Embroidery on a Girl's Knitted Cardigan.

As knitters, we sometimes start with a pattern and search for yarn.  At othermtimes we begin with the yarn and search for the pattern.  When I was gifted two large skeins of DK weight yarn in two different shades of pink, I knew I wanted to make a piece that would suit one or more of my granddaughters.  With the exception of my earlier infant sweaters, I don't usually knit with DK (#3) yarn as the projects take longer to complete, and I like the feel of worsted (#4) or sometimes chunky (#5). However the soft pink tones challenged me to try something different.  

On a visit to my local independent yarn start (Yarn Barn in New Haven, Connecticut, I found the pattern that called my name.  Sirdar Calyso Double Kbniuitting Pattern #4297 is a cropped tri-color cardigan with a single button closing.  I added some DK white to the yarn I had on hand, and I was on my way.  Needle sizes are US 3 (3 1/4mm) for the ribbing and border and US 6 (4mm) for the body of the sweater.

The back and front, and sleeve pieces are knitted separately from the bottom up.  Then they are joined at the shoulders.  The pattern calls for the ribbed border to be knitted before the sweater is  completely put together.  I prefer to sew all parts together first.  The last step is the embroidery.  I used the photo guide on the pattern cover to show me the placement.

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The picture on the cover portrayed a girl in a lime green sweater that was decorated with narrow bands of yellow and a wide band of sky blue.  Lime green and yellow flowers were embroidered onto the blue band.  Yellow and blue flowers were embroidered onto the body and back on the green sweater.  The designers even paced a blue square bordered with yellow on the back of the sweater.  A green and blue sweater was embroidered onto the center of the square.

For my color placement, I used the palest pink for the body of the sweater, white for the narrow band, and a slightly darker pink for the broad band.  Following the scheme of the pictured sweater, I embroidered, light pink and white flowers onto the broad band.  I made a few changes in the sweater, because I was not able to create the intarsia square on the back. I knitted with light pink up the entire back.  Also, I added colored bands to the sleeves.  I chose not to embroider flowers on the body of the sweater for a simpler look. A simple pink rose button closed the sweater at the v- neckline.  The delicate embroidered flowers add an extra dimension to the sweater.  Please note, that the narrow bands  are actually white, although they may not appear that way in the detail photo.

I made this sweater in a size 5-6 for my petite 5 year old granddaughter. The sweater fits, and is roomy enough take her through the spring.  Since it is lightweight, she can wear in on top of a long sleeved t-shirt for a bit of extra warmth indoors during the cooler moths.  Since it is lightweight, she can wear it under her winter jacket, without feeling too bunched up.

Her three year old cousin frequently requests sweaters in her favorite color pink.  Luckily, I have enough yarn left to make her sweater as well.  this time I will switch to use the darker pink for the body of the sweater, and the lighter pink for the bank.  Instead of white, I will pick up a delicate blue or green for the narrow bands and parts of the flower.  I haveyeat to decide whether to tackle the intarsia square or the additional flowers on the body of the sweater.  Friend of mine employs the intarsia technique all of the time, and I know that she would be able to help me.  Since it takes me a long time to knit in DK I am unable to show off my ideas for the sweater with the new color placement this time. I am currently working on another 3 sweater project  progress) at a time,  but I wandered to  showy readers the possibilities of the color swap. When I finish to new sweater, I will add the pictures to this article

I have adde floral embroidery and facial details to the mittens pictured below.  I look forward to combining the two fiber arts for projects in the future.

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Readers, have you combined embroider with knitting to embellish your projects?  I would like   to see your photos.  I welcome you to join me on my stitching journey.  As always, I welome your feedback and reflections.