarked last night that I have an "awful lot of started projects". LOL

I think it's love

Hi all! I'm so happy about this KAL, like a lot of people I knew I wanted to make the DnHC from the preview pictures. I finally decided to sub Brown Sheep Cotton Fleece for the Soft Linen and I was lucky enough to find it on sale at my LYS. I cast on last weekend and I can't decided what I love more the pattern or the yarn! I haven't had time to work on it this week, but I'm hoping to get the back finished by the end of the weekend.



It's great to see everyones variations and I can't wait to see the first finished one!
Happy Knitting!
Bobbi aka The Kelly Green Rogue

Losing Steam

So, when my yarn came in, I sat down and knit up the back of the cardigan super quickly.



I'm knitting this in Rowan Calmer (color- Cork) on US 8 needles. I modified the pattern a teensy bit; I'm knitting the largest size because I'm between the two biggest, and I want a loose fitting cardigan. However, this size calls for knitting 19.75" before starting the armhole shaping, which would result in a cardigan reaching five inches below the bottom of my butt. How unflattering! So I started the shaping after 15", and I think I'll be much happier with this length.

I'm working on the sleeves now, so that I can save the fun of the fronts for later, but they're slow going. If I'm lucky, I'll get them done this week.

Megan
Woolly Interlude

The Back Again

I'm back from my trip to the frog pond. I restarted the back, using a smaller size and it's coming out much better this time. I want the finished sweater to be around 45" and the lace section unstretched is about 22", so things are looking good now.

I'm using Lion Brand CottonEase and size 9 needles, FWIW. I definitely won't be wearing it this Spring, but I think I'll start having fun when I get the back finished and all gauge issues worked out.

Finally something to post!

Hi all! I've been lurking here for a bit - love the way all the cardis are coming out! I took mine on vacation with me, and I've nearly finished the back. I'm using Cotton Fleece in New Age Teal, and I just love the yarn for this sweater.

The only problem that I've had so far was with the decreases. I've read the designer's tutorial on them about 50 times, and I just don't get it. It says to decrease 2 stitches in the pattern(one on each side), but then the instructions in the magazine say to take out one 3 stitch pattern repeat? For which side? And why, when it says 2 stitches? Fortunately, 2 of my decreases fell on stockinette rows, and then I fudged the last one (I decreased 2 stitches in pattern, and it seemed to work.)

I haven't seen anyone else having these issues, so I don't know if I'm just crazy, but I'm getting worried about the next decreases already! Am I over thinking this?

First post here!

I'm so very happy that there is a KAL for this - I love looking at different WIPs & FOs of the same project.

I started mine awhile back, frogged it & restarted it this week. I decided to start with the sleeves, since those seem to be my downfall when making sweaters.
I'm using the (now) hard to find Cotlin from KntiPicks in Key Lime. I managed to order enough before it went away from the site - if anyone is wondering, KnitPicks is saying that they should have it back on the site at the end of the month. Anyway, I like the yarn a lot and I think this will be a favouirte sweater for myself.

I decided to do garter selvedge stitches instead of st - I find it looks a lot better. I'm also doing the increases in the rev st part of the pattern - it doesn't screw up the lace. I let you know how it works out when I complete the sleeves!

Glad to be here - I can't wait to see everyone's progress!
BabblingStacey

Help

Hi all,

I have been making good progress and am almost done the back. I just need confirmation on where I am measuring for the armholes.

When I am measuring for the armholes I measure straight up and down over the rows right? I don't actually measure at the edge at the slant of the sweater where I have been doing the decreases do I?

It has been a while since I have done a sweater and I want to make sure that after all this work I can at least get my arms through the sleeves!

Thanks!

Make Mine Solitaire

After driving myself crazy and swatching about 4 different yarns for this sweater, I finally decided on Solitaire in charcoal by GGH.


I had about 14 skeins of it in the drawer purchased for an entirely different project. Let's just say that project never happened...

