The third purple cardigan I made this spring was Marigold, which was from the summer 2010 issue of Interweave Knits.
I made it out of Elsebeth Lavold Hempathy, a DK weight cotton/hemp/rayon blend, which I thought would be a perfect summer cardigan yarn.
For the most part, it’s pretty good. It feels quite rough when you’re knitting with it, but very drapey, and it softens up a lot with washing and wearing.
My one reservation would be, I wouldn’t use this yarn again for anything with puffed sleeves. My sleeves are nice and puffy when it’s just been washed, but after a couple of hours they are droooopy. And the ribbing stretches out a lot too. It’s totally my fault for using such a drapey yarn, and I could definitely do something with shoulder pads to puff them up, but it’s still under consideration. (Wouldn’t you see shoulder pads through this holey stitch pattern? I’d have to knit some from the leftover yarn and stuff them! Actually, now there’s an idea…)
It’s still a cute sweater.
Before you stuff the shoulder pads, why not see if they add enough bulk just doubled over?