I’m very happy to have finished my Acer Cardigan while it is still cold enough to wear it. The above photo was taken last weekend in Copenhagen. It is such a gorgeous city, but can be very windy. A squishy, warm cardigan definitely comes in handy.
Amy Christoffers designed the Acer Cardigan in 2010 and nearly 900 projects are documented on Ravelry. When you get that many knitters using a pattern, you know in advance that the pattern will be good and won’t need any “fiddling”. I followed the pattern exactly; the only modifications I made were to knit it one inch longer (and use two extra buttons), and also to cast on more stitches for the edgings (see below for details).
I used Berroco Ultra Alpaca, a worsted weight yarn that is a 50/50 wool and alpaca blend. It is a very sturdy yarn and has good definition; this latter is very important for this pattern which combines cables with lace. I am still not sure what I think of the yarn. It comes in lovely, rich colours, works cables beautifully, and comes in at the inexpensive end of my yarn buying spectrum. On the other hand, it is a bit itchy and I am worried that the alpaca might become “fuzzy” with use. I will need to wear it and wash it a few times before I can pass judgement. Here you can see the great stitch definition:
I knit this in a size 42 and find the fit to be spot-on, with about one inch of positive ease. The shoulders fit really well, although I find the sleeves to be a bit tight. I like the fact that I can button it with no gapping. I used a US 6 needle and US5 for the button bands and neck ribbing.
I found only two problems with the pattern, fairly minor ones, but useful to know about in advance. Although Amy lists two needle sizes at the top of the pattern, noting that the smaller size is for “edging”, she doesn’t actually note within the pattern itself to switch to the smaller needle when knitting the button band and neck edgings. This is a VERY niggling point, but I see on Ravelry that many knitters didn’t switch and wish they had. The other problem is actually a small error in the pattern; she has you pick up stitches along the neck by a factor of four, but you actually need a factor of four plus two, so that the ribbing will both begin and end with two knit stitches. I picked up more stitches than the pattern called for: in my size, she suggests picking up 83 stitches for the button bands and I picked up 103 (though recall that I added an inch to the sweater length), and for the neck I picked up 118 instead of 108.
Here is a photo in front of the Copenhagen Contemporary Art Gallery. I am standing in front of the exhibition Wish Tree Garden by Yoko Ono. (If you are by chance in Copenhagen during the next two weeks, I loved this exhibit, which will close on the 5th of March.) Thanks to Erun for taking the Copenhagen photos.
I love the buttons I picked. I had planned to use a pair of plain wooden buttons, but saw these and instantly thought they’d be perfect. (I bought them at Loop in London.) I think they add just a bit of flash to the cardigan.
This was the second worsted weight cardigan I’ve knit in a row (the first was the Tinder cardigan I knit for Emma). Unlike Tinder, this cardi flew off the needles; it took me 6 weeks to the day to knit, even including washing and blocking and sewing on buttons. This made me think “I need to knit more worsted weight sweaters”, but now that I have been wearing it, I must say that it is VERY warm. I think that my next few sweaters will use a fingering or sport weight wool.
It is a dreary day here in England. I must admit to loving dreary Saturdays – no feeling guilty for knitting all day! Happy weekend!
