Where are they now: Balloon cardi

I wanted to start a series on the blog, where I go back in time and look at how some of my handmades have lasted. Did they slot straight into my wardrobe or did they become a wardrobe orphan? Did they fall apart the second time out of the house or are they still going strong 5 years later? Although I enjoy the process of planning and making my own clothes, the ultimate aim is to have something wearable at the end of the journey. There is joy to be had in the method, the slow meditative crafting, don’t get me wrong. But if every item I’m making fails somehow; the wrong colour, the wrong style, badly made or poor fabric choice, then I would want to know. I would want to learn from those mistakes so I can improve my output next time.

I started the PetiteKnit Balloon cardigan back in 2021, finishing in March 2022. I love knitting with mohair, it makes such a beautiful fabric, with the soft fuzzy halo that just screams cosy times. The base green 4ply was a gift from a friend having a destash and I held it double with Drops Kidsilk from Knitted Home. This mohair is so affordable and comes in a huge range of colours.

I initially chose this pattern after being inspired by a white version, made by my bestie. She is the kind of person with incredible style, who looks super chic in everything she wears. I thought her version looked lovely and set about making a similar version for myself. The gifted green 4ply was the perfect colour and I thought would be a basic staple that would slot straight into my wardrobe.

I knit the pattern initially as instructed, balloon sleeves and all. As I was knitting them, I was vaguely wondering how practical balloon sleeves would be, and how much use I would get from a cardigan with lots of billowy fabric around the cuffs. It will be an experiment, I told myself. I should have listened to that little voice in my head.

I finished the cardigan and wore it a couple of times, but never felt quite right. You know when you wear an item of clothing that doesn’t feel particularly ‘you’? I would feel vaguely uncomfortable, constantly adjusting it throughout the day. I would struggle to find t-shirts to wear underneath and started passing it over in favour of other sweaters.

One day a light bulb went off in my head and I thought, I could slim down those sleeves. They’re knit from the shoulder down to the cuff, meaning I could frog back from the cuff back, remove some width from the sleeve and try again.

It was a bit of trial and error but I managed it! Initially I ripped back to 3 inches from the armpit, thinking I would need width there to prevent the cardigan riding up into my oxter. I started decreasing 2 stitches every 5 rows but by the time I got below the elbow, I realised this plan wasn’t producing narrow width fast enough AND starting 3 inches from the armpit was creating a strange, batwing-effect. I ripped back a second time, this time right back to the armpit and tried again, this time decreasing 2 stitches every 3 rows.

I am very pleased with the final sleeve. It’s the right amount of width to allow me to feel cosy and warm, without being overly tight or up in my armpit. I knit a double thickness cuff, to reduce the speed with which the cuffs deteriorate. Hopefully this small change will make the cardigan last longer, as I find the cuffs are one of the first things to wear through on any sweater or cardigan. Well, that and the elbows.

I hope this small change will make this cardigan much more wearable. I’m already seeing that benefit, I find myself reaching for it more frequently and I feel much more myself when I’m wearing it. The adage “the most sustainable item is the one you already own” is something I try to live by, casting around in my home for something that will do the job before buying something new (or more likely, new-to-me). To that end, making my me-mades as wearable and functional as possible is part of my sustainability journey, alongside making them last as long as possible, by mending, repairing and creating objects as well made as my skills allow.