Knitting for Susan Crawford – part 1

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Knitting for Susan Crawford – part 1

October 21, 2011 by tomofholland

In spring this year, I was asked by Louise from Prick Your Finger if I could help out a lady in distress: Susan Crawford was about to release A Stitch In Time 2, and she urgently needed somebody to help her out knitting a jumper for the book. I’ll be posting about that jumper in part two. To show me what her new book was about, she sent a link to this video. When I told Susan I’d love to help her out, I also casually mentioned I would really like to knit that embossed golden cardigan you see in the beginning… The rest, as they say, is history.

And so about 2.5 months ago I received some squishy cashmere from The Skein Queen to knit Kasha (as it has since been named) for Susan herself.

Here’s a close-up of the gorgeous lace pattern:

The little bells (I think they’re flower buds, what do you think?) are made by making five stitches in a yarn-over and after a few rows you need to decrease them back to one. I decided to use Barbara Walker’s method of purling five stitches together. It’s a somewhat involved method, but it makes for a very symmetric decrease (all slipped stitches are slipped purlwise):

slip three stitches from the left needle to the right needle
lift the second stitch on the right needle over the first stitch and off the needle
slip the first stitch on the right needle back to the left needle
lift the second stitch on the left needle over the first stitch and off the needle
slip the first stitch on the left needle to the right needle
repeat steps 2, 3 and 4, then purl the remaining stitch

Once you get used to it, it is quite quick to execute. Promise!

An extraordinary cardigan requires extraordinary finishing touches, so I used the Italian cast-on, as it looks really good with a 1×1 ribbing, as evidenced by these pictures of the welt and the collar:

The beauty of this cast-on means you can match it with a tubular cast-off at the top of the buttonband:

Two other things I did to do this cardigan justice was knitting the last stitch of each row through the back loop, and slipping the first stitch purlwise to make a neat selvedge on the buttonband and collar. For the buttonholes I tried TECHKnitter’s tulips buttonhole. Also somewhat involved, but look at how symmetrical it is:

The keen observer will notice that there are no buttons sewn on as yet. Susan just couldn’t find the right ones in time for me to sew them on, but she has assured me see found the perfect ones now. I hope she will send me a picture soon – apparently it fits her perfectly. Keep an eye out for Susan – if she’s wearing a red cardigan, it could well be this one.

Posted in knitting, miscellaneae | Tagged cardigan, cashmere, Italian cast-on, Just Call Me Ruby, Kasha, Skein Queen, Susan Crawford, TECHKnitter, tulips buttonhole | 25 Comments

25 Responses

on October 21, 2011 at 2:12 pm | Reply Admin

*speechless* will come back and leave a proper remark when I have gotten over the impressive technical achievement here and the extreme tidiness of ALL THOSE SEAMS!
on October 21, 2011 at 4:14 pm | Reply tomofholland

Thanks Dr. KИITSOИIK! The side seams were seamed up using mattress stitch and the sleeves were sewn in using a back stitch. First time ever for me to do so – not too bad a job I think 🙂
on October 21, 2011 at 4:32 pm | Reply Helen (of troy)

Lovely–just lovely! Every detail just so–and that is what makes Hand Made–Haute Couture–and not home made.

The lace is lovely (the yarn perfect) the details put it over the edge! (and thank’s for the plug (the italian cast on)!
- on October 21, 2011 at 4:36 pm | Reply tomofholland
  
  Hi Helen,
  
  Thanks for the compliments. I can’t take credit for the yarn choice, that was of course Susan’s!
  
  Your video was so clear that when I wanted to learn a new cast-on that was the one that clinched the deal for me, so to speak.
  
