{FO} Cottage

I am finally ready to blog about my Cottage cardigan that I finished last month! I had a very good reason for being slow, I ordered buttons from Twin Mountain Handcrafts to carry in my mercantile and I wanted to wait until they were here to share about my new favorite cardigan, Cottage!

Cottage was designed by Jacqueline Cieslak and released this spring. I grabbed my copy the day it was released because I have been desperately looking for a light weight cardigan that had a simple design and a great fit. Years ago (14?), I snagged a black cardigan from Goodwill that was my go to for the longest time. It was just the perfect weight, the neckline worked with everything in my wardrobe and it fit like a dream. Well, I wore that cardigan to rags and eventually had to throw it out. Since then I've been on the hunt for just the right pattern and Cottage turned out to be just the one! 

Cottage is a top down raglan cardigan with a v-neck. It's a simple construction with the loveliest detail of knitting the ribbing/button band as you go- a favorite of mine because I do not love picking up stitches.  The pattern offers up 9! sizes, plus options for sleeve adjustments. 

I cast on my Cottage using my Cottage Fingering base, naturally, in the colorway Poppy. It was a bold choice I know, but this colorway actually goes with so many things in my closet and I find that I am much less interested in an all black wardrobe in my 40's- I'm ready for some color! I knit the 4th size, giving me 6" of positive ease as the pattern suggests. 

I found the pattern to be incredibly well written and easy to follow. I didn't make any adjustments, which is so rare for me, but I wanted it to be everything that it already was. I actually knit this pattern up pretty fast for a fingering weight sweater- I just loved the feel of my Cottage base on my fingers so I really couldn't put it down. It took me just over a month to FULLY complete, yes blocked and did all of my finishing immediately which is incredibly rare for me. I have sweaters that I finished years ago that still need the ends woven in! 

 I finished off my cardigan with handmade acrylic buttons from Twin Mountain Handcrafts in Rose Gold Glitter. I really love the sparkle and pop in contrast with the soft wool. I got the inspiration for the buttons from Courtney of @Lavagirlknits on Instagram who tested the pattern for Jacqueline. Courtney was so kind to point me in the direction of Twin Mountain Handcrafts. I might have gone a little crazy and bought ALL of the buttons- there were just so many good choices! After I placed my order, the owners reached out to me to offer me wholesale and I could not refuse! Their buttons go perfect with so many of my colorways! 

 If you are looking for a great cardigan for your wardrobe, I cannot recommend Cottage enough! My Cottage Fingering base was a natural choice, but Nimble Sock or Plush Single would also be excellent if you prefer working with superwash yarn for your garments. 

If you decide to knit a Cottage Cardigan yourself, I'd love to see it! Send me an email with your finished knit. And if you need help pairing buttons with your yarn, definitely reach out. You can find an assortment of Twin Mountain Handcraft Acrylic Buttons in the Mercantile Section on my website now- and I added colorway recommendations with each button in the listing!