This fall I’ve been on a knitting roll, which happens to a lot of us knitters when that season hits. I finished off one old project from the spring, I’m working on finishing another from the spring, and just this week I finished one from literally 4 and a half years ago. Seriously!
But this one is all new! I bought the Ten of Hearts cardigan pattern from Bex‘s Etsy shop awhile back. I would guess it’s from the early-to-mid 1950s, and features 5 hearts running down the front of both sides, hence the name, Ten of Hearts. It’s in worsted weight at a gauge of 4.5 stitches per inch, so it whipped up quite fast. I think I finished it in about 2 and a half weeks.
Don’t mind the fact that I may look wet, freezing or wind-blown in these photos, because I was all three! And apparently it made me slouch in every. single. photo. Really, my shirt doesn’t do that usually. (Boy I hope it doesn’t.)
Anyway, because I can’t seem to leave well enough alone, I decided I’d like to add the lace and hearts panels to the back, too, which was otherwise supposed to be in plain stockinette. Since my row gauge was tighter than the pattern, it’s actually the Twenty Six of Hearts cardigan, as I have 6 down each front not 5, with 14 on the back. Not that anyone’s counting.
I love those back hearts! Essentially I just flipped the chart (yes I charted it—can’t stand knitting lace with written instructions) so that the back mirrors the front, minus the opening for the cardigan, of course.
And with all those hearts, I had to top it off with vintage heart earrings, right? Right. Of course, in the only photo that actually shows my earrings, my hair is trying to run away with the wind.
And never one to miss an opportunity to theme it up even more, I wore a blouse from DesiRoo Clothing underneath, made from a vintage fabric with little playing card suits on it. You can’t really see a heart unless I move the cardigan, but they’re on there. So cute and kitschy! (FYI, this is her tie shoulder top style, with the ties untied and tucked into my bra straps. How’s that for a classy way to get more seasons out of it! 😉 )
Other than adding the lace to the back, I actually knit the cardigan as written. Mostly. Except for knitting the sleeves top down, and working normal picked up button bands (and putting the holes on the wrong side, oops) because I didn’t feel like knitting them and then sewing them on. So yeah, that’s about as “I actually followed a pattern, guys!” as it gets for me. I’m an unrepentant pattern hacker, what can I say.
One thing I knew going in and didn’t change and am perhaps slightly regretful but don’t really care that much anyway (how’s that for a wishy washy opinion): the shoulders are quite wide as the pattern is written. Way wider than I normally knit, combined with very shallow neckline shaping. But I liked the idea of the lace panel not getting eaten away with the shoulder and neck shaping, so I knit both areas as written. Gives it a bit of a drop-shoulder effect unless I really hike it up onto my shoulders, but I don’t mind.
The yarn is Madelinetosh Vintage, a lovely worsted weight hand-dyed yarn, in the colorway Tart. Now the Madtosh web site shows single ply photos for vintage—it’s not a single ply! That’s Tosh Merino, I think. So here it is from Eat. Sleep. Knit. showing the right type of skeins. I’d had this yarn in my stash for years and had tried to knit it up at least twice to no avail, so I’m thrilled it finally turned into something I love!
When I was finishing this cardigan, I started to think about buttons. The red is a much darker red than I normally go for, so the odds were slim I’d have something in my button stash. But I did! The only dark red buttons I had, which were vintage plastic ones with little berries and leaves that I picked up who-knows-where. And they’re perfect. Totally meant to be!
I paired the cardigan with trousers you haven’t seen. They’ve actually my second pair of Gertie trousers (i.e. Butterick B5895, you saw pairs #1 and #3 this summer), made up in corduroy, with slightly less slim legs than my gabardine pair, because… it was three months ago, I have no idea why. Probably because I tweaked the fit in the calf by version #3, although it looks mostly the same to me, when I compare photos.
I still haven’t worked on any more fitting issues with these, and frankly had mostly forgotten about this pair since I sewed corduroy pants in August, so it’s not like I got to wear them once I finished. But now they’re just right! Well, verging on no longer appropriate, as the temps dip and they skim my ankles, and my feet are cold! I was glad to find out they fit a bit better than I recalled, although throwing them in the washer and dryer may have helped with that. I always forget corduroy likes to bag out… I really need to not sew with it, honestly. I always love it in theory and then get angry with it.
I really wasn’t kidding about it being windy, raining, and cold. I spent about half the time taking these photos looking like the below, either trying to catch my hair flying away from my head or just waiting for the gusts to stop. Delightful!
Anyway, I absolutely adore my new cardigan, and think it’ll be perfect for fall and winter. And the trousers are reminding me that I do really like this pattern, and need to sew more versions! Although I think I’m mostly convinced I like the fit of my red stretch pair best (which used a pattern size down in most places), so I may be sticking to stretch woven versions in the future.
Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to go warm up inside and knit some more!
outfit details
Ten of Hearts cardigan: made by me (Ravelry project page)
Butterick B5895 trousers: made by me
blouse: Desi Roo Clothing
vintage heart earrings: misc.
vintage sweater clips: misc.
moccasins: Minnetonka
the cardigan ist so wonderful, with all the hearts in the pattern
Thank you! 🙂
aaah this is soo pretty! Love the color so much. I would really love to learn to knit. I gave it a half ass go last year and was so impatient with it. I think I would like to try again. Could you recommend any good online resources to learn from?
