You know what I realized the other day? Rhinebeck is only 4 months away. FOUR MONTHS! That might sound like a whole lot of time, and not even the most dedicated knitter is wishing for fall so soon into summer, but if I want to actually finish a garment before the festival, I need to start plotting now.
Blue Moon Fiber Arts Twisted, colorway Grimm Green
I have three skeins of BMFA Twisted, about 1680 yards of worsted/aran weight wool yarn, waiting to become a sweater. This is the same yarn I used for my Overdyed Cypress vest and I know it will make a delightful garment. I’m picturing a button-up cardigan with cables or texture and a thick, cozy shawl collar. However, that vest took me 6 months start-to-finish, so I need to get crackin’ sooner than later. Here are the three patterns on my short list.
Dark & Stormy:
Photo copyright Caro Sheridan. Click for pattern page.
Thea Coleman’s Dark and Stormy cardigan has such a gorgeous cable panel on the back, doesn’t it? It also features a generous shawl collar (which you can see in other photos on the pattern page). The stockinette will likely make the knitting go a little faster. I think this is knit top down with raglan sleeve shaping. My concern is that raglan shaping might not be the most flattering for my larger bust, and I’m wary of getting creative with modifications so early in my garment-knitting career.
Chocolate Stout:
Photo copyright BabyCocktails. Click for pattern page.
Another lovely pattern by Thea Coleman (that woman is a wizard with cables) is Chocolate Stout. This one looks deliciously grandpa-ish, with it deep pockets, cuffs, and overall texture. It is knit bottom up with a drop shoulder sleeve treatment. Drop shoulders are the same as those on the vest I’ve already made and they were simple enough to work.
Little Wave:
Photo copyright Jared Flood, click for pattern page.
I’m also very much in love with the Little Wave cardi, designed by Gudrun Johnston. I really love the little zig zag/texture stitch and the garter stitch details. It has a less cushy shawl collar than I was picturing, but it still has the same spirit. This one is knit bottom up with a saddle shoulder. I have no idea what my opinion on saddle shoulders might be.
Three gorgeous sweaters with very similar looks, but different constructions. Which would you choose? Why?
Woolen Diversions 
I’ve always wanted to make Dark and Stormy for myself. That is until I saw Chocolate Stout. It’s now way higher up on my to-knit list. In your yarn, I think it would be spectacular!
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oooh, such a tough call! I love the yarn you’ve chosen, and any of those three designs would be awesome… but I guess I’m partial to Chocolate Stout. it looks like a timeless, wear-with-everything cardi to me.
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Love them all, but Little Wave is my fav. The shoulders are awesome.
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Yeah for sweater making! I vote for either Chocolate Stout or Little Wave – I bet they’d go quickly once you got into the texture repeat and I think you’d like the construction and fit better than Dark & Stormy.
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4 months is much sooner than I thought. I’m way behind!
This is a tough choice, but I really like Chocolate Stout. It seems the most versatile.
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That’s a tough choice because they each have something special about them. If I were knitting it, I’d make the Chocolate Stout. It looks like it would be big enough to have an extra layer on underneath…. and it looks cozy!
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I am not going to tell you what I would choose, but what I *did* choose! I knit Little Wave for our little Wisconsin Sheep & Wool Festival last year and let me tell you – I wear that sweater every single day. I made it a little on the big side and it is the sweater I throw on every morning first thing and then when it cools down in the evening. It is hands-down my most worn handknit. And it took me about a month to make. 😊
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Oooh, good to know! Little Wave is definitely on the list, I’m thinking I might even treat myself and knit it with the Brooklyn Tweed yarn it was designed for (someday).
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Nice! I used Green Mountain Spinnery Weekend Wool for mine and am insanely happy with it. And I have Reine and Sanford on my ‘someday with Brooklyn Tweed’ list. As is Amherst… LOL! I have a lot of lists.
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They are all lovely. I would recommend swatching with the yarn first to see what it would like to be. Marled yarn is famously hard to get to show up patterning, although yours looks not too marled. I have some marled yarn here that I keep fingering and wanting to knit, but just can’t decide on a pattern yet. I’m thinking ribbed as I don’t want the knit only stockinette.
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That’s a good point! The Twisted is interesting, it’s 2 plies of non-superwash wool and 1 ply of superwash, which takes the dye slightly darker than the non-superwash plies. I will certainly swatch to make sure the texture shows up properly. Ribbing and garter stitch probably both work well in marled yarns.
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I’m starting “Camilla” in handspun BFL this week for Rhinebeck. Hope it’s done in time 🙂
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First and third for me. You are wise to plan now. I am all twisted up with an impossible deadline.
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I’m voting for #3…mostly I love the orange color and the simple waves…plus the plain sleeves?? Or maybe #1…I love those gorgeous cables on the back…I’d probably swatch the cable patterns from both in the yarn you have and see which pops up better 🙂
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