What do you do when you have worn your knitwear literally threadbare? Make a new one, of course! This is my own design, Duchess Cardigan, and I have worn my original version for years and years. When it first got worn under the arms, I mended it with duplicate stitch, but the area has gotten bigger and bigger and it was just getting too much to fix in the end. The only thing to do was to knit a new version!
I chose to make my new Duchess Cardigan in the gorgeous yarn from John Arbon Textiles, Yarnadelic. I had swatched with the yarn previously and new that the tension I achieved with this yarn was similar to that of the original yarn this pattern was written for. Although the wool yarn does not quite have the same heave drape as alpaca, the luxurious softness and drape of Yarnadelic is not far off. The stitch definition is stunning and it even comes in a colour not far from my original one, which I absolutely love.
The shade I chose is called Ordinary Joe and it is gorgeous. The fibre content of this yarn is 100% Falklands Corriedale. The Corriedale sheep are kept on the Falkland islands and the yarn is dyed and spun in the UK. Head over to the John Arbon Textiles website if you would like to learn more about their yarn.
Duchess Cardigan was designed in 2009 and it is still one of my absolute favourite designs to wear. The cropped style goes perfectly with dresses or jumpsuits and the draped fronts are so elegant. The basket weave stitch at the front and the cable pattern at the back makes this such an interesting knit and the texture of the finished garment is just beautiful.
Do you have a favourite design you would consider knitting again? Drop me a comment below to share it with me. I would love to know!
