Layla crochet cardi

As promised, here are some pics of my Layla crochet cardigan, all finished and wearable. This was my first ever crocheted garment, nearly my first crochet project ever (if you discount the little bag that I attempted and is still languishing in my work basket waiting to be finished). This cardigan wasn't the easiest project to begin with, even though the pattern said it was an easy one. There was a lot of shaping to do and I kept getting the stitch count wrong. I ripped it out nearly as many times as I crocheted it. But now that it's done I'm very happy with it. Excuse the slightly fuzzy and overexposed photos. I forgot to set my camera into program mode before I handed it to my mum to take the pics, I think she did a great job given the circumstances :)

So here's Layla:



The pattern was a Rowan one, from Magazine No.25, which is pretty old, published in the 90's I think. It's one of the earliest mags in my collection, but easily one of the best, there are many patterns in that issue that I want to make up.



The yarn I used was Patons 4-ply cotton. It took only 3.5 balls of the yarn, so really quite a bargain project. It substituted very well for the Rowan 4-ply cotton that the original pattern called for. Also, since the yardage on the Patons balls was so much more than on Rowan 4-ply, there were far fewer ends to weave in.



I've been wearing it all day today, it's really comfy. Oh yes and for the eagle-eyed amongst you, the front pieces are slightly uneven. I think my tension must have eased off a bit by the time I worked the second front piece, so one side is slightly longer than the other. It's visible if you're looking for mistakes, but not really noticable otherwise.

I'm now hoovering up any pretty crochet patterns that I find, which is a good thing as I have quite a bit of cotton in my stash. I hate knitting with cotton, but love crocheting with it, weird huh?