Thursday, September 19, 2013

The Red Lipstick

Some time ago, I wrote a blog post about an awesome Red cardigan from Zara's collection, remember?
http://jojiknits.blogspot.com.ar/2013/08/get-look.html
I talked about the inspiration, the yarn...

Well, a couple of months later, I have a finished cardigan to show you, and a new pattern to share...  As I said, September has been a very busy month!
The cardi is not exactly the same shape... It ended up being completely different than the inspiration, but I love its simplicity... Lipstick.



Lipstick is a simple, quick cardigan, with a relaxed look, but also with girly little details.
It is worked from the top down, in one piece, for minimal finishing. Knitted at a loose gauge, this little gem can be finished in very little time!
I chose a bold color for mine to compliment my very neutral wardrobe. I figured that if I still don’t dare to wear red lipstick, I might at least wear a very red cardi…



 

What I love about this cardi:
  • I knits up SO FAST!  I swear I didn't even notice I was knitting this, and suddenly Bam! it was ready.  Gauge is 4 st to the inch, which was such a rewarding change after so many fingering weight projects...
  • Love the relaxed (loose) fit.  Many times I stress about what the finished measurements of a sample will be after blocking.  With this style, I didn't need to be so precise, since an inch bigger/smaller would not affect the way the cardi fits... It is INTENDED to fit this way, and designed to be flattering with this feature.
  • Gotta love the longer back.  I mean, really! Why haven't I done this with all my sweaters?
  • The yardage used! I only had 2 skeins of yarn, so I thought this was going to be a cropped vest.  Honest.  I ended up with a very long, sleeved cardi.  Awesome!


Sizes:
XS (S, M, L, XL, XXL, XXXL).
This cardi is intended to be worn with quite a bit of positive ease (recommended 8”), which is built into each size.  I am wearing size M, and I have a 35” bust.

Finished Measurements:
Body circumference: 36 (40, 43, 47, 52, 55, 60) inches; 90 (100, 108, 118, 130, 138, 150) cm.
Upper arm circumference: 10 (10½, 11¼, 12½, 14, 15½, 17¼) inches; 25 (26, 28, 31, 35, 39, 43) cm.

Yarn
Studio Worsted, by Neighborhood Fiber Co, 2 (2, 2, 3, 3, 4, 4) skeins. Shown in colorway Charles Village. You’ll need about 720 (760, 790, 850, 950, 1100, 1200) yards of heavy worsted weight yarn.
I really really loved this yarn.  The color is exactly as in the pictures.  This bright!

And, once again, I was very lucky to have a great group of friends who tested this in record time :)  They'll help you see how it looks on other bodies and shapes :)


Enjoy!

~Joji

3 comments:

Sophia said...

That's gorgeous! I am in the Southern Hemisphere so this would be perfect for summer.. But I have to finish (start?) my Make a Wish for the KAL first, of course!
Sophia

Fuso e Roca said...

Olá Joji,

este seu casaquinho é lindo! Gostei muito do comprimento da parte de traz ser maior que a da frente, o fio e a cor são super bonitos, muitos parabéns!

Beijão,
Lu

amuk said...

How beautiful pattern...again. You are so talented. I have knitted many of your designs and I really enjoyed them.Thank you for designing sizes up to 60", that is great ! I am your finnish fan ; )