Gemma Cardigan

I am very excited to announce that my first ever for-sale knitting pattern has just been published. Last month, I submitted three sweater designs to Knit Picks to be considered for their Independent Designer Program, and all three were accepted! Since then, I have been knitting, size-grading, and pattern-writing like madwoman. Gemma was the first to be finished, and it went live on the Knit Picks website this morning.

Gemma Cardigan - $5 at Knit Picks and Ravelry (no account required)


Sizes: XS (S, M, L, XL, 2XL, 3XL) (The sample is a size S with about 1/2" of negative ease.)
Finished Measurements: 28” (32”, 36”, 40”, 44”, 48”, 52”) bust
Yarn Requirements: 7 (8, 9, 9, 10, 11, 12) balls of Knit Picks Swish DK in Tidepool Heather (or 770 (880, 990, 1100, 1210, 1320, 1430) yards of a similar DK weight yarn)
Needles: US 5 (3.75mm) circular needles and same size of needles preferred for working sleeves in the round (e.g. DPNs, two circular needles, or circular needle long enough to use Magic Loop)
Gauge: 21 stitches x 26 rows = 4” in Stockinette stitch



Gemma is a fitted cardigan with a circular yoke, waist shaping and simple lace at the collar and cuffs. There is also some subtle shaping going on right before the lace sleeve cuff in the form of some increases that create a tiny little puff. The lace is an adaptation of the Diamond Mesh Lace from Barbara Walker's (first) Treasury of Knitting Patterns.

This is one of those knits that is pretty simple, won't necessarily show off your intarsia/cabling/nupp-making skills, and, yes, contains a lot of Stockinette, but I'm pretty sure you can wear it with just about anything.



And being part of this new Independent Designer Program? A wonderful experience all around. Knit Picks was a joy to work with. They were responsive, fast, and extremely encouraging. Plus...the yarn rocks. I loved working with the Swish DK on this project.

Also, doing a for-sale pattern meant I was able to hire a Tech Editor, which was fantastic. I don't think I will ever go back to trying to edit patterns alone.



My amazing friend, Lefteris Tsironis, helped out with the photos when I made a visit to Los Angeles a couple of weeks ago. We had a lot of fun doing the shoot, and he spent who-knows-how-long processing and editing the photos that same evening. There are about one million more pictures of this sweater on my Flickr page. (And, yes, I'm smirking in almost all of them. It's because I'm self conscious, not because I'm feeling particularly pleased with myself, as a smirk often denotes.)



Also, a big thank you to everyone who reads and/or comments on this blog. Your encouragement and general warm-fuzziness are a big part of how I was able to muster up the courage to start trying to get my work out there!

And stay tuned for a couple more pattern releases in the next few weeks...