Yesterday I remembered to take a picture outside before dark! That’s always the problem with my On the Needles posts . . I keep trying to get more knitting done before I take the picture and then its too dark to take a picture outside and the lighting isn’t great inside. Oh, the problems I have in my life! 🙂
Campside Cardi
This is Campside Cardi. I’m on the fence about how I feel about this pattern. I’m so used to Laura Aylor’s patterns and they’re detailed and well written, plus the first sweater I ever made was a Laura Aylor pattern so I kinda learned to do sweaters using Laura’s instructions and they make sense to me.
Campside Cardi
There’s still the front bands to add so I’ll withhold total judgment til that’s done but here are my thoughts at the moment.
Positives:
- It’s a really quick knit. I started on May 1, finished the second sleeve last night and should finish the button band by the end of the weekend so that’s a whole sweater done in basically 2 weeks.
- The instructions are short and basic – not a lot of fluff. Except for the charts or all the various sizes, the instructions are about two pages.
Negatives in my opinion:
- The only picture on the pattern is of the back of the sweater. The front is written to have a 3″ gap (I think that’s what it is) in the front. After trying mine on, and reading what others have written, I probably don’t like that idea.
- Others had written that the sleeves were too tight. I made my sleeves one size larger and they’re still tighter than I prefer.
- Others had written that the shoulders seem to want to fall down and I’m seeing the same thing, possibly because of the sleeves being too tight.
All in all, I think if I lose a few (more than a few) pounds, I’ll be happier with it but I think the pattern is better suited for younger, thinner folks – you know . . as we get older, sometimes our arms are bigger and having a 3″ gap in front isn’t always attractive. Not the fault of the pattern . . just maybe not a good choice for me.
But, I love the yarn so much and I actually like the weight, feel and length of the sweater. By next winter, I’ve told myself I’ll be at least 20 pounds lighter and that will probably make a huge difference in how this sweater fits.
So . . what’s on your design wall?
Robin F. says
Love the color of your sweater. What yarn is it? I’m with you on not liking sweaters that don’t meet in front. I always try to alter the pattern to widen the front panels. For future use, try the Custom Fit system to make needed changes.
JudyL says
I thought by making the fronts a size larger and making the sleeves even another size larger, that would be enough but it wasn’t. It will fit when I lose 20 pounds, which I really need and want to do anyway.
ann says
Your sweater looks great thanks for the comments on how it fits I too would be unhappy with the droopy shoulders, tight sleeves and wide gap across the front. We must be the same generation. It would be easy to do that stitch pattern on the bottom of a sweater that fits right.
JudyL says
Yes, it would and I wish I had done that.
justquiltin says
Even more gorgeous color in the sunshine! I learned that lesson the hard way about the hang down straight gap front style sweater when making a CustomFit Featherweight. The style of sweater that hangs straight down and open just is not a style for me. Even tho it was CF, it doesn’t stay in place and the fronts slide to the sides of the bust. At first I thought it was my measurements being off but when looking at the finished projects it was a common theme so now stay away from that style.
Teri Jordan says
I’m sure glad you gave us your feelings about the sizing because I loved the pattern. I was thinking about buying the pattern
Rebecca in SoCal says
Leaving a gap in the front must be a new thing. Even if I didn’t actually close it I would want a sweater to meet. Most curious.
I guess the gap could reduce bulk?
Debbie M says
If you look at the photos on the ravelry page for this pattern, notice that the sleeves are tight on the model, too!
Amy (Waunaknit) says
Lovely color! I thought the designer revised the pattern to alter the shoulder issue. That’s disappointing to hear that it still is an issue. As you can tell, I haven’t started my Campside, but it’s still on my wish list, especially seeing how they’re all knitting up so quick on the MadMay forum. Some people are knitting a wider buttonband to close up the gap….just a thought.