August 9, 2016

F.O. Madewell by Joji Locatelli


Pattern:  Madewell, a cardigan designed by Joji Locatelli
Like all of Joji Locatelli's patterns this one was well written, and easy to follow.

Colour: One of a Kind (OOAK) Painted Jeans just a lovely combination of black, with tuquoise, green, purple, brown

YarnTanis Fiber Arts Blue Label  80% superwash merino 20% nylon, 3.5 skeins used

Needles: 3.5mm and 3.0mm for ribbing
















Added Notes: Every now and again Tanis has an Etsy sale where she sells some unique colourways (OOAK) and Painted Jeans was one I instantly knew I had to buy.  The first pattern I knit with it was Olivia by Amy Miller in the luxurious Orange Label.

Olivia by Amy Miller
Then on the Boxing Day Sale I saw the colourway available again in Blue Label and snatched it up. 


Painted Jeans Blue Label Fingering
When I saw the Madewell pattern, I knew it would look great in this colourway. A fingering weight cardigan is a serious time commitment, but totally worth making. The resulting cardigan is a perfect weight, and I know it will be worn over and over again.  I chose to alternate three skeins throughout the body, two skeins in the arms, and the ribbing used just one skein.  I was very concerned that I would run out of yarn, but it all ended up perfectly with yarn to spare. The only modifications I made were to make my sleeves about an inch shorter, as I knew the yarn would grow with blocking, and I also omitted the elbow patches.



I have been a long time fan of Tanis Fiber Arts yarn.  In fact, when I got back into knitting five years ago Tanis Fiber Arts was the first hand dyed yarn that I was obsessed with. Many of my first projects recorded on Ravelry, as well as many others through the years, are knit with TFA yarn (29 of them in fact!!).  If you have never tried this yarn before I highly recommend it.  It comes in some gorgeous colourways and a variety of bases, and it is always high quality.  I am especially interested in trying out Tanis' newest base called TFA PureWash merino, a washable yarn that is not coated in chemicals.  You can read all about it here.

One of the first patterns I crocheted with TFA yarn was my Granny Square Scarf in 2011 which still is worn today.


Granny Square Scarf using Tanis Fiber Arts Green Label



I am in the midst of picking out my next knitting project.  I think I will try a couple smaller projects that use thicker yarn.  However, I have to admit I am always drawn to fingering weight projects.  I definitely see another fingering weight sweater in my near future.

Happy crafting everyone!  Have a good week.

12 comments:

  1. That's a lovely cardigan and definitely something that can be worn with a lot of different clothes. I am also a big fan of TFA and all the yarn I used so far has been among my very favourite.

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    1. Thanks Corinne! I am really happy with it. However, we are experiencing a bit of a heat wave recently so I won't be wearing it anytime soon.

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  2. Such a beautiful sweater. You did such a terrific job managing the dynamics tones of Painted a Jeans. You make me want to dye it again it looks so good!

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    1. Thank you Tanis!!! I loved working with it and I highly recommend you dye it again. LOL

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  3. I love the color of the sweater. I will have to keep a look out for it.

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    1. Thank you Kate..it was a hard colour to photography...it's even nicer in real life. : )

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  4. The colors in your cardi are fantastic! I could see why you had to pick those up. You also look great in your cardi, seems like the perfect wearable cardigan we all need in our wardrobe. -Sierra

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    1. Thanks Sierra! Now I just need cooler weather so I can actually wear it.

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  5. Wow, what a great sweater! That yarn is a nice choice--I like that it has discernible shades of color but on the whole/big picture it all amounts to something that's kind of neutral. You could wear it with just about anything.

    Nice work!

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    1. Thank you Annie...you are so right about it being a kind of neutral...I hadn't thought about it that way.

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  6. I love the cardigan, and that shawl!!! What a beautiful knit, and I love TFA yarns, too- Tanis and Chris have a real knack for colour, they are all so gorgeous and have such depth. That Painted Jeans colourway is to die for!

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    1. Thanks Julie! I had no idea I had knit 29 projects with TFA yarn! As you know, I have been a long time fan of their yarn.

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