Fernwood Cardigan / Picking Up Buttonband

March 16, 2023

I've finished knitting the buttonband of my Fernwood Cardigan for our knit-along. The pattern is written with specific stitch counts for each section so that the rate is consistent from right to left for a perfectly mirrored buttonband that lays nice and flat. I like to divide these larger sections into smaller quarters so that it's really easy to hit my target stitches for each section and make the picked up stitches nice and even. The result is worth the extra step of placing these markers. I've made a video tutorial outlining the process — it's also a great visual aid if you've never picked up for a buttonband before!

You might notice that my cardigan appears shorter than the original. In fact the body is the same length as the sample but the yarn I'm using for this mauve version doesn't have the same weight or drape and so it doesn't stretch and hang the same way when worn. It's not too late to add length although it would require some back tracking by pulling out the buttonband and hem ribbing to add a few extra rows. I'm still deciding whether this is something I'll do.