Willow in the Woods

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Done and done, Willow got a walk in the New Hampshire woods for a photo shoot before we came home.  (Thanks to Natalie for taking the pictures.) I finished it up just in time for a big rain storm accompanied by a cold front and I can assure you that this sweater is warm and soft like nobody’s business.  I’m so happy to have it.

Pattern, Willow- from Louisa Harding’s book Cardigans .

Yarn: Luscious Single Silk (LSS) 50% wool, 50% silk from Blue Moon Fibre Arts, in a gorgeous green that’s so me –  Mossay.

This sweater is the perfect combination of cozy and classy, or at least that’s how I feel about it.   I feel like I could slip it on over a tidy skirt and blouse and be more or less dressed to leave the house, and that it would be equally at home over a tee and yoga pants on a snowy afternoon in the house.

I made a few changes, mostly to how the belt was worked.  Louisa had the back of the belt knit right in to the sweater, but that’s not my preference, so I worked it separately and crocheted belt loops to hold it in place. 

Also, I shortened it a little (as I have mentioned, I’m not an average height, so my sweaters shouldn’t be) and changed the button band.  For starters, I didn’t put any button holes, because I really couldn’t see myself ever buttoning this – and then I worked a few more rows because – well.  I liked it, and it’s my sweater, and it’s one of my favourite things about making my own clothes is that they can be just the way I like them.

(I’m sure Louisa Harding understands.)

I love this sweater. 

156 thoughts on “Willow in the Woods”

  4. I love it too! I’ve noticed your preference for green and have to give it the thumbs up-I’m a green (of the mossy variety) lover too! Beautiful work.

  5. I love it too! Sometimes simplicity of design and perfection of yarn is enough. You look so happy!

  6. Oh, it’s just lovely! Cardigan perfection, and you are right about the cosy/classy nature of it. Excellent knit!

  9. You should love the sweater! It’s beautiful! I also love the setting of the photos! Wonderful….

  10. Willow is lovely and looks just perfect on you. 🙂 I think you’ll love this sweater for a very long time.

  11. seriously beautiful. it’s def one of my favorite things you’ve knit. it made me say “ooOOOoo” when i saw the pictures lol.

  12. Great cardi. Wish you well to wear it. And I hope your cold clears up soon, and that your frontal cortex clears!!!

  15. That is a really great sweater! I think you were absolutely right not to make the button holes as it really doesn’t need buttons. The pockets look really neat too. Isn’t it great when you make something and you just love it and it’s comfortable and looks fantastic too!
    The book is winging it’s way to me from Amazon as I write – I’m a cardigan girl too and couldn’t resist!!

  19. Beautiful sweater. You definately have a green thing going lately. Did you make it out of NH before the storms came through the area on Sunday

  21. love that sweater too. great job , i may have to look into making one for myself. thanks

  24. Lovely jacket. I’m not one inclined to wear green, but it looks beautiful on you. I’m sure it is destined to become a “go-to” sweater for many occasions.

  27. Lovely cardigan…lovely colour. I really must try to get that book. Hope the cold and so forth are better now.

  29. That’s a lovely cardigan and, oh, how I wish I had something like that to cuddle up in right now as I feel your cold front! Gah. I looked at the precip portion of today’s forecast when dressing for work and completely ignored the temp. Brrrr. I’ve also just declared that I am in a GREEN PHASE and so, yeah, I am loving the color!

  30. I love this sweater, too! You look very pretty in that green color. I just finished amulted brown one for the fall.

  31. I love how that sweater looks on you. I wish I had done the belt like yours… my biggest complaint about my willow is the knit in belt. I don’t always want it & I can’t cut if off without leaving a weird garterstitch chunk in the back

  32. That is a lovely sweater. Not everyone can pull off a belted cardigan, but you can. It looks great on you.

  33. Awesome color and love the shape of the sweater. You did an awesome job. Your pictures look like they can be from a knitting magazine.