I still love the sweater pattern planned for said yarn, but it's only written for a small and medium and I'm scared of the maths it will take to adjust the pattern. So I avoided it for more than a year, wondering if this nice yarn would ever become something other than balls taking up space in a drawer.

Enter Dollar and a Half Cardigan and Solitaire has found a home.


Chance Kitty approves of the sweater's start

It took a few swatches of lace practice to get it right, but once I remembered that it's a multiple of three PLUS one -- all worked out well. Al's tutorial for row 7 was extremely helpful, as well.


Close up of lace

I'm this far along on the back. I got a little nervous after the first few rows because I was getting the Michelin Man effect, so I blocked it to make sure it would look OK. That's why the bottom is flatter than the rest. (That's if you can see that in this crappy photo... )


Almost up to sleeve shaping...Scary

I have to say, getting the correct gauge in lace was a bit beyond my knitting abilities. It's measuring to the width I want, so hopefully it won't be too big or too small. (Not that I've even done that before.)

After completing the first section each of stockinette and lace, I didn't like that the stockinette section was wider than the lace. So I've altered the pattern a bit: in the the first row of reverse stockinette (a purl row) I decrease a total of 3 stitches. In the first row of the lace section (the knit row), I add the 3 stitches back in. I'm hoping this won't bite me in the ass later, but the edges are more even this way.

Being home sick with the cold from hell for the last week has really moved this project along. And I totally agree with Chef Messy. By the time I get to the end of the stockinette section, I'm so ready for something a little more exciting. Then, by the time I get to the end of the lace section, I'm so sick of counting I can't wait for the simplicity of purl a row, knit a row.

Wish me luck. I'm about to start decreasing for the sleeves...

I gotten some cotton

Hello everybody! I'm so excited to be knitting this cardigan with you guys. It is just so darn cute. Well, I went on a yarn hunt, and I found...

That is Cotton Fleece in Willow Leaf. I am really loving this color, perfect for this springy cardi. So I guess the next step is swatching (ugh) and then on to the knitting. Yay!

Kara

Hello there

My name is Bex and i just stumbled across this KAL.

I'm knitting this cardigan in size 47 (yikes!) using Bendigo Mills Alpaca (im from Australia). So far i've used 1x200grm ball for the back - heres a pic of it blocking.

I found the alpaca really springy and made it quite lumpy until i blocked it - now its lush and soft and smooth! yay!

Quick Question...

Ok, still awaiting the yarns arrival (and trying to finish SOMETHING in the meantime to avoid the guilt)...

Had a question though...has anyone else tried to use "regular" stockinette versus the reverse in the lace portion of the cardigan? I wonder if it would look odd or lie funny? I was considering swatching both to see which I liked better...

The Back in White Cotton Ease

I'm making slow progress, but some progress on the back. I wanted to have this done by the end of March but I think it's going to be April at this rate. We are already having highs in the 70s here, so I'll wear it NEXT Spring. . .

Thanks to Stephanie for posting the link to the decreasing in lace pattern info. I will be studying that soon, since I'm only a few inches from the armhole decreases.

My analyst told me...

that I should stop starting new WIPs and focus on my $1.50. But I didn't listen, so here's where I am, still:



halfway through the new back, and this time it'll fit!

Al

hot coals only

Veronik's tutorial

I haven't cast on yet, but my Reynold's Soft Linen is waiting for me at Webs. I'll be taking the 2 hour drive up on Saturday to pick it up.

In the meantime, I found a step by step tutorial on Veronik Avery's blog for the lace strips of the Dollar and a half cardigan. I thought it might be helpful to those of you who have already started.

Here's the link.

I can't wait to participate for real.

Another newbie

I haven't been able to start mine yet, but I have been given the word that my yarn order is in at the store and they will be shipping today (I should receive it by next Monday). WOOHOO!!! I was actually able to get my hands on the coveted Reynolds Soft Linen. I saw it on the Knitting Sunshine blog that Black Sheep Knitting had plenty, so I emailed them right away and though they didn't have the brown in stock (they have the rest of the colors though and they were thoughtful enough to send a picture of the color card) they ordered the amount I needed last week and it hit their store today!

