The Chocolate stout cardigan by Baby Cocktails caught my eye about two years ago. I went online and purchased it through Ravelry.  It is a pattern by Thea Colman and it is also available on her website. Like all new projects I started this one with great gusto.

Once I had finished knitting the body and the sleeves, I sewed it together and did not like how the sleeves hugged my arms. This could be because I just don’t like very fitted clothing. I pulled them out and followed the basic instructions for the chocolate stout cardigan sleeves, I just knitted them in a different pattern. RESULT… It only took me two years to finish the sleeves and sew them to the body !!  It fitted perfectly. But my Chocolate Stout Journey did not end there. Please read on..

What yarn did I use?

I used an Aran weight yard by Hayfield, called Aran Tweed. It is navy blue with flecks of beige, brown orange and tan. Very pretty and knits very nicely.

  

The tension did not match the pattern

The label of the wool always tell you the ideal tension you should get using this wool. This tension should match or be close to your patterns tension. You should always knit a swatch that measure bigger than 10cm x 10cm using the needles recommended in the pattern. Count the stitches you have in a 10cm area, and also how many rows you have in a 10cm area. The pattern recommends you have a tension of 20 stitches and 24 rows = 10 cm in 1×1 ribbing in pattern.

My wool gave me 21 stitches to 25 rows so I just used the sizes as it was written. If you get more stitches and rows the you can try a smaller size needle and if you get too few stitches and rows you can try a larger needle. If your tension does not match and is not close to what the pattern requires, your chocolate stout cardigan will not be the right size.

Are the pattern instructions easy to follow?

This is a well written pattern. It has an easy to read diagram to help you remember the pattern. Each section you knit is laid out so that you just need to follow it till it ends and the next section of instructions start.

What is the best thing about this pattern?

The chocolate stour cardigan pattern has the most wonderful selection of sizes. These sizes are in cm and inches, all inclusive, enabling one to use it for many different sizes if you so wished.  37(39,41,43,45,47)(49,51,53,55,57,59)”/94(99,104.25,109.25,114.25,119.5)(124.5,129.5,134.5,139.75,144.75,150)cm, finished measurement around bust, worn closed. It is a cozy comfortable cardigan.

     

What changes did I make?

I made two changes.

• I re-knitted the sleeves as I did not like the close fitting of the patterned sleeves. I must stress that there was nothing wrong with the pattern or the sizing it was just how the cables pulled it in and I like loose fitting clothing.
• After knitting the front band and collar once having picked up 3 stitches for every 4 rows, I found it was really too tight to hang nicely. I pulled it out and used a thinner needle to pick up approx. 4 sts rather than 3sts for 4 rows. This made all the difference and I ended up with a great cardigan.
• I spaced my buttons out at 8cm apart for my size. This meant I had no gaping around the bust area.

I did not knit the buttonholes in the button band but sewed them on my sewing machine.. PLEASE WATCH THE VIDEO’S

Chocolate Stout Cardigan Part 1: What I did, how it looks

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Chocolate Stout Cardigan Part 2 : Sewing buttonholes

 

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Would I make this chocolate stout cardigan again?

Yes, I would, hopefully not taking two years to get it done. It was a nice hand knit with an easy to follow pattern.

I hope that this positive review inspires you to knit this cozy cardigan!!

 

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