The Alchemist Diaries

“Goals are like apples in a tree. Some are a little higher than others, so you just have to jump higher.” ― Morten Andersen

If there is one thing people have said to me over and over, it is that I have an incredible amount of patience. However, I hope one day that that they will instead say that my work will teach them the importance of patience.

There is an art to patience and taking work and processes slowly. Knitting still teaches me every day that there is an art to it.

Knitting The Patons Classics C 4612: A Lesson in Patience

Materials

• Pattern: Patons C 4612
• Yarn: Tahki Yarns Superwash Merino in DK weight (discontinued)
• Knitting Needles: Size 5 (3.75mm) and 7 (4.5) straight needles
• Buttons: 5 Center of the Circle Elegant Skull Buttons 7/8 inch (22mm)
• Ribbon: 1 yard woven edge double-sided silk satin from Flower Seed Paper.

The Patons C 4612 is a vintage 1980s pattern for a ladies classic v-neck cardigan. It contains an option for four different yarn weights: 4 Ply, DK, Chunky, and Aran. You get four patterns for the price of $2.39! I decided to go with the DK weight pattern because I wanted to create a cardigan that did not have the thick bulk of worsted weight yarn. I love knitting with worsted weight yarn, but I truly wanted something more wearable and machine washable. Most of my worsted weight projects (beautiful as they are) can truly only be worn during the late fall and winter months due to their thickness. However, a DK weight yarn (similar to sport weight) can potentially be worn during early fall and early spring, granting me additional months of wear.

To knit the sweater, I used the Tahki Yarns Superwash Merino in DK weight. This yarn has been discontinued. The original gauge was 21 stitches to 4 inches on size 6 (4mm) needles. A good yarn substitute would be the Knit Picks Swish DK Yarn or Lion Brand LB Collection® Superwash Merino Yarn.

The buttons I chose were the Center of the Circle Elegant Skull Buttons (7/8 inch). I adore this shop; it is run by a husband and wife team (Kathereen and Johann) based in Michigan. The pewter that they use is lead and antimony free, made up of tin, bismuth, silver, and copper. The small amount of silver added helps to create a brilliant shine and enhance durability.

Lastly, to spruce things up, I added silk ribbon details to the sweater cuffs. The ribbon is a woven edge double-sided silk satin from Flower Seed Paper.

Three Painful Years

This was not a difficult piece to knit at all—the problem I faced was monitoring my attention span. Choosing to knit with DK weight yarn offered a challenge to my ability to stay motivated. The recommended Diploma Gold yarn is no longer available, so I used the Tahki Yarns Superwash Merino in DK weight. Funny enough, I had been knitting this cardigan for so long that even my yarn substitute had been discontinued! It’s honestly a relief that I had enough yarn!

Even though I am still dazed and relieved to finally be done at the end of 2025, I learned an interesting lesson about the art of patience and how it perhaps made me a better crafter: Trust the Process.

This has been one of the most painful knits I have worked through. I attribute it to the fact that I was working with finer weight all-black yarn using pure stockinette stitch. The boredom was clawing at me like a demon trying to suck away every ounce of my motivation. Moreover, knitting with black can be a little hard on the eyes.

In theory, this was a cardigan that could have been finished in under a few months. However, I had to take several breaks and make completely new and different projects in between to ward off the boredom. Within the same three years, I knitted four other sweaters and cardigans, seven hats, and a plethora of sewing projects that were far more complicated than this one cardigan.

I would unpack and pack the precious pewter skulls, waiting for the day I could flaunt them in all their silvery majesty.

To Fix or Not To Fix

The most heartbreaking part about working on something for several years is finding out how much you do not like it. Upon finishing my regular black cardigan, I was immediately disappointed with the bunching in the armpits―characteristic of knit sweaters with raglan sleeves―and the fact that I used the wrong gauge when knitting the right front panel. I have never done that before, and I was so angry about my errors that I put the cardigan away for several days. It is typically common to have warping in the shoulders when there are too many increases in the upper torso panels. The wonkiness is probably not helped by the fact that I accidentally knitted the right front panel in a gauge smaller than the rest of the cardigan.

After knitting for hours, fingers sore, and fingernails growing gritty, I had to walk away because I was obsessing over how to smooth out the bunching. I even thought about taking the sweater apart, frogging bits, and even using my sewing machine to adjust the panels.  I was desperate not to completely dislike the three years of work I put into this piece.

Eventually, I came to a decision. I sat with the bunching armpits, and the more time passed, the more inclined I was to leave them alone. I draped the cardigan over my dress form, then over my own shoulders, and it became more and more acceptable to just let the bunching be. I was probably being harder on myself than was necessary. The cardigan is a solid black hole black, and mostly hidden by my hair, so I am going to wash it, lay it flat, then keep styling it.

The main accessory I will NOT be able to live without is pockets. I was going to be too lazy to knit the pockets, but I knew that I would regret this choice. Pockets it was.

Improvements and Balancing Interest with Functionality

I already have two solid black cardigans with black buttons, so I couldn’t help but feel like I was cloning them with this hand knit version. A third one is redundant, so why not add a bit of flair?

Embedded Magic

If I could express the relief I felt after blocking this sweater, it would be the breathless exhilaration at the top of Mount Everest. My husband washed it for me in his cold cycle, and I waited impatiently as I imagined the washing machine destroying my work. We followed the laundry label for the yarn, but it still gave me anxiety.

The sweater stretched slightly (which was what I did want to help with the shaping), and I shaped it and laid it flat for two days to dry. Our kitty did attack it later, but I fixed all of the loose loops she pulled with her claws using a small crochet hook.

After all of the notions were sewn on, the moment of truth arrived as I put on my first light-weight piece with its elegant and even stitching, slight wooliness, and utter softness.

I couldn’t take it off.

Somehow, magic had been embedded within this piece, and I was relieved to experience a happy ending in all the turmoil. It was finally done.

A Lesson in Slow Fashion: Why Make This?

I’m sure someone will eventually ask me, “Why spend so much time and energy knitting this when you could just buy one?” Sure, I could save time by doing a quick Google search and ordering the first similar thing I find from a retailer. After all, I did so with my Marina Cable Knit Ribbon Lace Sweater.

However, the point is not to just own a black cardigan with skull buttons. The point is the joy of creating and blending my vision with the vision of other artists. There is beauty in crafting from scratch, using carefully curated materials, and lovingly assembling a piece that truly is one of a kind… even when the process can be frustrating.

The yarn is not just any yarn—it is treated wool from Peruvian Highland Sheep. The buttons are not just any buttons—they were created by pewter casting artists. The ribbon is not just any ribbon—it is hand dyed silk, dyed in small batches. The beauty is in the combined effort of each party. Sure Shein, Amazon, or Temu, could copy the cardigan’s design, but it will not be the exact same. The feel will differ, the quality will differ, and my esteem wearing it will differ. Most importantly, the human and environmental cost will differ, since my cardigan will not be a complete amalgamation of human and environmental abuses.

The beauty in this project is creating it from scratch and enjoying the journey along the way. Even after it was fresh off the needles, it had already survived stories, memories, and cat loafs. This cardigan has seen my most stressful years of teaching after the pandemic. It has seen tears, anger, happiness, and struggle. It has developed smells that make my kitty feel safe and secure. The sweater is a part of my personality, for it is one of my many mirrors.

All of these can never be bought.