Knitting Project: Modern Cabled Capelet

My latest knitting project is a short capelet (whatever that is) from Teva Durham Loop-d-Loop Lace book. It’s done, however I've made so many changes to my capelet that it barely resembles Teva Durham's design.

I've always had some issues with capes and ponchos. They seem slightly impractical (particularly for warmer climates), somewhat uncomfortable to wear, and (dare I say it?) I think I might be too old to pull one off.

But I loved the idea of Teva Durham's pattern - I liked the overall shape of her cape and the fact that the side slits allowed your arms to be free. But I thought her lace pattern was a bit boring (just my opinion). I wanted to try this cape using my own modern lace pattern, and went about making changes to be able to accomodate my cable pattern. Add in that my gauge was off and this led to MANY modifications.

1. I wanted to change the neckline because this Patons Classic Wool that I'm using is itchy. The original neck in the pattern would sit too high on my neck and drive me crazy. So instead, I knit a wider crewneck with ribbing that won't really touch my neck.

 

2. Because my gauge was off, I added another 4 stitches of ribbing to each side to give me more width to stretch over my arms and seam up the sides.

 

3. I used 5 alternating modern lace cables for the pattern (I'm making the front and back pieces the same - both with the cable pattern).

 

4. My cables had less flexibility than her lace pattern would, so I built in 6 stitches of garter on each side of the cables (there's garter between the cables too). This allowed the piece to stretch and move.

 

 

Now that the capelet is finished, it is probably as impractical and uncomfortable as I expected (I feel and look a bit like a mummy in it), and the shoulders are wonky as described by others on Ravelry. I tried to remedy this a bit, but they are still wonky and they ride up every time I move my arms. But...I do love my cable lace pattern on this piece. I love the color, and I still love the idea of this capelet.

But…I think I’m going to frog it L  The shoulders are just too weird.  Instead, I think I’ll find a cardigan pattern, and just add my cables to it to make something that I’ll definitely wear and enjoy J