This week’s knitting has been for a studio sample – the Ravenscar Cardigan. I designed this cardigan as the cardigan version of my Ravenscar Jumper, which itself was inspired by the fisherman’s jumper. So it already had a hard-working history before I even picked up the needles.
I wanted a cardigan to wear in autumn – something that would keep me at the right temperature and keep the chill out. I chose Jacobs Aran for its hard-wearing nature.
The original yarn was discontinued around 2020, and I sold the display sample to a lovely lady who lived on a canal boat and was passing through. I love thinking that cardigan is still out there, living its best life on the water – keeping her warm on canal walks and cosy by the fire in the evenings. I’ve never lived on a canal boat myself, so that’s just my imagination, but it makes me smile.
Because I’d already written the pattern, I asked a test knitter to make the pieces, and then I joined them together myself. I’ve always done this – ever since my days designing 100 to 200 hand knits a year as a freelance designer. It’s how I learnt all the little refinements that make a difference, including the technique I now use for picking up stitches.
Sunday
On Sunday I sat down to join the Ravenscar Cardigan. I sewed the shoulder seams and started picking up stitches along the fronts. And that’s when I noticed them – mistakes on both sides. Just a row where the purl was in the wrong place, the sort of thing that’s easy to do and that I’d done myself when knitting this design.
They were right at the bottom of the fronts. I paused and wondered: would anyone notice? Probably not. But I would. So I put the knitting down, took a breath, and decided to reknit them.
There can be small mistakes in knitting – I have samples in the studio with cables that twist the wrong way or purls that sit where a knit should be. They don’t bother me. But these were too many and too visible, right at the front where the eye goes first. So I pulled them back and started again.
Monday
After the first few rows, the disappointment faded. The soothing rhythm of the stitches took over, and soon the week was measured in quiet rows rather than hours. Reknitting can do that – it turns frustration into calm focus.
By the end of the week
Now the fronts are finished and they look just as they should. If I’d left the mistakes, they would be all I’d see. Instead, I have two fronts I’m proud of, and a few days of peaceful knitting to look back on. After the Sunday and Monday, I didn’t touch any knitting for the rest of the week! It’s been a busy one and looking back I can’t believe I didn’t knit anything after Monday!
Sometimes the best thing you can do for your knitting – and for yourself – is to take a deep breath, pull back a few rows, and start again.