I very much looked forward to knitting’s this Tot Toppers cardigan for the littlest one (who has lost his regal title this week as he’s refusing to sleep). The images in the pattern show a supercute cable knit that is just the thing for him to wear over his weekend shirts. Tot Toppers is a series of patterns by Kate Oates.
I started this in September which seems like ages ago now, when we were staying in a train carriage near Ironbridge for a few nights. That seems like an age ago now; I’ve just been so super busy with work and family life so I’ve been making slow but steady progress.
The early parts of the pattern are really clear. The cabling is nicely laid out in both words and charts. All was great until I hit the point attaching the sleeves. At this point the pattern becomes comparable to a Great British Bake Off Technical Challenge! “Attach the sleeves” is the only real instruction given. I don’t know if this is pattern not being well written, or I’m too inexperienced to get it. This isn’t my first cardigan knit, it’s not my first cable project but I’d dearly have liked some extra detail in the pattern.
So in true Cosmo style, I’ve made up my own instructions for attaching the sleeves to the body and who knows if it’s right? It’s looking OK right now but whether it stays that way is yet to be established.
Another addition that I think would be helpful is more detail being given in the pattern about the decreases and how the cable pattern can be continued while decreasing. There is a link in the pattern to technique tutorial which helps but for someone of relative inexperience it would be great to have each line of instructions written. I suspect this becomes very complex with all the different sizes but it would be nice all the same.
So at this stage I would say…
Lovely pattern (results so far look great) but quite technical, with a lack of detail in parts of the pattern. Not for a beginner, potentially a challenge for an intermediate knitter.
Cosmo and Knits 