So many new experiments in this one!
The sleeves, of course, were a new attempt to combine the shaping of a nice inset sleeve cap with top-down construction. The short rows at the top eventually joined up.
Honestly, I probably picked up a few too many stitches for the sleeves... and, actually, made the armscyes a bit too deep. They're not bad, just a bit roomier at the armpit than they need to be. But since they're not roomy to an uncomfortable degree, I'm not worrying about them. I should also note that the sleeves end just below the elbow, a choice made largely because I was worried about running out of yarn. But it's also cute. (Yes, too, the sweater's a bit cropped, a choice made because I know cotton tends to grow a little after washing. We'll see if that happens. Either way, I'm fine with the end result.)
When I got done with them, I realized something else. Well, two things. I'd forgotten about one of the buttonholes. D'oh! And, anyway, the sweater was a touch tight across the bust, and therefore could use an edging that added just a tiny bit of width.
What to do? I thought about crocheted edgings, but was unenthusiastic about that. Then, wandering around the knitty board, I came across a thread on i-cord bindoff, aka applied i-cord. Aha! I thought!
Applied i-cord it was. That involved picking up stitches all the way around the cardigan front and neck edges (A ROYAL PAIN IN THE ASS, for what it's worth... in the future, I'll plan for this as a finishing technique and try to make a better selvedge [edge] for picking up stitches), starting a three-stitch i-cord (for those who don't do knitting, it's basically a tiny, tiny tube [or, really, spiral, as is all circular knitting] knit over a small number of stitches), and then knitting it on to those picked up stitches all along the edge. For button holes, I did a couple of regular i-cord rounds, and then picked up again.
So cool!
Anyway. It's in reasonably good shape now. I need to wash and block it, a process that frankly has me a bit nervous, for some reason. It's the cotton. I've had very little problem ever washing wool, or woven cotton, but cotton knits... well, sometimes the go weird on me. Wish me luck!