Yes, I'm going to do the pattern in the exact color and type of yarn that is called for. I usually don't, but I wanted to try this yarn and the color is perfect.

So, I will posting more once I get the yarn.

I'm going to try the "knitting backwards" for the reverse stockinette portions, since I am no great fan of purling. :)

It's been fun watching all of the rest of you get going on yours...and I am SO thankful that someone else already tackled the lace and can show us the "how" of it.

Blargh

Just got some bad news from Webs, my yarn order is going to be delayed. sigh. I purposely only ordered stuff that the site said was in stock, so it could be shipped posthaste. And, because I'm an international order (Canadian!) they're holding on to everything for three weeks until my other yarn arrives. Their website lies. But it's cheap, and I guess this ensures I'll finish up my other projects. :)

Speaking of being Canadian, I was thinking about exchange rates and calling this sweater something wacky. But then I realised: I (and other Canadians in this KAL) are the ones making the $1.50 Cardi, as Joni Mitchell is Canadian, and so presumably is the currency she was singing about. So you Americans out there are currently making a $1.28 Cardi, Australians a $1.64 Cardi, the British are making a 66p Cardi... I'll stop now. :)

Finally on my way

Hi all. I am very glad I found you guys.
Thanks to the tutorial for the lace pattern I am now finally on my way. I am quite enjoying it and with my slow start I was worried that you guys would all be done and onto other projects before I got my swatch done.
Anybody done yet?

I finally got it

Thanks to the photo tutorial, I am past the first lace section. Originally, I started a sleeve, but the sleeve directions don't tell you to do rows 1-6, then 3-6 2x of the lace pattern, and that is partially what was getting me confused. So, I frogged the whole thing and started on the back. I need to order more yarn, because I was only supposed to be "swatching", but now swatch=back. It's been slow going, back and forth between the pattern and my needles. I'm on my first reverse stockinette part. Luckily Cotton fleece has great yardage, so we'll see how far I get. Pics will be coming soon!

eek

Hi, I'm Heather and I lurve this sweater.
I just ordered some Classic Elite Classic Silk in cinnamon for the sweater. I agonized over yarn choice for so long! (and we're not going to mention the other things that found their way into my cart. Credit card going in freezer now, bad knitter).

I'm looking forward to starting, so I guess I better finish up my current sweater. :)

96 Cents

I am making steady progress on the Dollar and a Half Cardigan, which surprises me because I've been really busy. It's amazing how 20 minutes here, 20 minutes there adds up. I've got almost a dollar, hey hey hey hey.

Isn't it purdy?

But, oh, the counting! I followed some good advice to knit both fronts at the same time and then both sleeves at the same time, and I'm glad I did because it has kept my gauge constant and the decreases in the right places on both sides (and I'm optimistically assuming that the difference in width will go away with blocking, by the way). On the other hand, the fronts are not identical, so at this point I am trying to simultaneously keep track of all of these things:

• How many rows have I knit on the cable pattern? Is it time to cable again yet?
• How many rows until I switch from Reverse Stockinette back to the lace pattern on the other side?
• How many neck decreases have I done?
• How many sleve decreases have I done and how many do I still need to do?
• And because the decreasing with the lace pattern is finicky, have I messed it up? Do I still have the right number of stitches on both needles (which are, of course, different numbers on both sides. Of course.)? What IS the right number of stitches? Oh my.

Thank goodness for post-it notes.

Anyway, I'm so happy to see that the Knit-Along is growing nicely with lots of new participants! It's good to hear what other people are doing with this sweater. So far, from this Knit-Along, I've learned that the Left and Right fronts are indeed flipped in the picture, which was causing me great confusion once I got to the sleeve decreases, as to that point I had been paying more attention to watching American Idol than reading the pattern (I do love that big crazy poofy-haired guy, I do). My solution to the problem is that my fronts will just be flipped. I think it's somewhat fitting for me to own a backwards sweater. (Well, hopefully it will fit, anyway.)

