I enjoy designing for The Knitter magazine, and having my designs published means worldwide exposure. Sometimes the team at the magazine will choose the yarn for the sample, but I often wonder what it would look like knitted using a different yarn.

Rosalind, which featured in Issue 140 summer 2019 is a good example. The design has a lace pattern, deep rib and a low V-neck. I was asked to make the sample in Scheepjes Our Tribe, a variegated light fingering wool/polyamide mix. In fact, using a variegated yarn left me with a dilemma. How to avoid a mis-match of the separate pieces of the garment caused by the natural stripes of the yarn? This problem lead me to design the construction of the cardi with as few joins as possible. I was pleased with the result, which has the sleeves being made first, then knitted into the rest of the garment, which is seamless.

However, I felt the yarn was a distraction from the pretty lace stitch used, and I also thought it worth seeing the result of using a more widely-available weight of yarn. I decided to reknit the cardi using a plain 4 ply wool, Drops Baby Merino, so the lace pattern would be more distinct. I think it worked well, and as well as making the sleeves and body shorter, I also added a contrast edge to the front rib and tie belt. The details of the elements I changed can be seen here or here, and in the photos below.