A bit of knitting - Sirdar 9410 cardigan

My cardigan is finally finished. It's been a long time in the making but I am so pleased with the end result!

I used Sirdar pattern 9410 that I wrote about here and the double knitting yarn specified in the pattern.

It's knitted in a lovely shade called Spruce which sadly now has been discontinued but you can still buy it online for example at Minerva Crafts.

The cardigan in the main is knitted in double moss stitch, which is also sometimes known as double seed stitch. It makes a lovely stretchy fabric and is produced by working two rows of knit two, purl two, followed two rows of purl two, knit two. 

I found a good set of instructions how to knit double moss stitch here at www.simple-knitting.com. 

The front panels have a cable and bobble pattern, that I think is called a nosegay (I could be wrong!).

I knitted the sleeves before finishing the fronts as I normally flag when it comes to making the sleeves (is there a name for this - sleeve syndrome maybe!)

The front and back were joined at the shoulder seams and then the stitches for the neck border were picked up and knitted in a double rib pattern.  Once this was completed, the front borders were added also in double rib.

Once the garment was sewn up (very carefully and slowly) and the ends sewn in (I do hate that job), I laid the garment out flat in shape and covered with damp tea towels and left it to dry. This is supposed to block into shape. I know some people block each individual piece but this is what the pattern recommended.

The final touch was adding the top button, and boy did I struggle finding a button to match. I initially looked for a green one but it was impossible to get something the same shade. In the end I settled for a contrasting button.  I think it's coconut shell. It means that the cardigan will have to be handwashed but to be honest after all that work knitting it I probably wouldn't be sticking it in the machine anyway, although the yarn is described as machine washable.

I did enjoy making this as I like knitting textured patterns although cables do require some concentration! All in all this was a fairly easy make though.

Here I am wearing the finished item today.  It's a pretty terrible photo!

Now I'm wondering what pattern to knit next?