Despite having an almost continual chain of knitting projects on the go very few ever make it onto this blog for some reason. Co-incidentally the last one that did was also pale blush pink and fluffy, unfortunately that one had to be donated to charity as I knitted it from Angora yarn before knowing about the despicable practices being carried out on the Angora Rabbits in China to procure the yarn. This ‘sort- of’ replacement is made from Rowan mohair yarn called kidsilk haze and is also a very different shape as I tend to reach for bigger, longer knitwear pieces these days.
I knitted the lion’s share of this project on the most amazing little holiday the hubby, pooch and I went on last month to Featherdown Farms. We stayed in a tent on a working farm just outside the New Forest.. I call it a tent but it was somewhere between an old fashioned cabin and a tent. It had wooden floorboards and a wood burning stove with a sink, toilet, running water, three bedrooms, real beds and a couch and dining table. It was so incredible to spend four days living by candlelight, drinking red wine from tin mugs, reading, knitting, painting and strolling around the countryside. Last winter I read a book called ‘The Snow Child’ by Eowyn Ivey about a couple in the 1920’s who are living in a little Cabin in Alaska and the whole experience kept on reminding me of the imagery from the novel- luckily minus the feet and feet of snow and scarce availability of food! I really, really didn’t want to leave.
The knitting pattern I used is called Asma and is a Kim Hargreaves design in her beautiful book called Enchanted. I adore her deisgns and own more of her books than I care to mention. I really love the way in which she styles her knitting projects so that each collection has a real theme to it. I did make a few small changes to the design, I lengthened the body and the sleeves slightly as the original design is waist length with three- quarter sleeves. The cardigan is supposed to be knitted with one strand of kidsilk haze and one of Rowan fine lace held together but. instead of this I used two strands of the mohair (kidsilk haze) held together as I had it in my stash and wanted to use them up. I had to use a larger needle size than the one suggested (3.73mm insteadof 3.25mm) as my tension square was coming up small but I’m not entirely sure whether this was a result of the different combination of yarn or just because I generally have a tight knitting tension anyway.
I love how soft and warm this cardigan is without being bulky or heavy to wear. It layers up perfectly under jackets and I have had a hard time taking it off since finishing it. If I were to knit it again however, I would change the angle of the raglan sleeves. It is described as having deep ragalans and this should have been warning enough to me but somehow failed to be! I am really not a fan of anything with baggy sleeves on me and deep raglans automatically equal baggy upper sleeves. Still it is not enough of a complaint to stop me living in it!
Gatsby seems to be a fairly big fan of the candy floss fluff himself!
Do you like to knit? Thanks for reading.
19 responses to “Featherdown Sweater | Kim Hargreaves Asma”
This is an enchanting knit :). What a gorgeous colour on you, and the shape and style is absolutely perfect.
I love it Ami! The pink is a gorgeous shade and it looks so cuddly. Enchanted is one of the few Kim Hargreaves books I don’t have. 😉
Lovely to see your knitting projects popping up on here 😀
I knit, but not full cardigans with 3.75 needles! It looks super soft 🙂
That looks so comfy yet elegant. Gosh, you always make such polished and chic items! I’m just learning how to knit, and your cardigan is inspiring.
So pretty! And the farm must have been so idyllic!
Just lovely! The color is so perfect for you!
So lovely and ethereal even. You always look so angelic and I think the beautiful pink suits you perfectly. A pretty and classic style.
Really nice. Love that shade of pink. A fluffy boyfriend sweater (which i think is what that is on the way to being?) is so nice to have as an over -everything option. I need to go check out the pattern.
This is adorable, there is no such thing as too many fluffy cardigans in my book.
Very cozy looking cardigan and, as everybody has said, the pink really suits you. I’ve had a look at some of Kim Hargreaves’ books on Amazon but can’t see the patterns inside. Which one would you recommend for nice, chunky knits? They are the only type I like knitting these days – 5mm needles and up and dk and up!
I’ve got a knitted jacket on the go at the moment but am also three quarters of the way through a pair of socks (knitted two at a time), a baby wrap cardigan and a big fluffy cardigan that I’ll probably never wear but I’ve started, so I’ll finish. I really don’t like having more than one project on the go at once but sometimes I’m tempted by a pattern and just can’t help myself.
p.s. Where can I find the pattern for a Gatsby?
Google Kim Hargreaves and you will get her site – I think it’s kimhargreaves.co.uk but it could be .com – and there are photos of all the patterns in each of her books:)
Such a cute sweater!
this is so gorgeous and that colour is absolutely amazing on you. Love love love. I too got put off angora but have bought it a couple of times from the UK and France where the yarn was guaranteed rabbit friendly – I remember one yarn was from this site where this woman was spinning yarn straight off one of her rabbit’s back – so cute – they’re her pets and live very happily… I actually try to avoid anything from the big C because their practices are very human and animal unfriendly. such a shame.
That pic of Gatsby is total doggy porn. What eyes….
Gorgeous finished product. That soft pink looks good enough to eat. Yum 🙂
What a beautiful sweater! And your holiday sounds like a dream. I just started knitting this year, and I’m really enjoying it. I’m terribly slow, but I actually kind of like that about it.
This is so beautiful! You’ve totally inspired me to give knitting another bash… I only ever get as far as making a scarf/hat which are never as satisfying as actually making a substantial item of clothing. With any luck I might have something ready for A/W 15!!
This sweater looks so comfy and warm not only that this soft pink suits you perfectly. You know knitting has been something I’ve wanted to learn but looks very complicated and time consuming I bet you can knit with your eyes closed lol. Any suggestion on where to begin, I am clueless about needles and yarns ect.
You must have taken FOREVER to make this but worth every minute as it looks georgous, snuggly, but glamourous at the same time.
Thansks for the post.
Hello ,I know you wrote this along time ago but I have just found it now while looking for a knitting pattern.
I just adore your version of Kim Hargreaves Asma cardi. I know you are a professional knitter but did you write down the changes you made by any chance? Were the changes complex? I would so love to knit your cardi in that beautiful pink. I would need a bit of guidance as I have never adapted a pattern.If you have the time and the changes were simple please could you be so kind as to email them to me.Thank you
Tammy