Let's Recap: Anthro 101

I'm sure it's no surprise to hear that I'm waaay behind in showing things off on this blog.  Even I was surprised to see how long this one has been waiting, however.  It's over a year since I was finishing up this cardigan and wanted to show it off.  How time flies.

I won't go into great detail, here.  That old post gives all the deets on the cardi: where the inspiration came from, the yarns I used, etc.  I ended up scrapping the crocheted belt, in the end.  I just didn't feel like it did the cardigan justice.  Other than that, I think I did a pretty good job of replicating the original Anthropologie cardigan.  There are some great textures in this one, between all of the different yarns, as well as some great colours.

Another triumph for Elizabeth Zimmermann's set-in sleeve and another cute cardi for me.

Stripes

The Inspiration

Several years ago I saw a project on Ravelry that was using a cardigan from Anthropologie for inspiration.  Sadly, that project has never been completed, but it was nevertheless an inspiration to me, and I went on to begin to plan my own cardigan based on their inspiration.  In the past year or so, I've seen a lot of Missoni-type chevrons appearing everywhere, and while this particular cardigan is more of a ripple than a chevron, I still can't help but feel it might be received as trendy.  I don't think I've ever been trendy, before.

The Plan

I spent some time last fall perusing the Knit Picks website and came up with a collection of various fingering weight yarns that would work.  I was originally going to stick with the blue/neutral/brown colour scheme of the original, but somewhere along the way my own colour sensibilities set in (probably in combination with the colours available in the various yarns) and I ended up going with more of a blue/grey combo, with some purple thrown in for a pop of colour.  I worked up a plan for the stripes that reflected the tonal sensibilities of the original cardi.  Because I wanted to play not only with colour but also with texture, the yarns themselves are many and varied, including some Stroll sock (merino/nylon), some Palette (peruvian wool), some Gloss fingering (merino/silk), and some Aloft (mohair/silk.)

Unblocked ripples

I started knitting the sweater (in a simple feather and fan ripple) last fall and then stalled out for some reason when I started the sleeves.  I must have been distracted by another project, whether woven or knitted.  In the past couple of weeks, I rediscovered my inspiration, picked it up again and finished the sleeves in no time.  Of course once the sleeves are done, it's a simple matter (?) of joining the body and sleeves and knitting up some seamless set-in shoulders, a la Elizabeth Zimmermann.  All I have left now is the button band, which won't actually have buttons, since I'm going with the belted version of the original Anthropologie cardi.  I crocheted a simple striped belt and now just have to work out the math for the button band (since I'm overcomplicating things, as I usually do.)  I can't wait to show you the finished product!