And I gotta say, it’s beautiful.

So close to completion!

The Urban Aran cardigan is one of the most fun things I’ve ever knitted. It’s a straight up awesome pattern: there’s lots going on, but not so much that you get overwhelmed or have trouble keeping all the threads in your head. Even towards the top of the body, where you’re shaping the armholes and keeping the centre cable pattern going, it’s no hassle at all. The cable patterns are clear and their progression is obvious, so you memorise it very quickly.

There’s a central, symmetrical cable pattern that goes up the centre back, centre front, and both sleeves, and then there’s another geometric cable section on the front and back, at the hips.

Flanks!

If you made the sweater shorter, you could position these panels at the waist. But on this length, the geometric cabling serves to bring the sweater in closer at the hips, which makes it absolutely perfect as a fitted men’s sweater. And, oh wow, check out these sleeves:

Beautiful sleevage.

I’ll do a proper FO Report later, since this isn’t finished. Oh, it’s knitted, seamed, blocked, and ends woven in: but that contrast thread running up the centre front? That’s basting.

Well might you wonder…