| Cardigans |
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| Written by Barbara Rottman | |||
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Title: Cardigans
Cardigans, by fashion knitwear designer Louisa Harding, is dedicated to "cardigan girls”, a "sisterhood of that uniquely female creative genre, which we are unable to suppress.” This beautifully photographed book of stylish cardigans will appeal to knitters of all ages and shapes. She sets out to design free flowing garments that "disguise our female flaws and enhance our charming assets.” Indeed, she does just that.
What Yarns does it Feature?
What’s Inside? If you count the value of a book by the number of project ideas, this book is a great value. You’ll find 25 distinct cardigan patterns that can be adapted to knit 40 variations. The book is arranged into four chapters: classics with a twist; edgings for detail; lace, cables, and Fair Isle; and party wear. Louisa introduces each chapter and garment with a summary of its unique design elements. She suggests how it can best be worn and what her intent was in creating each piece. The garments are beautifully photographed by her husband, Stephen Jessup, in romantic settings like Venice, London, Portugal and the south of France. The cardigans, accessories, ensembles, and hair present cardigans in a new light. Louisa smashes the traditional image of the cardigan with "lots of buttons down the front, which are securely fastened over an ample bosom and not worn by anyone under the age of 80.” These flattering and stylish garments will complement any wardrobe. It’s clear that these cardigans go anywhere and are equally gorgeous with a silk dress, jeans or party wear.
Each pattern is precisely written and sized for US, UK and European standards. The garments are sized to fit small to extra large (US sizes 6 to 18), with body and sleeve length also provided. The charts and written instructions are all clearly presented. Some charts, like the Fair Isles, are too expansive for the book format and may need to be enlarged. In other cases, charts are missing altogether, which will be a disappointment to knitters accustomed to charts for even the smallest of lace pattern repeats. The detailed photos are primarily fashion shots, but do provide close-up views of critical design elements and provide a nice template for the finished garment. These cardigans are designed for skill levels from easy to intermediate, and all will challenge and inspire knitters.
Best Pattern (or Best Advice)
Louisa Harding encourages the knitter to have fun with her patterns by thinking "outside our preconceptions of this knitted jacket that fastens up the front.” She adapts the designs into clever variations with simple but effective changes. Knitters can learn a lot by studying how effectively she does this by changing yarn, color, adding embellishments, varying the buttons or placement, and adding embellishments like ribbons or brooches. If one has to choose a "best pattern”, certainly the "Lacewing” with its square construction and lace edgings, is a delicate beauty that can go from everyday wear to office to evening. This single button cardigan knit in worsted-weight yarn is sufficiently challenging to keep the expert knitter interested but simple enough for a determined beginner.
Recommendation This book brings together fashion, fit, style, and good knitting and is a must for those who knit for themselves or for others. Overall Recommendation The stylish, functional and flattering cardigans in this collection will make this book a classic; it is a winner at #10.
Where to buy Cardigans by Louisa Harding: Yarnmarket.com
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Louisa Harding introduced her own line of yarns in 2005, and each of the sample garments are knit with yarns from her label. Distributors and their web site addresses are listed in the appendix. The book represents a collection of many of Louisa’s designs from prior publications; in the interim some of her yarns have been discontinued. Consequently, Louisa also provides generic weights for each project along with an interchangeable yarn table to determine average gauge, but you’re on your own to calculate yardage requirements. There’s a nice range of materials and gauges; the cardigans are knit in DK, worsted, Aran and bulky weight yarns. With the usual caution to match tension and gauge when substituting yarns, Louisa actually encourages substitution, urging "it can be fun to substitute yarns and starts you thinking creatively about knitting.”
Using It
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