  35. What a gorgeous sweater. You look excellent in it–if I may say so, you look rather elfin (in a good, good way) in those pictures, like the Magical Knitting Dryad of the Woods.

  36. How beautiful and inspiring to your subscribers! I’m waiting for the yarn for my first sweater and I’m going to pay particular attention to your blocking instructions, which no doubt contributed to the loveliness of your finished Willow. Thank you for sharing.

  40. Absolutely lovely. I agree that it looks to be a very versatile sweater which will give you years of enjoyment. A very nice silver lining to a nasty round of illness!

  42. did you rotate between skeins or just knit a whole skein and then the next? Did you notice any funny color changes between them? Beautiful and I think I want to make one!

  43. Very nice! Now I want one. But not green. Not that green is bad. I love green. Green is the loneliest colour. I actually had a friend who made green her favorite colour because she felt sorry for it. But I prefer purples and burgundies and black. Yours is gorgeous in green.

  46. Lovely sweater.
    I just got back from my first trip to Canada. If you ever get a chance to go to Butchard Gardens, on Vancouver Island, take it; it’s the most beautiful place I’ve ever been to.
    And it’s true about Timbits.

  49. I love the color, it’s gorgeous. I’m a green person, too, unfortunately so much so that I have occasionally left the house unintentionally clad head-to-toe in that exact green, as though I’m planning on doing some forest reconnaissance, or rob the rich to give to the poor. Not good.

  50. I love this! Looks utterly gorgeous on you, in that kind of classy, drapey, relaxed-and-beautiful-woman-in-the-woods way. I might need to knit this for myself – it looks like it has potential to be the perfect cardigan, especially for mossay ladies.

  52. I love it! You must have the most beautiful closet of sweaters, how do you choose?

  53. Beautiful.
    I have one of her other books which has a summer sweater I really should get cracking on if I’m going to have a chance of wearing it before the end of the summer!

  55. I think this is my favorite thing you’ve made for yourself. It’s a perfect color and fits you wonderfully. And it’s just…so you. Hooray for beautiful sweaters!

  56. Another item that makes you look tall and its a really nice sweater. However, in that setting the outfit (brown skirt, green sweater) makes you look like you are trying to be one with the trees.

  60. What a super shade of “all year round” green. Very crisp and clean, with just enough variation in color to make it interesting, but not TOO. You know what I mean. Very classy.

  61. I love your little photo shoot in the woods, it really captures the misty magical squam feeling. And I think you’re right about that sweater dressing up or dressing down equally well.

  64. What a great benefit from the horrible kidney infection! So glad you finished for NH. Sounds like you needed it & maybe some socks? 😉

  65. It looks very beautiful on you-classy enough for work outside the home(office/ college setting) but will look great with jeans(my staple). The color is just right for you. Isn’t it a great feeling to make something that fits,looks great,feels great and makes you look taller ???

  69. Love it! And it’s chilly here north of TO today, so I’m totally coveting it’s love soft squishiness! (Is that even a word?)

  70. What a lovely cardigan! I’m fond of that shade of green too, I have a strong urge to cast aside the blue cardigan that I’ve just started…must resist startitis…

  72. Love the sweater–just put on some socks that will blend and you will be cozy as can be!

  73. Omg, I love it! That green is very “me” too, and it looks fabulous with what you’re wearing. Dress it up, or dress is down, gorgeous!
    (And I’m sure Louisa Harding doesn’t mind either)

  74. Gasp. The Harlot said she crocheted and she didn’t use a single curse word! She didn’t even grumble.

  75. Oh my! I love it!! It makes me want to make one.. and maybe in the future I will!! I love the color as well (even though a mossy green probably wouldn’t look good on me more like an emerald green but I still love the color) Thank you for showing all of us the beautiful, georgeous cardigan!!

