Ladybug Body

I've done some work on my niece's Dale of Norway ladybug sweater (Marihone). This will be a cardigan so I'm at the point where I must figure out some adjustments to the collar before I can continue. Which means it has been sitting at this stage for 2 weeks now.



these colors aren't accurate in the photo, but when are they


My roadblock is debating whether or not I should cut it smaller when I cut the steek and where exactly the new fold lines will go, which is a decision I have to make before I can start decreasing for the collar. The body is about 2" inches bigger than I would like, which might not sound like much for a child's sweater (kids eventually grow into everything, right) but Dale already sizes their kid stuff BIG. Right now it's about 30.5" around, not counting the steek sts, which seems gigantic to me for a 2-3 yr old child's cardigan. (It's supposed to be 28 3/8" after the button bands are added, and that sounds plenty big to me.)

I swatched with a 3.0 mm needle and hit gauge but I think I relaxed more while working on the sweater to ensure there wasn't any puckering. The good news is that there's no puckering. I noticed the difference in gauge after the first round of ladybugs but the stubborn and frugal part of me didn't want to start over. That would involve buying a 24" Addi Turbo in the 2.5 mm size and I'd already bought the 24" 3.0 mm Addi Turbo just to knit this sweater -- and they ain't cheap. So I kept going knowing that I'd eventually reach this point of indecision. Ho-hum. If I do it over again I'll get the 2.5 mm or work a smaller size. I should have started over after the first round of bugs. ;) Live and learn.