we are knitters simone cardigan / my first knit sweater

Have you ever wanted to try something so badly, but were scared of messing it up?! Well, that’s exactly where the story of my We Are Knitters Simone Cardigan begins…

I have only been knitting consistently now for a little under 2 years, but it feels like so much longer! My mom taught me how so many times when I was younger, but I never could stick with it. I would get so frustrated because I wanted everything to be perfect right away…That is just not a thing.

We are so hard on ourselves and want to learn new things so quickly, but the bottom line is: learning how to do new things takes practice! So, this time I decided I was going to stick it out. No matter what. Even if I had to make a scarf 8,567 miles long, I would get an even tension and learn how to knit and purl, y’all!! 😉

my first knit garment

That brings me to the subject of this post – my first knit garment. Sounds so intimidating, right?! I was terrified to try a knit sweater so soon after learning to knit (at this point I had only been knitting for about 3 months). But to be honest that was what I wanted to knit most…like for real y’all, all I wanted to do was be able to knit my own sweaters!

My husband told me I could get a kit for Valentine’s Day, (yes, he is the best husband ever) and I was sold! Forget flowers and candy – give me ALL the yarn!!!! Enter – the Simone Cardigan from We Are Knitters. I was still nervous, but my desire to knit a sweater far outweighed that fear.

Here’s the thing, I was crocheting for almost 15 years or so before I got brave enough to try the things I really wanted to! WHAT?!!! I didn’t want fear to hold me back any longer. Once I began taking risks in crochet, I learned so much faster than I ever did in my “comfort zone”. It even gave me confidence to start designing myself, which truly is my favorite thing!

diving in

Well, turns out the pattern was super easy to follow and this beautiful pink squish (a.k.a. The Wool in Bubblegum) knitted up so quickly! I couldn’t believe it! All the things I was so afraid of doing turned out to be no big deal…And if I didn’t know how to do something, I googled! LOL! I was able to learn some basic skills and could now add them to my mental tool box – picking up stitches and increasing.

This time around, I didn’t make any adjustments or modify the pattern to fit how I specifically wanted. I was a little concerned with how long the sleeves were as I was making the cardigan, but I was more concerned with having a finished garment and enough yarn to finish it. 😉 Here was the result…

It turned out pretty cute! The fit wasn’t perfect, but who cares, I finished my first knit garment! Woooohooooo!!!! I was so excited and felt so encouraged about what I was able to accomplish – something I didn’t think I would be able to achieve until much later in my knitting career.

starting over

OK guys, so here is the part where everybody gasps. Yep, that is a pile of a whole lot of work and time (also it’s some gorgeous pink yarn)! Fast forward 6 months, I decided I wasn’t 100% happy with the fit of my Simone Cardigan, and by this time I had learned a new cast on method, new seaming technique, and realized I had enough yarn to adjust my sleeves. Sounded like a recipe for a do-over to me…you?!

I know, I know, it’s super tough to undo your hard work, but I had already decided this time around when I learned how to knit, I would count it all as practice. That mind-set really helped me push through. I knew in the end I would be a better knitter, so I frogged my little heart out. 😉

simone cardigan round 2

This time it took me around a month to finish my cardigan, and y’all, it was sooo worth it! I was much happier with the fit, and I felt so great about being able to use the things I had learned to make my own adjustments. It was a win win for sure!

adjustments

Here are the adjustments I made the second time around:

used long tail cast on method
added two rows on front and back panels
used the XL cast on stitch count for the front panels (I made size M)
added 4″ to the sleeves
used the invisible seaming technique (mattress stitch)

I have worn my Simone Cardigan so much more after remaking it and don’t regret taking it apart one single bit! This redo may have even triggered a mega redo bug. After this, I took out two other projects and made them into different things. LOL!

the moral of the story

I certainly am not posting this story to tell you to take out the projects that you aren’t happy with just to redo them. I just wanted to share my experience as a newbie knitter who was scared of trying new things, but did it anyway! The result was so positive and I hope that it encourages you to go for whatever it is that might seem scary at this moment.

I am still such a work in progress in regards to this whole fear thing, (hello, writing my first garment pattern) but I’m thankful for how far God has brought me on this courage journey! I’m looking forward to diving into more new things…Let’s go for it together! 🙂

a little side note

I definitely recommend this pattern for a beginner knitter’s first garment project! It’s so fun to make and its a pretty quick knit…which I feel like always helps! 😉

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