Mid Coast Cardigan is basically done and probably becoming a vest with I-cord edges and no buttons. It has been a fascinating process and learned a lot. Here it is modeled by Joe's mom who is with us recovering from surgery. She's doing great and has had fun watching the knitting.





Part of the learning process was making the shoulder straps and knitting them together with the front and back shoulder stitches in one continuous process. It is detailed in Alice Starmore's "Fishermen's Knits" on Page 121. First shoulder I started with double pointed needles holding the back stitches, the front stitches and the shoulder strap/saddle put onto a provisional cast on. Second shoulder I went to one circular holding the back stitches and strap and a second circular holding the front stitches which was a lot less to manuver.

Start of the process - Provisionally cast on the number of stitches you are going to use for the saddle cable plus two on each side. I knit one plain row and a purl before starting the saddle cable.



As you start to knit the saddle cable, pick up one stitch from the back stitches and knit them together with the first stitch on the saddle needle. The last stitch on the saddle needle will be knit together with the first of the front stitches. Turn and pick up one stitch from the front and purl it together with the first stitch on the saddle needle. The last stitch on the saddle needle is purled with the first stich on the back needle. Etc, etc. until you have knit or purled all of the stitches on the front and back. The saddle is now the same length as the front and back of the sweater/vest. I did figure out the gauge of the #113 cable and decreased some stitches when knitting the last row on the fronts and back to make them more consistent with the saddle gauge.



Progress photos:







This is the finished saddle. It does not look as messy as this photo does. I used K2 together on the right side of the saddle and "slip one knit one pass one over" on the left side. Because you are purling back over these stitches, it just doesn't look as neat as it could but couldn't figure out any other way to do it.



I'm glad I learned how to do this as Starmore uses it often with ganseys. For a heavily cabled sweater, it would have been better to have knit it top down like a FLAK from the start.

Now to decide - cardigan with less densely cabled sleeves? vest with I-cord?