Cardi for Chloe? Nope! Cable Duffle Coat for Alexis!

A couple years ago my daughter Michelle and her Aunt paid a visit to our local yarn store! I think knitting fever hit Michelle because she had purchased enough yarn to make herself a scarf and a pattern for me to make her daughters a cardigan -Coat by Sirdar. Woo Hoo! I was thrilled!

But I never got around to making the sweaters, until now.

Michelle had given up on the sweaters or forgot about them and bought Chloe a natural coloured sweater for christmas. So I couldn't make her another natural colored one.

I started out using some homespun yarn that I had hand dyed myself (green) Not exactly a little girls color and of course Michelle didn't like it. So that was frogged!!

Then I began spinning some natural coloured Canadian Arcott for a Cable Duffle coat for Alexis instead. This is the process.

I spun up about 1400 yards, washed and set the twist and began knitting and knitting and knitting. Decided to knit a size 5-6 hoping that the info from Ravely was correct that the sizes were big and they were correct, I would guess the size is about an 8-10.

I got the back done and left the stitches active so that I could neatly join the shoulder seems by using a three needle bind off. Then I knit the left and right fronts. When it came time to join the shoulder seems I had knit the back about three or four rows too long to make a cable join so had to unwravel it a bit. That wasn't too hard. Then I knit one sleeve, then the front borders, then the hood, then the hood border and finally the second sleeve. I joined the coat with a mattress stitch. Michelle wanted a certain brown button for this coat so I went to my local button store aka fabricland and found the exact button she had suggested. Sewed them on and voila!!! a new Cable Duffle coat for Alexis. Now the test , will Michelle like (wear) the coat on Alexis or will it just sit in the closet ready for Good Will next year. We will see.