Also, make sure you check out Al's fantastic tutorial on row 7 of the lace pattern, which it is highly possible that I have been doing wrong all this time! Oh well. No going back now for me!

somewhat slow but hopefully steady

Sorry for the blurry picture, but I just wanted to share my progress:


I have been enjoying the project so far, although clearly I'm not very far along. The lace is an interesting pattern, and very easy to get into the rhythm of. I do find the yarn (Reynolds Soft Linen) to be kind of roughly natural (very fine strands sometimes splice off, if that makes any sense), but it is made of 53% flax, so I suppose that makes some sense. That doesn't make it any less enjoyable to work with. Once you get used to the splitting it sometimes does.

I am using rather short straight needles (where the pattern calls for circulars), but except for that it's more difficult to see the pattern as it hangs, it's not been a problem for me thus far. I was just too eager to wait to get around to purchasing longer ones!

Anyway, thanks for letting me join in on the KAL! I look forward to learning from all of you as I work through this.
xo,
Arianna

Left & Right switched?

OK, is it just me or are the photos flipped? In the photos the cable panel is on the model's right side, but in the instructions it's on the left. I e-mailed IK about this, after seriously looking from my right hand to my left hand to the photo about a million times just to be sure I wasn't going crazy. I'm knitting it to look like the photos, so I had to switch the placement of the decreases on the left (stripey) front that I'm knitting now.

Or am I JUST LOSING MY MIND? Could be.

Row 7 Tute

Ok guys and gals, I put this together in case anyone out there is still stuck on Row 7. It's deceptively simple. I hope this is clear! Just click the photo to go to the tutorial on flickr.



Now let's just hope I'm doing it right! :)

Al

Have to rip :(

Well, there I was braggin' about being done with the back and it turns out I need to rip it out and go up a size. My gauge is such with my replacement yarn that I need to knit the 41" size to get a 35" sweater. Oh well! Luckily I did figure this out before starting my first front, so I do have a teeny, tiny bit of headway into the correct size. I haven't done much knitting lately because of school and other junk, but I'm going to start focusing on this now that I've figured it out.

How's everyone else's coming along?

Al

Yarn Selection

Hi everyone! I'm so glad there's a knitalong for this pattern, so that when I start, I'll be encouraged to finish ;)

I can't wait to dig into this pattern; it will be my first non-top-down-raglan sweater, and I'm pretty excited about that. I'm just waiting on my yarn to come in! I got a bunch of Rowan Calmer in Cork off of eBay, and it should be here in a couple of days. I subbed this yarn because I saw someone else mention it as a sub, I think on Knitter's Review, and I loved that idea. I'm hoping this will be the perfect cardigan for cool days (and my sometimes cold office).

You can read more about my knitting projects over at my blog, Woolly Interlude.

crap!

Um Deb here,

The lace pattern is driving me bonkers! I started my sleeve...I mean, swatch, and I was cruising along, until it came to the last row of the lace pattern. Huh?? I am having a hard time picking that strand from the row below, and not making it all look like crap. I did my best, and ended up frogging it all back to the ribbing because it looked like crap!

Does anyone know the name to this lace pattern, so I maybe can find it in a reference book, or online? Worse case scenario, I can always sub for another lace pattern, right?

BTW...the cotton fleece seems like a good choice. It is still sproingy like wool, but it is a lightweight cotton feeling.

Intro

Hello, I'm Mary and I'm signing up for the Knit Along, maybe prematurely, since I'm still working out what yarn to use.

I was thinking CottonEase, but I only chose it because I'm having a hard time getting my hands on any Brown Sheep Cotton Fleece.

I'm swatching the CottonEase right now, and if I don't like how it comes out, I might switch. I know that puts me way behind you guys, but I really want to make this sweater come out perfectly. Glad to find you guys!

ready to swatch

I don't want to wait any longer for the Soft Linen yarn to become available, even though it sounds like I will really like the yarn. Instead, I'm going to swatch with Brown Sheep Cotton Fleece. I'm thinking it will work out, or at least close enough that I can get away with it.