Modifying an older cardigan

A few years ago I knit a version of Leitmotif cardigan for myself. I used a heavier yarn and I wanted to lengthen the sleeves a bit. While I love the cardigan I find I’m not getting much use from it. I’ve got a couple of problem, the first is that the front doesn’t have closures.

IMG_3300The front edges are knit in st st and edged with I-cord bind off. In the sample I used hooks and eyes for a clean line but I knit the front of mine longer to cross over. I’m thinking about undoing the I-cord bind off and working I-cord buttonholes along the front edge so that I can add buttons.

The second issue I have is that I knit the sleeves too long and wide. The yarn I used is heavier than the yarn in the pattern and I didn’t add extra decreases to compensate. So my sleeves are too long and wide. This means that every time I wear it the sleeves get in the way!

IMG_3304Fortunately these sleeves were knit from the top down. So what I need to do I think is to rip out the extra 1 1/2″ of length I don’t want and then another couple of inches more so that I can work a few more decrease rounds.

While none of these changes will take more than a few hours I’m really, really slow to get around to doing them. The cardigan has been sitting on the back of the sofa for 2 weeks now and I’m managing very successfully to ignore it every night :-) Please give me a great big shove to got finish the job! Maybe I just need the temperature to drop a few degrees so that I am in serious need of an new cardigan…..

2 thoughts on “Modifying an older cardigan”

  1. taking a whole 2 weeks to sort a UFO? – yer a rank amateur, I have stuff that has been sitting for years! If you want to compete in the dithering stakes you will have to try harder to ignore your knitting than that.

    you do beautiful work, and you work hard, I’m sure it’ll be done by teatime.

  2. Oh I have one of those too. I need to rip out the sleeves for Paulie and use a different bind off. The I cord doesn’t work and the bottom of the sleeve is baggy. Every time I wear it for a walk around the neighborhood I notice it. And still I haven’t done it. Maybe this week it will happen! Thanks for reminding and inspiring me.

    PS Mine doesn’t look as lovely as your cables and purple combination.

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