Bravo to Tom Scott for his ingenious sculptured cardigan!

Oh, wait!  Maybe, it’s a shrug.

Is that the neckline or is it the bottom edge?

Are the directions from top to bottom or bottom to top?  Who ever thought to design a cardigan and then wear it upside down?  Would it work?  Why does it work?  These are questions I had and had to have answered.   It’s almost like I wanted to prove that this idea of flipping a cardigan and wearing it upside down (or according to Vogue Magazine, right side up) would not work!  And how lovely to prove myself wrong and end up with such an amazing project!

I stuck with the yarn that was required to achieve the same texture and fabric as seen in the magazine, Vogue Knitting Holiday 2012.  The lovely cables and large bobbles give the panels a very durable feel and thickness that really pulls off the landscape of the sweater.  The sleeves are plain stockinette stitch that are tight and modern, the perfect juxtaposition for the bulky, wide body.  One does knit the garment from the neckline down (as non-traditional cardi) and follows only one set of numbers as if one size fits all.  That said, I did take time for the gauge making sure that I obtained the measurements according to the pattern.  It was pretty smooth sailing, bulky yarn does knit up quickly, and the bobbles, even though time consuming, are sparse in number.  One does need to know how to reverse all directions for shaping, make buttonholes, and sew seams.  There are two buttons required, however not mentioned on the materials list.  No problem for me, I just went to my button jar.  Also, the pattern at the waistband said k2,p2 and I thought it was odd to begin a rib sequence that would have had the 2 stitches of purl at the edge on the right side where no where else followed that pattern so I reversed the pattern to match the rest of the ribbing.

It was really weird setting in the sleeves. I set them in so the sleeve seam is at the underarm when worn this way:

as I suspect this is the way I will mostly wear this garment.  Now, when you flip the cardi, that seam is then in full view opposite from the underarm.  You can see that best in the first picture now that I am pointing it out.  If you sew the seam neatly the seam may not be worthy of mention, however I am very picky about finishing touches. Now, I’m wondering if the sleeve seam could be sewn anywhere and if there is a better location for it. I’m pondering this. Using the k1 every row for a selvage is very helpful for an invisible seam as well as focusing on neat increases.  And, there is always the option of knitting the sleeves in the round.

I did need two extra balls of yarn which by some miracle, when I went requesting more yarn from my yarn source, they had the exact number left I needed in the same dye lot.  Running out of yarn is most definitely a knitter’s nightmare.

The project is not blocked to keep its highly textural appeal and worn purposely slouchy for a designer look.

Again, here it is as a basic cardi (below) to show you the possibilities and the ingenuity of the designer.

back of “basic cardi”

This was photographed along the beautiful Niagara River in early March.

Project as seen on Ravelry with pattern and yarn information

TIP:   for those of you who are trying to figure this out:  The first and last two photos are as basic cardigan.  The six photos in the middle are worn as shown in the magazine with the basic cardigan flipped.  I never thought it would work, either, if that helps you feel better.  I was drawn in by the entire notion (as said, above.)

FASHION TIP:  Wearing a long under layer such as a tee or camisole under a short layer will give your look a long, lean line.