Greta's Little Basic Cardi Update

We just released Module 2 in Fundamentals to Finishing by Holli Yeoh in the School of Sweet Georgia. After listening to Holli talk about the nitty-gritty nuances of knitting, I decided to use the Little Basic Cardi Fingering Weight knitting pattern as a jumping board to try new things. Even though I knit 6 to 12 garments per year, I only knit a garment in pieces once per year, if at all.

This month, I finished the back of my sweater and blocked it to size. Even though I knit a gauge swatch, this allowed me to double-check the sweater fabric. I knit the selvedge stitch of the sweater pieces in garter stitch instead of stockinette. Holli says in the class, “The neat thing about knitting is that there’s more than one way to do something.”

little basic Cardi update Greta Cornejo BFL Silk pineapple — *Little Basic Cardi back piece, knit with BFL Silk fine in the pineapple colourway, and the beginning of both sleeves in one circular needle.*

I have been alternating three balls of the hand-dyed yarn, which has been a bit of a learning curve. However, I am pleased by how uniform the hand-dyed colour looks on my sweater pieces.

I wonder, “why don’t I knit seamed sweaters more often?” Smaller pieces are more portable, and the end result keeps its shape and fits me better, making it a favourite one I reach for over and over. Lack of experience and the extra finishing time seems to be the main deterring factors. With the seaming lesson coming out at the end of June, I am motivated to get my sweater pieces complete in time for it.

In my quest to get comfortable with seamed sweaters, I made a rookie mistake. I didn’t notice until I blocked my two front pieces: the front right side is 4 rows shorter (almost an inch) than the front left side. On my blocked pieces, you can see the pin marking the place I knit to frog to and re-knit half the piece. From now on, I will measure and count rows before any change in pattern. Lesson learnt!

Module 2 includes Increases, Decreases, Fully Fashioned Shaping, and Short Rows for Shoulder Shaping. Holli’s patterns feel like a “Choose your own adventure book” with in-depth suggestions for shallow, regular, or deep ribbing; the option to add pockets; and even two shoulder options (English-Tailored Shoulders and Short Rows Shoulders). As I work on my first English Tailor Shoulder, I appreciate having both options in the pattern for the next time I want to customize.

As a learning exercise in the pattern, Holli added a tiny challenge: figure out how to apply the Bias Bind Off technique on the second front piece. Stopping to write this bit of the pattern gives me the confidence to add bias bind off to any pattern I approach after this one.

I welcome having this deeper understanding while knitting a garment and being encouraged to make it my own. Slowing down in a hobby that I tend to approach mindlessly allows me to be more conscious of my choices. If you haven’t watched Fundamentals to Finishing by Holli Yeoh yet, I encourage you to do it. You will get a lot out of the class, even if you have been knitting for a very long time.

As a School of SweetGeorgia member, you now have access to videos from Module 1 and 2, the Little Basic Cardi in three yarn weights, the Workbook for Module 1 and 2, and the English Tailor Shoulder Modification Worksheet included in Holli’s in-depth class, Fundamentals to Finishing.

Plus, you can ask Holli questions in the Forums and you can learn from fellow members who are also taking the class. Don’t be shy about sharing with us at the forums and crafternoons. We look forward to seeing your work!