Sirdar and I

Sirdar patterns and yarns are a longstanding tradition in our family. Created with skill and thoroughly reliable, I especially enjoy their baby and children's DK designs. DK knits up into a fabric which works perfectly indoors as well as outside under a jacket. If I stitch for only an hour an evening the garment is complete in a reasonable amount of time. Fortunately, Sirdar continues to generate an absolute plethora of patterns for every season, for everyone, for every thickness.

It was indeed a pleasure this spring to find many of them downloadable through Ravelry, beginning with this free cardigan design.The pattern works for children up to 7 years old, using Sirdar Snuggly DK. The young models on the cover are so appealing. It's a wise choice to offer.

Back in time Hayfield used to be a separate company and now continues as a part of Sirdar. This means a dazzling choice of materials for knitters. One can use classic Country Style with a touch of wool, the all acrylic Bonus DK or the ever sturdy Snuggly just to name a few.

Snuggly is a classic baby yarn with generous yardage that washes well because of the soft nylon filament mixed with the man made fibre. Over time I have found I get the recommended gauge with a 3.75, as I am a relaxed knitter, rather than the 4mm. I do use 3.25 for the ribbing

The pattern is available for download from the Sirdar website. There are other free patterns on the same page for flowers, toys and jumpers. The PDF printed perfectly for me without any adjustment to page size right from my phone.

As customary with Sirdar patterns, sizes, abbreviations and yarn amounts are clearly laid out on the first page along with the schematic. 

My friend Carolyn, who is just beginning to knit again, is using this pattern after a long hiatus and has completed the body. We are now in button choosing mode. I marked the placement first by counting the rib stitches. I prefer an odd number of buttons.

It's a small cardigan, so dimes give a better sense of button position, before I make the buttonholes. I'm using the simple knit 2 together, yarn over buttonholes.

These are my choices, I think I like the wooden ones best. This cardigan will be a contribution to our church mission work. The collar will be next, then tidy the loose ends and sewing up. I hope Carolyn was only joking when she said she is going to frame it.