  77. Now I’m homesick. I grew up in NH, just north of Squam.
    By the way, if you’re having a snowy afternoon _in the house_, I think you might need something more substantial than a sweater. Like a roof…

  79. I love that green, and the drape, and the belt, and… I’ve never been big on lots of st st, but I may have to rethink that. (Maybe if I knit a few st st sweaters I’d be less sweater impaired?)
    Wait… you WHAT belt loops?

  82. I love it too. Lovely variegation in the colour. Lovely photography shoot (sans socks). Like your belt treatment for wearing, that was my problem with the cover version, and the ‘no buttonhole’ approach.

  84. Excellent proportions and color for you! Thank you for sharing your pattern adjustments. It gives the less intrepid the courage to change.

  85. i’m not sure that i’ve coveted any knit item more in my entire life. i’m practically salivating. (i want to eat the silk.)
    i can imagine that the stockinette starts to wear on one pretty quickly, but that’s one of my favorite looks. so classic! and the green is perfect!
    and the pockets! i’m a firm believer in pockets. no one should be without pockets at any given time.

  86. I love your sweater too! A comment that I am sure many echoed. What a great color and it looks beautiful on you!

  87. LOVE the sweater!!! Mossay would be the perfect color for me too. 🙂 Next year, I hope I’ll get to Squam.

  89. I love the green. It looks great on you! Cardigans are my favorite sweaters.

  92. I want your sweater! It looks green and cozy and fabulous. Would it be doable knit in one piece to the armholes, I wonder?

  93. So gorgeous! I had the same thoughts about the belt. Glad I wasn’t the only one. It just turned out wonderful. Love the color, too.

  94. Makes me want to run right out and cast on a cardigan even though it’s 90+ here in muggy Houston.
    Absolutely lovely!

  95. Wow, the cardigan’s greeniness is highlighted perfectly by the woodland light and mossy perch you are sitting on, gorgeous.

  96. the sweater is gorgeous and mossay is beautiful color on you!
    Wish I could have been there at Squam. It is one of my favorite places! Glad you had fun.

  97. The cardigan turned out great, and it looks good on you also. Beautiful setting for a pic.
    I checked out the book from the library and was disappointed to find there are no plus-size designs or instructions at all. Some nice cardigans, but not one instruction for someone like me. So it’s not on my “to buy” list.

  98. For myself, I might have chosen to use buttons in order to pull the sweater closed and cover my frontal assets which have succumbed to the ravages of gravity. Yes, my pies have lost their filling, as they say. On you it looks fantastic without buttons, and it hugs in all the right places. It’s definitely a sweater which could go anywhere. I love the colour too.

  100. It’s absolutely beautiful and fits you so well! I’m sure that you will wear it often, wrapped in cozy comfort.

  101. One of the things (among many) that I enjoy about reading your blog is seeing the transformation and process you go through when making something. You are very inspiring.

  103. Beautiful goes well with the background. I am planning on starting my first sweater soon as a beginning knitter, and it’s a baby sweater. Hope it turns out just as good.

  105. Stephanie, I wear size 22, sometimes 20, so size 18 would never work. Too bad as there were some gorgeous cardigans in the book. Maybe after a few more months on our treadmill, I might re-consider “Cardigans”. Until then, I’ll have to settle for “Big Girl Knits”. LOL

  106. Louisa absolutely understands! Louisa is going to take one look at the classy, elegant sweater you have made and be green with envy. It looks terrific on you, Stephanie. A perfect color and it fits, well, like it was made for you. Which it was. Kudos.

  109. I think the sweater loves you back. That is one of the greatest greens I’ve ever seen.

  111. You are really getting me in trouble. I want one now. Though I think blue would be better on me.

  113. I see that BMFA has that shade in a Socks that Rock, think it would make gorgeous socks.

  114. I love that sweater too – super comfy looking – I bet it gets lots of use. The color of the yarn is gorgeous.

  116. I love that sweater! It’s so beautiful, I love the color. It looks easy enough for me to knit up. I might have to take a look at that book. 😉

  118. Gorgeous! I own the book and have been having a hell of a time trying to figure out which one to knit first. Any suggestions?

