Foxglove Takes Shape

The First Cardigan of the WildWood Collection

There is a lovely moment in any handmade project when a collection of yarn and individual stitches suddenly begins to feel like the thing you imagined at the beginning.

I think Foxglove has reached that moment.

The body of my Foxglove Cardigan is now complete.

When I began making her, I knew I wanted something quite different from my first Woven Witch cardigan. I wanted to keep the warmth and texture I had fallen in love with, but create something lighter and softer — a cardigan filled with the colours of wildflowers, woodland walks and those unexpected little flashes of colour you find growing amongst the green.

And somewhere along the way, Foxglove became more than one cardigan.

She became the beginning of the Woven Witch WildWood Collection.

Foxglove will eventually be joined by Dryad, Bluebell, Heatherbell and Clear Sky — five cardigans, each with its own palette and personality, but all belonging to the same enchanted little woodland.

For now, though, Foxglove is the one slowly coming to life beneath my hands.

Finishing the body feels like a milestone because this is the point where I can finally see how all those individual colours work together across a complete garment. There are soft greens and pinks, little bursts of warmth and cooler shades appearing unexpectedly from one row to the next. I didn't want the colours to feel too planned or perfect. Part of Foxglove's character comes from allowing them to wander naturally through the crochet.

That unpredictability is one of the things I love about making by hand.

There is always an idea at the beginning, but the finished piece develops its own personality as you work.

And Foxglove certainly has one.

She feels playful and romantic, a little whimsical and perhaps slightly unruly — rather like the woodland flower she was named after.

Of course, she isn't finished yet.

There are sleeves to complete, pieces to join, edges to finish and eventually a Woven Witch label to sew inside. There are still many stitches between the cardigan lying in pieces in front of me and the day I finally put Foxglove on the mannequin “Cherry”.

But I'm in no hurry.

One of the things Woven Witch has taught me is that handmade work doesn't need to race towards completion. There is value in the hours between the beginning and the end: choosing colours, watching the fabric grow, changing your mind, putting the hook down when you've had enough and returning when you want to make again.

Foxglove will be finished when she is finished.

And when that day comes, I'll have something that didn't exist before — something made slowly, row by row, with my own hands.

For now, I'm simply enjoying seeing the first inhabitant of my little WildWood beginning to emerge.

The body is finished. The woodland is growing.

And Foxglove's story is only just beginning.

Gani
Woven Witch

Five colours. Five cardigans. One little enchanted woodland, made by hand