My first hand-knitted cardigan is finally complete – and in Kids’ Clothes week, too.

I started this in early December, when it seemed as though the winter was going to consist of lots of sitting around. Things haven’t exactly worked out like that (my son has dropped his nap, for example, so I no longer sit around in the car waiting for him to wake up!)  But I have managed to finish it before he grew too big to fit into it.

I won’t lie, it does contain one or two dropped stitches and the back seems longer than the front. But you have to be prepared to make some mistakes to learn anything. I learnt some new skills on this project, including:

• casting on and off part of a garment at a time
• pick up and knit
• eyelet buttonholes

It was a beginner pattern with no gauge guide so all the sizing was pretty approximate. I added an inch to the length on both the front and the back because my boy’s long and lean.

This project also gave me an opportunity to use the train buttons I’d been saving since last year. He loves those.

And looking at this critically, I’d say my sewing up has definitely improved. I’m now looking for another very easy jumper or cardigan pattern I can try that’ll fit age 3/4. I’ll scour Ravelry, but do let me know if there’s one you’d recommend.

Cost:

Pattern from Knitty Gritty (£14.99). This is my seventh make from it, so that’s £2.14 per make.

Wool from my local yarn shop, The Knitting Parlour, about £12. It’s Rico Creative Sport Print DK in Colour 003. It’s 50% cotton and 50% acrylic, so it was tricky to knit with and it’s very thin for a DK.

Train buttons from my other local yarn shop (!), The Wool Shack, about £1

Total: roughly £15