Eep that’s kind of a difficult question for me to answer, only because I didn’t really learn online! I learned from books, mainly. I would totally encourage you to pick it up again, it’s fun and addictive (and a great thing to do when you don’t want to/can’t sew!). So it’s worth slogging through the early stages when it’s the most frustrating. 🙂
The web site KnittingHelp.com has a ton of videos for knitting, and I’ve used many in the part to learn particular skills. But it also looks like they have some beginner ones, too, so that could be helpful to you!
http://www.knittinghelp.com/videos/learn-to-knit
If you’re an online class kind of person, Craftsy has a basic one (I think Rochelle may have taken this?) http://www.craftsy.com/class/Knit-Lab-Projects-Patterns-Techniques/17
Also I’ve found YouTube has just a ton of videos as well. There’s SO many knitting resources online these days, it’s awesome! Hopefully you decide to dive back in! 😀
Thanks Tasha!!
Wow, looks great! I love that color.
Thanks! It’s a great color, not a red I’d typically go for, but I think it’ll be extra lovely in fall.
I love everything about this outfit! I’m going to try and knit this sweater but I’m not sure because I’m much larger than a 36 inch bust. Have you ever thought of writing sweater patterns? You’re so clever with the frankensteining.
Thanks about the frankensteining! 🙂 Honestly chances are probably pretty slim that I’ll ever have the time to delve into sweater pattern design since I work full-time, too, so even an occasional accessory pattern is hard to fit in. But never say never. 🙂 I do try to post on occasion about resizing patterns though. I think the last thing I really went into in-depth about it was last fall when I did my 40s pullover series. It has a couple of posts specific to resizing:
https://tashacouldmakethat.com/2013/10/40s-pullover-series-resizing-pattern-part1/
https://tashacouldmakethat.com/2013/10/40s-pullover-series-resizing-pattern-part2/
I am in love with the cardigan!! I think adding the pattern to the back was a wise choice, and that shade of red is really gorgeous!
Thanks! Yeah, I’m really happy I decided to add the pattern to the back too!
This cardigan is so cute, and I just love the color! Looks great on you, and the buttons are a perfect pairing, I agree. I’m going to add this one to my ever-growing list of cardigans to knit!
Happy to add to your queue! 😉
gorgeous ;o)
Thank you!
Oh my! Gorgeous!! I think I need to go and knit that now….!
Thanks, Kat! I’d highly recommend it! 😀
Haha you poor thing! Braving the elements to show us your amazing new sweater. THOSE BUTTONS!! Such a beautiful pattern, I love the hearts and the lace. Man I wish I could knit right now! Stupid tendinitis 🙁
Aren’t the buttons fab?! I’m so glad I had something suitable. You give those wrists a break and you’ll be knitting again soon enough. 🙂
Totally adorable! Honestly there hasn’t been anything that you have created that I haven’t loved!! xox
Awww, thanks Daffny!
What a lovely pattern! When you buy buttons just for your stash, how many do you usually get? I have a bad habit of collecting one or two buttons just because they’re pretty and then having nothing to do with them.
I usually try to buy at least 6, figuring on most sweaters, I’ll want somewhere between 6 to 8, generally. I don’t usually buy singles for the very reason you mentioned, although I find they’re helpful when I’m sewing (like closing a skirt or pants waistband), so if I do, I’m usually thinking about a sewing project. 🙂
Love it! The buttons are fab 🙂 x
Thanks! I love that they have little berries and vines on them. 🙂
Lovely! That heart pattern is so cute, and the buttons are just perfect! Your hair looks great as well, I wish mine held up that well during windy days! ^___^
Thanks! Some days it fights the wind better than others. 😉
What a gorgeous cardigan!
Thank you!
Lovely! I bought the pattern. Thank you!
Awesome, happy knitting! It was a fun project.
I seriously love this charmingly pretty and very becoming cardigan, dear Tasha. We get a decent amount of wind around these parts, especially when it’s not summertime, and I can wholeheartedly relate to photo shoots where you spend more trying to wrangle your ensemble into place than smiling for the camera. The things we do for our blogs! 😀
♥ Jessica
Thanks, Jessica! I’m trying to get a few more outdoor photos done before we enter the season here of “you will probably only see me in my house for the next 5 months”. LOL
Delicious as always 🙂
Thanks dear! 😀
Fantastic cardigan and the buttons finish it off perfectly.
Thanks! I do think they were a great final touch!
Your cardigan is so lovely! The hearts on the back are perfect and I love the buttons.
That’s a great pattern, and your sweater turned out well. I love the little hearts.
Alas, I won’t be making it for myself due to my substantial bust, but I suppose it would be possible to borrow the hearts and add them to a plainer sweater. Thanks for sharing your project.
Yes, the sweater knitting bug has bitten, HARD! I can’t stop. This little number is really cute! I love the cranberry color. In fact I’m knitting something in a similar hue at the moment. It looks especially gorgeous with your hunter trousers!
Ohhh I like it all so much. You look like Christmas. I want a red sweater ( I always want a red sweater) and green pants. Maybe some fabric shopping is in my cards for tomorrow.
This is absolutely beautiful! I didn’t even know the pattern existed, but it is now downloaded. 🙂
I love this outfit. I actually have had this cardigan on my todo list for the longest time, as well as the trousers in the same colour green! Though I think ill stay away from corduroy 😛
Tasha,
This cardigan is so lovely; the color is just right, and the way you styled it – spot on. I must say: I’m on the lookout for the earrings like yours. They are so adorable!
My best
Marija
Love this new cardigan! Very Cute! And those buttons make a perfectly added vintage touch! 🙂
It’s absolute perfection.
I loved this on IG and I love it here, you’ve done a beautiful job and the colour is scrummy. And I love your styling too! Do you mind me asking, do you pants coins to type bell button or your natural waist?
*Do your pants come to your belly button or your natural waist?
What atrocious typing! Sorry.
Thanks! They come to my natural waist, you can probably get a better picture of where the waist hits in my most recent pants update post since I don’t have a shirt tucked in. 🙂
Nice ! You are very creative !