Lodi Office Knit-a-Long!

It's not often that one pattern lands on more than a few queues in the office. With our own gorgeous patterns to choose from, and so many fabulous indie designs in the knitosphere, it just seems that we never meet in the same spot. Then there was the Lodi cardigan.

You might remember this little cardigan designed by Tanis Gray and knit in Solstice, from the Summer issue of Knitscene. As soon as I saw it, I knew it had to be mine. I do so love a tiny cardigan, often to my detriment, but that's a whole other story. Anyway, one thing led to another and before we knew it, it was on the needles of eight women in our office! Experiences were mixed, from love for the stylish simplicity of the design, to difficulty with the grading, to a newfound appreciation for the wool-organic cotton blend we were all suddenly knitting in.

Solstice is from our Verde Collection, and comes in twenty vibrant colors. The cotton component keeps the stitches crisp and clear, provides structure, and allows the finished garment to breathe. Super soft merino wool adds warmth, drape, and helps pieces hold their shape. I truly dislike weaving in ends, so I was especially pleased to learn that it can be spit-spliced (or "magic-spliced" if the thought of spitting in your yarn is especially unpleasant for you).

What, people don't dress alike at your office?

For those with a larger bust, take heed of your shaping! The eyelet raglan shoulders MUST be increased with each right side row, so while increasing bust size you also increase the arm size! Many who were knitting above a 38" bust had trouble with arms being too large, and remedied it in a variety of ways.

Heather (in the Azalea colorway) merely picked up stitches instead of casting on in the armpit, and knit the sleeves flat, taking in stitches in the armpit. Meg, in the Brass Button colorway, swatched carefully and recalculated the distribution of the fronts and arms. I made mine as is, but wondered in retrospect if you could pair each eyelet increase with a decrease in the armpit area--an unproven theory, but I wonder if it would work? What are your tried-and-true fitting techniques?