This is the Mirabella cardigan from Interweave Knits Spring 2008. The yarn is Debbie Bliss Stella, which is a silk/cotton/rayon blend. I love the ladylike style of this sweater. In particular, I love the crochet button band, discussed in this post, and the stand-up double-knit collar. My collar is a little narrower than the pattern's, and my sleeves are a bit shorter. I think a also added a couple of rows to the bottom section. If I had to do it over, I'd move the ribbing section up by 1/2 inch or so. I used an invisible bind off for the collar because I like the rounded edge look. I used a provisional cast-on for the folding hem instead of picking up a row of inside stitches from a cast-on bottom. I have plenty of leftover yarn, and I thought about doing 3/4 length sleeves, but I figure that much pinkness would be blinding to anyone looking at me.
I really like the feel of the yarn and the way the sweater drapes, but I didn't like knitting with it that much. It splits way too easily, and I could not produce regular stitches. I'm hoping this is a case where stitch irregularity just
adds to the charm of a hand knit garment.
I do feel ever so au courant with this color. My recent catalog mailing from Nordstrom features quite a few pages with clothing and accessories in very similar shades of pink. I just call it hot pink, but in the catalog, the names include watermelon, pink punch, magenta, sorbet, poppy, Arabian pink, hot pink, princess pink, and fuchsia. I wonder who thought of "Arabian pink".
