Kingfisher Cardigan

Knitpicks "crayon" pima cotton boucle

Colour:  kingfisher (really nice dark green)

Used most of 9 50g skeins ( 9*128=1,152 yards)

Doing the whole body in garter stitch, sleeves in stst, cuffs garter

4 mm needles

Longtail cast on 200 st, garter st 112 rows

Divide at underarms into back and 2 fronts

Make up pattern sort of like the pink bamboo thing that I frogged

200 stitches, 100 back, 50 each front

Row 1 RS: Cast off 6 at each arm

Now have 3 sections.

94 back and 47 each front

Row 2 WS:  Knit one row, joining 2 new balls at back and right front

Now working with 3 balls

Row 3 RS: decrease row

Right front: Knit to last 3 st, k2tog k1

Back:  k1 ssk, knit to last 3 st, k2tog k1

Left front:  k1 ssk, knit to end

Row 4 WS: knit across all three sections

Repeat rows 3 and 4 three more times

This will reduce back by 8 and each front by 4

86 back and 43 each front

Then just knit until time to shape neck

Ended up 78 rows from underarm to shoulder, then 3 needle bind off

Back:  Knit to row 77 straight up

Short rows starting row 77, knit 1/2 way across plus 7, wrap and turn

Then back and forth short rows, lengthening short rows from

7 st to 10 to 14 to 18 to 22 (wrap and turn each time)

Then knit to end of row 77, knit across row 78

Right front:

I planned decreases according to how many rows and stitches I had left so that I would end up with 22 stitches to sew together for shoulders

Row 35 put 8 st on holder (later will pick up for neck)

K2, k2tog at beginning of rows 37, 39, 41, 43, 45 (every 2nd row)

And at begin of rows 49, 53, 57, 61, 65, 69, 73, 77 (every 4th row)

Total 13 decreases

Stop at end of row 78

Left front:  same as right except:  ssk, k2 at end of decrease rows

Now have 43-8-13=22 st each front

Use 3 needle bind off to join shoulders

Sleeves:  pick up 87 st around arm holes

I like to pick up both sleeves before knitting down, so I can match them easier

Used small crochet hook, really hard to find stitches with this boucle stuff

Knit plain in round so sleeves are stst to cuffs

Considered knitting sleeves flat in garter but stst is nice contrast to body

Start decreasing at underarm every 6 rows,

beginning at row 18:  SKK, k1, sm, k1, k2tog

Decrease rows 18, 24, 30, 36, 42, 48, 54, 60, 66, 72, 78, 84, 90, 96, 102, 108, 114, 120

Leave sleeves on hold at 120th row.   87-36=51 st

Neck: 

Use 3.25 mm needles

use small crochet hook to pick up st along the 2 sides

There are 8 st on hold at each front.  I don't want to tie in yarn at the front edge because I'm going to leave the raw edge, so I tied in at the other end of 8 on right front, knit to edge, then knit back across the 8, picked up along edge to shoulder, knit across st on holder at back, picked up along edge to 8 st on hold on left front. 

Then do k1p1 ribbing for several rows, almost 2 inches.

For bind off, again I don't want to END at either of the front edges, so I started binding off in k1p1 pattern beginning at right front edge to middle of back, then k1p1 to end, turn and bind off back to middle of back.  This leaves a slight difference in number of rows but with this yarn once I weave in the end the difference is invisible. 

Cuffs: 

Use 3.25 mm needles

Knit one row (row 121 of sleeves) with smaller needles, then purl one row (row 122), then decide that I'll continue knitting the cuff flat and sew up later so that I can knit every row.

Garter to row 149, bind off on row 150. 

Sew up cuffs.

Wear it!  I didn't even block this sweater, it has such nice soft structure as is.