Knitting this Polar Prism Cardigan as more of a jacket. It has a very warm fabric due to the stranding (like winter armor), which I love because I tend to be cold (reptilian blood apparently) and live in a cold climate. This stranded colorwork pattern was developed last year in the deep winter and originally inspired by reptilian scales, armor and and mosaic tile work.

I followed the pattern exactly (it will be released in early January). It is a seamless, top-down design knit mostly in the round.
This version has a little more positive ease (looser fit) and a zipper!

This beautifully dyed yarn by Rain City Knits is very soft with a nice halo. The navy blue is very nuanced in person… A very deep dark and clear navy with black. Even the neon colors are nuanced. Gorgeous colors-- beginning at the top they are hot pink, electric coral and bright orange.

This was my first zipper installation. I worked with a more confident sewing friend. I think it was her first zipper too. First we used a sewing tape to add some structure to the knitted fabric and stuck each half of the separated zipper to the right side of the steek stitches (on the right side of the fabric). A sewing glue would work too. We used a sewing machine to sew the right sides together first witha zig zag stitch. We discovered we needed to use a walking foot because the knit fabric was stretching a lot otherwise. Then I cut open the steek. Then I sewed on the wrong side with a dark yarn to connect the fabric more closely to the edge of the zipper. I cut off the very tip top of the zipper because it was a smidge too long and then sewed over the top of the zipper by hand so the zipper will Stop at the top. I am finishing the steek edges with herringbone stitch (embroidery) as described in Elizabeth Zimmerman’s books.
It is a very sleek look, it could work well with much more negative ease (this version has positive ease).

This design employs the basics of the Contiguous shoulder Method developed by Susie Myers, SusieM on Rav. I have made some changes to the method that are included in the pattern for a better fit at the top of the shoulder.

Intswemodo 2014 #11