ABB

Seedy Cardi is almost finished. She's quite wearable as-is, even went to Rhinebeck on Sunday, where she performed admirably in the cold and wet (but my poor digicam misbehaved – sorry, no pix). I love her rustic Noro-esque beauty.



She's just ABB, all but buttons. Once upon a time wearing a cardi sans buttons would have bothered me. No longer. Indeed, I'm brazenly flaunting Seedy's buttonlessness. Behold! – a buttonhole with no corresponding button.



Otherwise, the loose ends are woven in, the leftovers neatly wound, and the trusty tools stowed. I suppose if I hadn't been quite so obsessive about color-matching, there would be a nice full skein left instead of a motley collection of short pieces. Oh well.



Objectively, Seedy isn't heavy for a handknit cardigan – she's well under 500 g (17.6 oz). But she feels substantial, so I stabilized her back neck with a row of slip stitch crochet, using a leftover bit of a smooth yarn, Cascade 220. On the inside of the garment, it looks like a chain.



On the outside, it looks like a decorative running stitch between the collar and the body of the sweater.



The crochet chain works to limit stretching along the back neck, which can be pulled out of shape by the weight of the sleeves, resulting in drooping shoulders. While the effect may have appeal in a luscious angora sweater, I want Seedy to have a firm shoulder line. There's a slight difference in the drape of the sweater, which seems a reasonable trade off for the improved fit.

Ordinarily, I don't much like to wear sweaters with collars, they fidget me. But the turn line on Seedy's seed stitch collar forms crenellations that frame the face, a rather nice special effect. I'm no good at self-portraits, so modeled pix will have to wait 'til DH is available. In the meantime, Seedy's going shopping.