Bobble Cardigan

I know it’s January and I should focus on the year ahead, but I’m going to throw it back to October for a sweet little make. 

I’ve been blogging on and off for 10 years now – mostly “off” because I didn’t quite know what I was doing yet. I knew how to knit, but was too scared to make a sweater. I didn’t know how to sew or embroider. A lot has changed in the last 10 years and I’m finally finding my voice. Fiber arts are experimental. Even if you’re following a pattern, there are always new techniques to try. Even if you’re dipping your toes into pattern writing, there are always new artists to discover. I can’t wait to share my explorations in the coming year. But first: the bobble sweater.

I do enjoy a good adult-sized sweater (mostly because I get to wear it after it’s done), but toddler knits have to be my favourite. The reasons are pretty obvious: small scale, WAY cuter, fewer materials…I could go on, but I also find that they give more room to experiment. In this case, it’s a zipper!

Before I go on, I’ll quickly outline the pattern and materials:

Northside Knit Co. Louise Cardigan in size 2-4 years

Lion Brand Heartland Yarn in Canyonlands* (I needed 2 balls for this project) 

ChiaoGoo circular needles (my favourite) 

*I like to knit with natural fibres for myself and mostly acrylic for my daughter. I can handle a bit of itch, but I don’t want to put her through that. 

Even at 2 years old, I don’t quite trust my little one with buttons, so I knew I had to install a zipper in this cardigan. Honestly, zippers in knitwear freaked me out. I had no idea how to make them look good, so I set out to develop a technique that I could carry forward.

I have a post coming up where I show how I created this zipper, so I’ll keep it brief. I decided to enclose the rough zipper sides with bias binding, which worked out so well! The binding is made from treasured fabric scraps from other projects – here’s a little peek at some of those projects: 

The final cardigan is neat, practical and something I’ll keep as an heirloom for my daughter. A quick word on the pattern: The Louise Cardigan is such a sweet design. It works up quickly (I think this took me about a week between a full time job and parenting) and looks amazing. I’ve already started the pullover version for myself. 

I’ll end this post with a few more makes from October – including my daughter’s Dorothy costume and some fun décor. I can’t wait to bring these types of projects to my blog in the near future.

Happy making,

Jackie

A little disclaimer: This blog is very small, so it almost goes without saying, but I am not affiliated with any brands mentioned in this post.