Pam Alison Knits

Here we are with the first knitting project of 2026, a year where I predict – I hope – knitting will be one of my main pursuits. 2025 was a pretty nondescript year on my needles, though two of my three finished objects are seeing a lot of use. These are the “informal” twinset – The Replicant cardigan and The Slipunder vest. As I had hoped, these pair together marvellously and work as a very useful proof of concept for improving the versatility of cardigans by knitting a variety of base layers. More similar garments should appear over the next couple of years.

For my first project of 2026 I’m back to the cardigans, though, with a pattern that’s been sitting in my inspiration folder for a good while. It’s one of a series of patterns from the late 1970s/early 1980s which Sirdar released primarily to work with their Country Style DK yarn. Unlike many of the cardigans I knit, this is a slightly slouchy style with dropped shoulders and wide sleeves that pull in only at the cuff. The aim in adding this to my wardrobe is to give some of my skirts and dresses a more laid-back style.

I’ve chosen the JC Rennie Supersoft Lambswool 11.3Nm “Greasy Coned Yarn” in the shade Pennan Bay. There isn’t a hope of this colour representing well on camera, but I’ll do my best. I’m holding the 4-ply yarn double to get close to the DK weight the pattern calls for. The cone of yarn has around 850g which will be plenty to complete this project plus one or two more items. Right now, with the back and both sleeves completed, I’ve used 305g. I’m keeping an eye on this because I want to give an accurate report at the end of the project on what it has cost. The reason for buying these large cones of wool is partly to use wool that I know I like, but it’s also about knitting to my budget. Minimise expense and maximise pleasure, that’s the name of my 2026 game.

So far, I have to say I’m getting a lot of pleasure from this pattern and wool. Well, I hardly have to think about the wool because I’ve used it so much in the past and I’ve never had any problems with the knitting or the durability. The 12-row lace stitch pattern took a little time to embed itself in my head, but now I rarely need to refer to the pattern. Oh, I should say, being a British pattern from the 1970s/1980s, there are no charts – the lace pattern is written out for you. This type of pattern doesn’t suit everyone, but it’s my strong preference because my brain isn’t wired in the way that makes reading charts easy.

It’s time to admit that I have set myself a stupid deadline for completing this garment, particularly when I think of my slow progress over the past year. I cast on at the end of my Christmas break, not having picked up my needles for the entire week I was off work. As soon as I started the cardi, I decided I really want to wear it on my last day at work which means I have just two months to knit, wash and finish it. I am setting myself mini targets which include having both sleeves and the back complete at the end of this week. Well, I’ve aced that – it’s only Thursday and I’m ready to cast on the first front. Let’s hope the rest of this week (using up my annual leave) sees me well on my way with that piece of the garment.

To celebrate a year when I intend to knit more than I have recently, I started a new knitting notebook. I’m yet to decide on my knitting plans for 2026, but I am thinking about setting some goals to achieve over the year. At the moment it is both nebulous and fixed, swirling ideas in my head, but gradually coalescing into a graspable format. I think the first thing on my list should be to drag out all my yarn and think about it. As well as my main “stash” I have some bits put away and I need to assess those because I think there’s at least one bundle of wool that I could use for a project I want to knit in the spring. The trouble is now I’ve thought of it I want to rush off and dismantle every corner of my flat looking for knitting wool, and that would never do. I need to knit what I’m knitting, not go off at a tangent. That said, when I do have a proper stash-dive I will need to record exactly what I have and where it is, because that’s going to be so useful as I work my way through this year. Oh, gosh, that sounds like a fun project – hunt the wool, photograph the wool, list the wool, hide the wool away again.

For now, though, it’s all about my lace cardigan and the time I can put in to turning it from a cone of wool into an item in my wardrobe.

The technical stuff
Pattern – Sirdar 5952
Designed for – Sirdar Country Style DK or similar (suggested) | JC Rennie Supersoft Lambswool 2/11.3Nm greasy coned yarn held double (used)
Yarn requirement – 400g (suggested) | 850g available on cone
Needles – 3.25mm & 4mm (suggested) | 3.25mm & 4mm (used)
Design decade – 1970s/1980s
Description – Lace cardigan with drop shoulders, wide sleeves and shawl collar
Construction method – Knit bottom-up in 5 pieces and seamed together before adding the button bands and shawl collar