Out of character

This year at Stitches West, I saw a beautiful garment hanging in the Shelridge Farms booth. It was an asymmetric jacket with an unusual dimensional stitch design. When I looked closely, I realized it was crochet. Really? Crochet?

I used to crochet a lot. I'm guessing it was back in the 70's. I'd grab some yarn in various colors and just go to town--afghans, beach coverups (ponchos), floppy hats (remember those??) would fly off my hook. But these days I'm not thrilled with stacked rows of double crochet or shells. I do like crochet trim on knit garments, but for me it's been limited to embellishment for knitting.

Lily Chin's book, Couture Crochet Workshop peaked my interest, especially with the fitting and design content, but that was the extent of it. Interested.

It was Maureen Mason-Jamieson's Cords & Cable Crochet Cardigan at Stitches West that pushed me over the edge. I bought the pattern when it became available (thanks for letting me know Emy!). The pattern photo shows a multi-color version but I'm going to make it in a solid color.

Cords & Cables Crochet Cardigan - swatching .


A closer look at the swatches. (I'm color balance challenged.)

The yarn is Crystal Palace Yarns Creme, 60% wool - 40% silk and I really like it. It has a wonderful hand and doesn't have a tendency to split. Now I need to figure out if I can afford it. That's the other thing--as much as I love the design, it requires 2750 yds for the smallest size. When I first read the pattern I was stunned because I don't have that much of a DK weight yarn in my stash. Now that I've been working the stitch pattern it makes sense. The dimensional nature of the pattern adds significantly to the yardage required.

For now I'm happy swatching, getting familiar with crochet again, and trying to get gauge.