Knit 8 Cabled Scarf Version 2

A few months ago, I was desperate for a quick knitting project that had something in it that would challenge me. Fortunately, Knit 8 had just come into the shop where I work, so I was able to look through it and pick something to knit.

I was able to find the perfect project, a stylish narrow scarf in two colours with an interesting cable design.

Materials
For version 2 of the cabled scarf the pattern calls for 3 balls of Soho Summer DK cotton Fog 250 and 2 balls of Alpaca Silk Georgette 255 Musk, however I managed to complete the scarf with only 2 balls of Soho Summer DK cotton and 1 ball of Alpaca Silk Georgette. As I didn't have any Musk, I used Peony 757, which is a slightly lighter shade of pink. The scarf is knitted on 10.0mm single pointed knitting needles, making it very quick to knit, which is what I was looking for.

Knitting Process
 The scarf was very quick to knit, as I had hoped and was quite easy once I got the hang of doing the cables. For my first try at doing (the dreaded) cables, I was pleased with how I went, cables are definitely not as hard as they're said to be. 
 The scarf took about one and a half weeks to knit, which was pretty much the time frame I wanted to knit it, so I was very happy with how quickly it knitted up.
Apart from not using as much yarn as the pattern said it would, I didn't find any errors in the pattern and as the scarf is very stylish, the Fog and Peony looking slightly sophisticated together, I am exceedingly happy with how it turned out.   

Side to Side Cardigan from Knit 8

I made version 2 of this pattern, which is for a short, sideways knitted cardigan with three cables. The cardigan ties with an eye cord that runs through one of the cables.



I chose the cardigan pattern because it looked fun and quick to knit and had quite a few techniques that I hadn't used before. When I finished the cardigan it was identical to the pattern picture, but with a longer i-cord, a deliberate alteration on my part, and of course the cardigan was in different colours :)







For the cardigan I used Alpaca Silk Georgette 751 Pebble and Soho Summer DK Cotton 234 Currant. I used Currant instead of Soho Summer DK Cotton 216 Sapote, which is the yarn used in the pattern instructions, because I preferred the colour combination of purple and steel grey  to the suggested brown and steel grey, which seemed a bit dull to me. The needles I used were 5.5mm and 10.0mm single pointed needles, a cable needle, a stitch holder and 5.5mm double pointed needles.


The two yarns together feel soft and make the pattern look slightly lacy, because they're knitted together on large needles. The two yarns worked really well for the cardigan, I love the combined colours and the yarns feel very soft. The cardigan is also a perfect weight for where I live, it gives some warmth but isn't too hot, because of its lacy texture.



It took me about 2 months of on and off again knitting to complete the garment, however the actual time spent knitting was very quick and there was minimal sewing up. Probably the most time consuming part of the cardigan was knitting the i-cord.


This wasn't a very difficult cardigan to make, the instructions were quite easy to read and follow, even though there were a few techniques I hadn't really used much before, like the moss stitch and the whole experience of knitting "sideways." The instructions for the i-cord weren't as clear but I found very user-friendly instructions for it in Knitter's Handbook by Montse Stanley

My only complaint about this pattern would be the minor errors in the last section, where purls and knit stitches were swapped incorrectly. 

On the whole I am very happy with the cardigan, it turned out almost exactly as expected and is quite light to wear. So far I've worn it with a dress during a breezy day at the beach and at work over a blouse, with a skirt. I am really satisfied with the cardigan, hopefully I'll be able to wear it a lot. I think it will dress up a jeans outfit, or look smart and casual over a more formal outfit.

Update: And I am still getting use out of it, 5 years later ... It has worn very well and has been a very versatile piece of my wardrobe, although perhaps it is time to retire it :)