  119. Stephanie, Thank you so much for sharing your projects. They are so inspiring; from, “I could do that” to “I’ll do that someday”. Of course it helps that we have similar tastes in knitwear! The sweater is beautiful and beautiful on you. Wear it in good health!

  120. What a wonderful shade of green, you look terrific modeling your sweater in the forest!

  121. Its Beautiful! It suits you so well. You look like an Earth mother out there in the forest. Gorgeous!

  124. No wonder you like this one . It looks great on you . Congrats on getting it done for this cool spell.

  125. Lovely green sweater! And yes, you can so skip the button bands — just be sure to keep a nice sweater pin for those times when a little more coverage is needed. I’m a big fan of green, especially in combination with purple. I guess I’m 11 going on 57…

  129. Very pretty indeed. I like how it combines the cozy with the bright and cheery green. Good choice with the belt, too. Much nicer.

  130. My dearest Yarn Harlot,
    I love reading your blog and being inspired by your projects. You make me want to say to heck with you silly adult responsibilities… I must knit knit knit. But alas my “mature’ side makes me continue to do my work and chores.
    Anyway, I am writing to ask if you also have a facebook? Have a fabulous day! smiles, yours truly, Lesley

  132. I love this! I knew when you first showed the pattern that it would be lovely, and sure enough, it is. It seems like the kind of cardigan that will become a ‘comfort cardigan’, that you grab every time you need to feel cosy. I love the colour. Good job!

  133. That is SO beautiful. I love the colors, and the way the variations fall. I’ve never really been a cardigan person, but this makes me want to change that. I just might have to check out that book.

  135. Wow, that is beautiful! I love the simple lines. You’ve knit a classic there! Adding to the Ravelry queue!
    As for the yarn, well, anything green and anything BMFA makes my heart flutter.

  136. The sweater is gorgeous. That is just the kind of sweater I like to “live in.” The photos are perfect for it!

  138. Another beautiful sweater. I like the simple design, your choice of yarn and the small changes you made.

  140. Beautiful sweater! (& I like the skirt a lot too, it’s one of my favorite items in my wardrobe. 🙂 excellent taste if I do say so myself, lol!)

  141. Very nice… and lucky you to be in the beautiful woods. Always nice when you make the pattern work to your will.

  144. Luscious color and the yarn has a lovely drape, the pattern and the model are inspired choices. It all goes so well together, the balance of color and nature. The photographer captured the essence of the woodland setting and the close-up of the pocket an artful touch. oh, wait a minute, we’re not choosing photos for a magazine?!?

  147. Beautiful sweater. And color. Hey now no crochet bashing. I’m a knitter first but like to crochet too. It puts a gorgeous finishing touch to so many knitted projects.

  150. Green is lovely generally and your greens are definitely no exception to that rule. I’m still green with envy at that cardigan, it looks soooooo soft, wish I had ‘touchscreen’ on my pc.
    Just in case you’re not done with the green-binge yet, I will mail you a pattern that I just made up (Hedwig shawl). The sample is in white (Hedwig being Harry Potters owl) but the pattern already states that it’ll look very leafy when done in green. I hope you’ll accept it as a little thank you gift for all the pleasure your blog brings to my day. And of course I would be tickled pink if you should ever decide to actually knit it (regardless in what colour).

  153. Isn’t LLS just the best? I just read your post about blocking and thought the yarn looked familiar. I recently knit Imogen by Adrienne Thomas from LSS and it is my favorite sweater. I am now knitting The Traveling Sweater in Woobu in Mossay and that colorway is awesome. I heart BMFA.

  154. It is beautiful but I wish you’d made the front pieces wider. It would look so much more graceful if they overlapped when you use the tie belt. Maybe next time. :o)

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