Pattern: Marianne cardigan

Marianne cardigan on Ravelry

Available in Jane Austen Knits 2015 $14.99 (print and instant dowload)

“Mrs. Jennings was perfectly convinced of it. It would be an excellent match, for Colonel Brandon was rich and Marianne Dashwood was handsome.”

—Jane Austen, Sense and Sensibility, Vol. 1, Ch. 8

And so begins the extraordinary fate of Miss Marianne Dashwood. What better attire for our heroine than an Empire-waist cardigan with an intriguing cabled lace skirt and picot edging around the mitered neckline. Stockinette-stitch panels at the side make waist shaping easy, and the garter-stitch hem, cuffs, and integrated button band give a clean finish, allowing the picots to draw attention upward to your pretty face.

The Lace Lozenges pattern uses a novel technique with a cable needle to create the lovely ovals, which remind me of cameos. This is one of the few times I bother actually using a cable needle - generally I find you move along more quickly working cable without a cable needle (or spare DPN). But in this instance, I was unable to find a way to work the Lace Lozenges safely without a cable needle.

As this design was partially inspired by Regency era gowns, the bust area is not as modest as you might prefer. You can wear something underneath (like the model here) that makes up the difference for you, or you could choose to work the front stitches for a few more rows to raise the neckline before holding them aside. Knitter's choice!

What you'll love about knitting Marianne cardigan:

• Exciting-to-work skirt pattern makes clever use of a cable needle to create pretty cameo shapes
• Integrated garter stitch button band (matches cuffs and hem) means you'll have minimal finishing work to do - seam the sleeves, weave the underarms, then it's time to go on a button hunt!
• Pretty picot bindoff at the neckline is fun to work and hearkens back to lace trim on Regency gowns

What you'll love about wearing Marianne cardigan:

• Waist-shaping in side panels creates a figure-flattering empire shape that you'll love to show off
• Squared neckline with picots brings the attention up to your face (where it belongs!)
• Fingering-weight yarn and 3/4-sleeves make this a cardigan you'll reach for year-round

Finished Measurements

30 3/4 (34 3/4, 38 3/4, 42 3/4, 46 3/4)" bust circumference buttoned. Cardigan shown measures 34 3/4".

Materials

Madelinetosh Dandelion (90% superwash Merino wool, 10% linen; 325 yd [297 m]/31/4 oz [90 g]): glazed pecan, 3 (4, 5, 5, 6) skeins.
Needles: Size 4 (3.5 mm): 32" circular (cir). Adjust needle size if necessary to obtain the correct gauge.

Markers (m)
Removable m
Cable needle (cn)
Stitch holders or waste yarn
Tapestry needle
7 (7, 8, 8, 8) 1/2" buttons.

Gauge 

24 sts and 32 rows = 4" in St st; 18 sts of cable panel chart = 21/2" wide.

Skills Needed

• casting on
• binding off
• knitting
• purling
• increasing
• decreasing
• working with a cable needle
• following chart for Lace Lozenges

If you've knit up one of my other designs, you may recognize some techniques I like to use. If not, here are some links to help you get started:

• Two-tail Long-tail Cast-on - this method also sets you up nicely for alternating skeins of hand-dyed yarn to ensure well-blended fabric
• M1 increases (for sleeves)
• Integrated button bands (hmm, I need to do a post on this for you - they are worked at the same time as the rest of the sweater body but in garter stitch, and I recommend working buttonholes at the beginning and end of the row so you'll know exactly where to sew on your buttons)
• Centered Double Decreases, sometimes known as sl2k1p2sso or s2kp2 for short - I love how this decrease does away with two stitches at once and stands straight and slender; this decrease is used for the waist shaping and the raglan decreases in the yoke, which is the perfect spot for such delicate lines

Come back on Wednesday to meet Colonel Brandon!

Thanks!

Many thanks to the entire staff at Jane Austen Knits/Interweave/F + W Media

Purchase your copy of Jane Austen Knits 2015 today at your favorite LYS or directly from Interweave.

Thanks for stopping by, and happy knitting!
xoxo,