Here is a link to a youtube video detailing how to attach the ties to the sweater: http://www.youtube.com/user/sunnysideupknits?feature=mhee...
Here is a link to a second youtube video detailing how to unzip the provisional CO stitches and trim the sweater.
http://www.youtube.com/user/sunnysideupknits?feature=mhee...

Every spring, I look forward to knitting my girls their summer cardigans, they are a must for anyone living in the upper Midwest. So this last year, I was discussing yarn and patterns and was met by a girl with her very own ideas about what she wanted her summer cardigan to look like. We decided on the following design components: (1) it had to be orange, (2) it needed to criss-cross in front and tie in the back, (3) she wanted it to be short enough so her sundress didn’t bunch up underneath it.

After our discussion I whipped up a quick drawing of what I thought she wanted, as she was looking at it she added “Mom, it HAS to have twirly sleeves!”. When I asked her what, exactly, are twirly sleeves she said, “You know, Mom, sleeves that make you want to do this”. She then proceeded to spread her arms out to her sides and twirl around our kitchen until she dissolved in a dizzy heap of giggles on the floor. Want to know a secret? They are the best part.