Roses for K

Well, after being stuck on shawls and scarves for quite a while, I had to knit up another little baby cardigan using Cardigan Rose by Abi Taylor



My local yarn store had these little lovelies in the 40% off bin .... and I knew they would be perfect :)

I did a gauge swatch with size 4's as suggested, but just like always, I ended up getting gauge with size 3 needles (I ALWAYS have to go down one size…I just need to remember that! at 5.5 st/in).

Also, I had to rip-out the "one row buttonhole" approximately 8 times (the first time, I had to rip back about 5 rows, because I knew something was wrong with it, but forged ahead in happy oblivion anyway). However, after EIGHT attempts, I finally figured out the in-row buttonhole… I ALMOST gave up and just did a k2tog, yo buttonhole, but I looked the pattern up on Ravelry, and 100 other people had successfully used the pattern, and their buttonholes looked great, so I knew there must be a way (maybe my pride wouldn't let me give up, lol! It literally took me about 2 hours.. isn't that pathetic?)

This is a nice size in the 18 mo version… and should fit her till at least 24 months.  However, after I cast off this little sweater, I decided it needed a little feminine touch, so I added a crochet row of ch-loops in the BO edge of the hem and sleeve cuffs as follows:

• 1 sc in first st, *ch 4, skip over 1 st, 1 sc in the next st and repeat from * to end

The buttons are Vintage La Mode, that I picked up from the fabric store.  And to finish it off, I wet blocked, and then when almost dry, I steam-blocked to help with the acrylic portion of the yarn… ended up very soft, with a wonderful drape. I think we will be getting a lot of use out of this little sweater!