For years now, I've always said that I would make myself a shawl I could draw over my shoulders in the morning until the cool mist burns off but, alas, I've been using a throw a dear friend of mine had given my husband ages ago. The throw works ok but due to the length and width of it, I often need to fold it into a triangle so that I can actually wrap it around myself. Because of that, it tends to be a little thick (& just a tad too warm) for me. It was time for me to just give in and make myself a shawl that was long enough to cover most of me and yet wide enough to wrap around me as well. So the search began. I went onto Ravelry and found several options from wraps, shawls, boleros and shrugs - the options seemed endless!😱😳 I was finally able to narrow it down to the following options:
- https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/kathy-kelly-cabled-capelet
- https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/kingfisher-capelet
- https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/amy-2
- https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/girls-want-to-have-fun-2
- https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/easy-lace-shrug-80064ad (this is always a pattern that I'm drawn to.😍)
- https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/0-1351-nebula
- https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/turbulence-2
- https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/easy-slanted-shrug
- https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/202-35-summer-cocoon (I really liked this pattern!😍)
- https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/lockdown-cardigan
- https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/chilly-church-shrug
- https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/basic-easy-shrug
- https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/dimpsey-shawl
- https://www.ravelry.com/projects/Lenskatala/flugel-cape
- https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/embarker-cocoon-cardigan
In the end, it was a tough call; I had to decide what it was that I was exactly looking for (did I really want a shrug? a bolero? a shawl? a big blanket folded in half as sleeves?). And, it finally boiled down to either the Flugel Cape and the Embarker Cocoon Cardigan. Since the Embarker Cocoon Cardigan used one of my favorite stitches (moss stitch!😍🥰❤️) and it seemed like it was more along what I was looking for, I decided to try that pattern.
So, with my (leftover) Caron Simply Soft Eco in Sun Drop and my Chiaogoo's US9 (5.5mm) needles, I embarked on my Ki Iro Hire adventure and here's what I did:
- Because I wasn't using bulky yarn (& didn't want a bulky weight sweater), I had to cast on 169 sts, instead of 89 sts, to make the cardigan wide enough.
- Then, because it needed to have 9 cm (3.5 in) of ribbing, that came out to 19 rows before I could actually start the pattern.
- After working the recommended 10 repeats, it was obvious that I needed to do (way) more repeats in order for it to be long enough for me (unless I wanted a very, very "cropped" bolero! 😲😱). So, I ended up with a total of 17 repeats before finishing it off with another 19 rows of ribbing and binding off.
Thoughts on the pattern: It was easy to follow and fairly easy to memorize. However, because I practically doubled the number of stitches, it took far longer than anticipated to finished this "project". And to top it off, while I did manage to use up all of my yarn stash, I ended up playing yarn chicken and lost (yes, I actually didn't have enough yarn! 😲😱😭 😖🤦) so, I had to search the web to see if I could find one more skein to finish it off or decide to rip back to salvage what I could to finish it off. As I couldn't find another skein in the same colour (the colour I was using was discontinued and there wasn't a comparable/similar colour (I contacted the company and asked)); so, it was either: I find someone who had some leftover stash and was willing to sell it to me; rip it back; or add a different colour yarn. I tried to find someone who had old stash and was willing to sell it to me but alas, no one responded to me. I tried to match it with a different colour yarn but, I just didn't like the contrast. 😔🤷. So, all that was left to do was to rip back what I had already done (basically, that meant ripping back ten (10) rows of ribbing and another ten (10) rows of the pattern (aka 1 pattern repeat)) so that I could "match" the other side.
Thoughts on the actual FO: I'm glad that I ripped it back to match the other side. While it's just a tad shorter, it might actually be just the right length, especially if I account for the "drag" the sweater will have. It was also definitely worth adding the extra repeats because it's wide & long enough to cover my arms and body. It will definitely be nice and cozy to wear in the mornings and in cooler weather.
Here's what my finished object (FO) looks like:
Front
Back
Back Extended
Side
Side Extended
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