  Have a good weekend,
  
  Tom
on October 21, 2011 at 5:55 pm | Reply Lynda

That’s amazing! I love all the detailed thought you put into this!
on October 21, 2011 at 9:01 pm | Reply Judith

Wonderful!
on October 21, 2011 at 9:07 pm | Reply Kimberly K. McAlindin

Tom-

Really fantastic knitting. well done you!
on October 28, 2011 at 11:53 am | Reply Tangwystyl

I *love* this – it’s almost certainly going to be my first project from the book when it arrives (and was also glimpsed with awe on the video). You’ve done such a fantastic job, and thanks for all the links too,

Kate (pamina)
on November 7, 2011 at 12:07 pm | Reply A Lady’s Evening Jumper – Knitting for Susan Crawford part 2 « tomofholland

[…] an earlier post I mentioned Susan Crawford had asked me to help her out with knitting for her new book, A Stitch In […]
on November 7, 2011 at 1:26 pm | Reply JenAC

I had the pleasure of seeing this cardigan in real life last week – a fantastic job on the knitting and finishing! Really stunning. 🙂
- on November 7, 2011 at 1:31 pm | Reply tomofholland
  
  Thank you! It was a pleasure to knit and putting in the extra effort for the finishing has really paid off.
on November 7, 2011 at 7:10 pm | Reply zilredlohz

It’s lovely! I saw this cardigan on Susan’s blog as part of a preview a while back and immediately fell in love!

Thanks so much listing out all of your project notes. Most of those techniques are all new to me, but I think you’re right… This special cardigan needs extra special techniques. 🙂

Thanks again for sharing. You did beautiful work.
on November 10, 2011 at 10:32 pm | Reply fredericaknits

Well this has convinced me I need to buy the second volume. I haven’t even finished what I’m working on from the 1st, but vol.2 is definitely going on my Christmas list!
on November 28, 2011 at 8:03 pm | Reply SCAEP & SCEAP, WOLLE & WULL « Wovember

[…] Dale gloves; and adventures in knitting a Cornish Knit Frock and some mind-bogglingly gorgeous lacey vintage patterns for Susan […]
on November 30, 2011 at 5:51 am | Reply Catalina Gyatso

Knitting is a favorite past time of mine. I picked it up again when I found out I was pregnant with my daughter last year. I told my husband that I was going to knit our daughter a blanket for her ride home from the hospital. For my first real project it came out okay. It looks more like a towel but oh well. I am proud of it.Thinking about making some mittens this year!! Lets see how long those take:) Thank you for your great post!!! I look forward to hearing more from you.
on December 2, 2011 at 12:57 am | Reply SpinningRobin

Simply stunning!!! Your knitting skills are phenominal.
on June 4, 2012 at 11:50 am | Reply Kari

Just wonderful, How much yarn do you use??
- on June 4, 2012 at 12:12 pm | Reply tomofholland
  
  I used 8 50g skeins of DK weight cashmere. Unfortunately I don’t know the yardage as I no longer have the ball bands.
on February 10, 2013 at 8:00 pm | Reply To Finish as You Started « tomofholland

[…] in which to hide your yarn tails. A winner all round. Indeed, these are the techniques I used for Susan Crawford’s Kasha cardigan, to match the ribbed edges throughout the […]
on December 30, 2013 at 11:00 am | Reply A Wedding Outfit | tomofholland

[…] dress for her wedding day, but a little lace jacket would complete the outfit. She had seen the Kasha cardigan I had knitted for Susan Crawford, and this was just what she wanted. Well, almost. Instead of the […]
on March 29, 2015 at 11:43 am | Reply Brioche Sweater | tomofholland

[…] out after final assembly) it is much easier to be consistent with the cast-on. I used to favour the Italian cast-on, also sometimes known as the alternate cast-on, but that relies on attempting to be consistent with […]
on April 26, 2016 at 3:26 pm | Reply Where have I been? | Just Call Me Ruby

[…] here’s me in my very own Kasha, knitted for me by my knitter in shining armour, Tom, photographed with me here at Prick Your Finger. This version is done in Lotus Cashmere from Skein […]
on June 11, 2016 at 10:25 pm | Reply C

Would you know how I could switch that repeating pattern so the bells are facing up?
- on June 11, 2016 at 11:17 pm | Reply tomofholland
  
  You could convert it into a top-down knit. The shaping is straightforward.
on February 7, 2017 at 4:15 pm | Reply kamalaahluwalia

Brilliant. Spellbinding.