Orange XOXO Cardigan

DD2's been looking for a long and roomy cardigan for a while. We could not find one in children's, teens’, or women's clothing stores around here or on internet. She has a relatively clear idea on how it ought to look and feel, and that makes it impossible to find the exact one. So, I decided that she needs my help.

We started with yarn selection: not scratchy wool, not a bulky yarn, soft and delicate, and in orange, her favorite color. We ended up with acrylic/wool blend in bright orange from Bergere de France. I purchased a pattern CD and ordered the yarn for her last fall.

Next, pattern. Not quite willing to design the whole cardigan from scratch, I looked for girls' cardigan/pullover patterns. Even if DD2 was not quite sure about the photos I've shown her, I decided to order a Phildar Enfants issue. There are two designs I thought might work for her ideas. Design 14 with lots of 1-by-1 ribs but roomy lower bodice and Design 4 with some interesting cables. Main issue is that I like to knit interesting patterns while DD2 does not like ‘fancy’ clothes for a special occasion. She wants everyday sort of clothes. Basically, she likes a lot of stockinet stitches. This is bad news for me. In order to make miles of stockinet stitches less boring, I added a variegated lace weight alpaca yarn from my LYS. It is called J. Knits Lace-A-Licious in pink color, Providence. It added a nice hand and color interest to the fabric without itchiness.



With DD2's desire in mind, I combined the two designs from the magazine: roomy lower bodice and fitted upper bodice of Design 14, XOXO cable pattern of Design 4, and ample sleeves but not too baggy. Even though DD2 resisted the idea of adding cables, she loved XOXO pattern. So, I happily knitted the orange XOXO cardigan.





She loves the result! Thanks goodness!!