Yes, I did the unspeakable.
I didn’t knit a tension square.
I don’t ever not knit a tension square.
But this time?
This time was different. My yarn was much thinner than those suggested. Knitting with appropriate needles to get gauge would have given me a garment strongly resembling a string-bag!
I decided to trust to luck and I chose to knit two sizes larger than I needed and just got going. I increased through the yoke and then decided that it was too small. I didn’t want to stretch to fit as it would open up the lace pattern more than I like. So I had another look at the stitch count numbers and picked a size even larger than before and started again…
I really like feather-and-fan lace. It’s also known as old shale and makes a lovely border for blankets and shawls, for which it is more commonly used. I like it best when the ridges are close together rather than stretched out, which I feel puts more focus on the holes. That’s why I wanted my Liesl cardigan to be quite densely knit. Why I needed to use thinner needles to suit my thinner yarn.
When I bought this yarn it was like a bright spot calling in the greyness of late winter. I vaguely thought I would knit a tunic-kind of top with lots of dropped stitches but once I got home I realised it would be too similar to this one:
So I thought a little summery cardigan might fit the bill. I looked through the patterns I have and browsed first my favourites on Ravelry and then the rest of Ravelry’s database (a major time-wasting learning experience in itself). Liesl seemed to fit the bill: the ridges of the feather-and-fan would highlight the changes in colour. I’m very pleased with the outcome. I don’t have any buttons. I like the versatility of fastening it at the top or at the middle for a more fitted look, which is easy with a shawl pin.