Reading Cardigan - Chapter 4
Be mindful at this part of the pattern. You will need to begin to track your rows from the underarm for the back shaping at the same time as the neck shaping- I used one row counter for the back decreases and just did the math to figure out what row I needed to do the final neck decrease on.
You will begin your back shaping nine rows after the armhole split, but the neck shaping will vary depending on your size. This is where I put my sweater body on hold and knit the sleeves. I was unsure if I was going to want to include the back decreases in the body. I was leaning towards omitting them, but after I knitted the sleeves and saw the amount of ease through the shoulders, I decided I wanted the back shaping.
If you are adding buttonholes: you will need to take note of the last neck increase! If you are adding markers to your increases, this should be easy for you.
The major part of this sweater that caught my eye was the invisible buttonholes. I have knit many, many sweaters and never have I come across such a detail, so the optional buttonholes were not optional for me. If you are opting out of the buttonholes, you can skip this part.
The buttonholes are one-row buttonholes, which don't have a lot of stretch to them, so I opted for the four stitch size. The buttons I am using are 1”. I probably could have done the three stitch size, but it would have been snug getting the buttons through. The instructions in the pattern are pretty straight forward, but for visual learners here is a tutorial with photos. To help sew on the buttons on the right row, I added a clip marker on the opposite side of the collar to the row I added the buttonhole. I will leave them there until I wash and block the sweater to ensure the buttons will perfectly line up with the buttonhole. I did my buttonholes on the right side of the collar as that is traditional for a women's cardigan- but instructions are given for both options. Start counting rows until you reach the indicated measurement for distance between buttonholes, that way you can make sure they are evenly spaced apart.
Once you complete the shaping and optional button holes, you will work in pattern until the body is three inches less than your overall sweater length. If you are following the pattern order, you will finish the hem ribbing and move on to the sleeves.