Faded Featherweight

If you’re at all plugged in to the fiber world, you’ve no doubt seen the explosion of the fading trend popularized by Andrea Mowry, designer of the Find Your Fade Shawl. I myself have completed both a Fade Shawl and a So Faded Sweater by Miss Mowry.

The new fading trend is wonderful in that you can use the technique in essentially any other knitting project. What I love about fading is that it allows me to use my stash of single skeins of gorgeous colorways from indie dyers in a single project. Rather than needing a sweater quantity of just one colorway, you can mix and match and enjoy a variety of colors in a larger project.

This is what I have done with my Featherweight Cardigan, a pattern by Hannah Fettig. I was able to use four different colorways: three from Yarn Cafe Creations, and one from Everyday Yarnworks, both on Etsy (affiliate links).

I did modify the pattern by adding a steek, which allowed me to knit in the round for the body, rather than knitting flat. I’m not the worlds biggest fan of purling long rows, truth be told. I also knit the body a few inches longer than is called for by the pattern, just for personal preference. As an exceedingly short person, I believe (possibly incorrectly) that longer garments elongate my petite figure.

Overall, this was a joy to knit. I find that fading multiple colorways can be very motivating. Whereas with a plain stockinette pattern in one color may become monotonous, this project was exciting. I was always eager to get to the next color and see how they played together.

I highly recommend all three patterns: the Featherweight Cardigan by Hannah Fettig, the Find Your Fade Shawl and the So Faded Sweater by Andrea Mowry.

I hope you have enjoyed this entry in the diary of HalesBee Handmade. For more details on the yarns and needles I used, see my project page on Ravelry.

Love from HalesBee