I did some swatch tests with a fixed length of yarn to see what stitch pattern gives me the most bang for the yard.  I'm going to rip out the body of my cardigan and redo it in a get-more-coverage stitch.

This is the original stitch pattern to get the baseline coverage area .

I think this swatch technically has a larger coverage area, but not by much.

This one is a lot better, but it doesn't look as cool as it did in the stitch book.  In the book it looked like eyes.  The hook I'm using is too big.

This is a three-chain-mesh.  I photo'd it on it's side, for some weird reason.  It's the biggest of the bunch when it's stretched out a little.  

This is the stitch pattern I decided to use on my cardigan.  I think it's looking cute so far.  I'll take photos when I run out of yarn again.  :)