Go Handmade - Sweater with asymmetrical button tape - For English speaking/reading knitters

Link to free pattern in English

I don't remember where I saw this pattern promoted but it doesn't matter.  All I know is I saw this photo, I fell in love and had to have it. 

I downloaded it from Hobbii 's site.  I had the yarn in my stash - Knit One Crochet Too Sebago in French Vanilla. This is a DK and the pattern calls for Sport. I used 3 hanks. As I planned this for a child who would be 6 months old when I cast it on, I went up .5 cm on the needles so that between the weight of the yarn and that it would come out slightly larger...apparently I knit to tight or this is the first thing wrong with the pattern...my finished measurements matched the gauge for sport weight using 3.0 mm and 3.5 mm needles.

In the "Abbreviations & Definitions," you will find things that have nothing to do with this pattern.  You can ignore "I-Cord, Row With Holes, Short Rows and Crab Stitch."

This pattern is translated from Danish to English.  You will find commas in measurements where you are used to finding periods.  I apologize that I only did the math for the 6-month size.  To evenly increase 12 stitches, knit a front-back increase every 6th stitch. 

ROW 8 IS A RIGHT-SIDE ROW! I emphasized that because this pattern does not state that the first row is a wrong side row.  It's pretty easily looking at the photos of the sweater in the pattern also make this would be the case as the right side of the sweater is stockinette. The other reason for the emphasis is because the next line of the pattern will have you questioning everything you have done to this point

"On the wrong side knit as per diagram and purl all increases."

In reality? Purl the knits and knit the purls. You have set up the cables in the 8th row so remember knit before the 4 cable stitch & purl those 4 stitches. Purl each of the M1B. Also "knit as per diagram" is pretty random being placed here. The "diagram" is the 4-row cable pattern. You will refer to it on both the right and wrong sides. The diagram DOES NOT include any information other than these 6 stitches in each of 4 rows. PERIOD! 

Read literally this makes zero sense and is what had me emailing Hobbii and Go Handmade

"In each other row (right side), knit increases. Continue with the increases and cables until  15 (18) increases have been worked in."

Hobbii referred me back to Go Handmade.  They have also since removed the pattern from their site so I'm hoping that my request and my follow-up review of that help was the cause.  As for Go Handmade? Their test knitter didn't recognize any problems with the pattern. The pattern designer passed away before they published it.  Their English-speaking/writing customer service reps are not knitters. In other words, the help I got did not help.  At this point I searched through my patterns for a little girl's sweater I knitted 3 years ago that was a similar top-down raglan sleeve design.  Starting with row 10 and on all right side rows up to and including 44 add the M1B increases at each end of the sleeves, front and back sections. For all of these rows and the ones after you will refer to the "diagram" for the cables. 

You will be moving the sleeve stitches to the stitch holder or scrap yarn on a wrong side row. I know this is obvious but "knit flat"...you're still knitting everything except the cables in stockinette so knit right side, purl wrong side. Other than that, this will be a nice, calm section of knitting. The buttonholes open at rows 8, 34, 60 & 86. They will close on 9, 35, 61 and 87.  

Now things are going to get difficult where they don't need to be.  The designer went with casting 8 stitches on (4 at the beginning and 4 at the end of the sleeves.  This opening is then closed by sewing the underarm of the sleeve to the underarm of the body together. I HATE SEWING and especially hate weaving in ends. So again referring that that other sweater pattern I mentioned earlier I just picked up the 8 stitches that were cast on the body when the sleeves were moved to the stitch holder. On both sleeves, this worked very well. The other thing I changed was the cuffs. Because I knit with magic loop when doing tubes smaller than 16" and having tried switching from in-the-round to flat on circulars this was not something I wanted to mess with so I just pulled the last 8 rows in-the-round for the cuffs.  

Finishing? Stick with buttons 3/4" diameter or smaller if you don't use toggle buttons. The buttonholes are pretty small.  Also, use plainer buttons. I bought Minnie Mouse and sunflower buttons but they drew the attention away from that cable right alongside the "button tape".  

In the future I would like to play with this patter to enlarge it for at least a 2-year-old.  I'll update this post if I do.  Here is my progression of the sweater

Any questions? Don't hesitate to ask.