Cinnamon Brera Cardigan

Ta da!!! May I proudly present to you my first successful self-knitted garment! Every winter I bemoan my lack of chilly weather clothes. As a maker, I can't really bring myself to go shopping, and I'm not a massive fan of shopping for second hand clothes for myself either. Stepping up my knitting skills felt like the right option. 

I can't remember how I first heard about them, but I started following We Are Knitters (AKA WAK) and signed up to their newsletter. Eventually I bought a few of their chunky, super simple knitting patterns when they became available for individual purchase. They regularly have discounts and special offers, and at some point later last year I treated myself to the yarn to make the Brera cardigan. I think the yarn cost me about £80 with the discount. It felt like a lot in one hit, but I saw it as an investment. 

The colour is called cinnamon (which doesn't seem to be available at the moment), and it's incredibly soft. As you can probably tell, it is a super simple pattern. It literally consists of five rectangles of garter stitch, so if you can knit a scarf, you can knit this cardigan. My mum advised me to use the thumb method for casting on, and I watched the same Youtube video at the beginning of every rectangle because for some reason it won't stick in my brain. 

I really enjoyed working on this during the autumn and winter. It's nice to have something to do on the sofa when you don't feel like sitting at the sewing machine. But once I had the rectangles finished, I wasn't sure how to proceed so the project stalled for a couple of months. I wasn't sure if I needed to block them, but after requesting some advice via Instagram, I fell down on no, blocking wasn't necessary for a chunky knit like this. Eventually, I got my friend Julia, legendary sewing and pattern cutting teacher, who is also a knitting expert, to whip me into shape and show me how to stitch them together. 

Thankfully, after the investment of money and time, I am really pleased with the result. I love the chunky look, the colour, the feel, the coziness. It does tend to leave auburn-coloured fluff about the place, and the front edge has started to (inevitably) stretch out a bit. But I've worn it heaps, and will continue to do so for years to come I hope!