Sweet Pea Cardigan & Errata

I have nearly finished the Sweet Pea Cardigan. I'm actually just waiting to find out whether it is a boy or a girl before I finish off the trim and buttons.

Here it is unblocked. It looks like a wrinkled mess. The pattern is from 60 Quick Baby Knits and is by Mary Scott Huff, who is one of the wonderful instructors at the Columbia Gorge Fiber Festival. The only thing I have to say is there were quite a few errors in the pattern, which I don't blame on the designer. I think most of them should have been caught during editing. I have included them, so if you want to make your own you can. I used Cascade 220 Superwash in color Celery for the pattern.

Here is the body of the sweater all nicely blocked. I couldn't get a good shot of the whole thing in one photo. I knit the 0-6 month size. Following are the errors I found in the pattern:

1. This one is my opinion, maybe not an error: Before I started I looked at the measurements for the smallest size, which is 6 months. I measured my very soon to be 2 year old and they were his exact measurements. He isn't small for his age and definitely wears a size 2T. I tried the finished sweater on him and it is tight across the chest, but definitely long enough to reach his bottom. So it does run long, if you don't like that sort of thing.

2. Make Stem Directions: The directions say to Bind Off 6, when you should bind off 5. If you bind off 6, then you end up with one less stitch in the pea pod panel when you start the chart over again. 

3. Hood: Inc row (RS): I ended up with 115 sts, not 109. This is because during some parts of the pea pod chart you have 15 sts in the panel and some parts you have 18 sts per panel. So if you are working rows 1-4 or 23-24 of the panel you will have 109 sts, but if you are working rows 5-22 you will have 115 sts for the 6 month size. 

4. Sleeves: Dec rnd: Pattern says: "Rep dec rnd every 6th (6th, 5th) rnd 6 (8, 11) times more 44 (46, 46) sts. Change to smaller dpns and k 6 rnds." 

It has absolutely no mention of continuing until sleeve measures 6 1/2 (7 1/2, 8 1/2)" like the diagram shows. My sleeve, which I was getting perfect gauge on, measured 5 1/2" when I finished the decreases. If I hadn't happened to glance at the diagram my sleeves would have been an inch too short. 

5. Front Edge Facing: It should say work 6 rows in st st, not 5. If you do 5 then either the turned hem will be inside out or the turning ridge will be inside out. I went with doing 6 rows, because all other turned hem instructions have 6 rows.


I have heard that quite a few patterns in the book also have errors. As an experienced knitter I was able to figure out what was wrong and complete the pattern. I feel that any other experienced knitter would be able to do the same. The patterns are adorable and I'm happy to say that I am planning on having a book signing with Nichole Reese at the Columbia Gorge Fiber Festival. However, I really have to recommend checking out the errata before starting any of their patterns: http://www.sixthandspringbooks.com/errata_cascade220babyknits.php

I also wouldn't recommend this book for a beginner knitter. Get a couple of baby patterns under your belt before trying one of these out. Make sure to check errata and Ravelry before making any of the patterns. Also, if you have a problem, ask an expert, because it could very well be the pattern and not you!