Introducing: Lady Heartrose

I've already written a fair amount about Lady Heartrose, which has been way too long delayed by other deadline knitting, but I'm pleased to finally release it out into the world!

A companion to the pint-sized Heartrose, the grown up version is a ladylike A-line cardigan with slighty puffed 3/4 to bracelet length sleeves and the same sweet heart cable down the front. It buttons all the way down if you wish, but can also be worn buttoned at the top-only for maximum swing, as shown here. 

The pattern is knit from the bottom-up seamlessly, with raglan-style sleeve. The button band is then picked up and worked last. The cable elements are confined to the starts and rends of rows, which,  when combined with the simple, seamless construction, would make this a great beginner/car/ tv-knitting sweater. 

The sample is knit up in the soft and drapey Swans Island Washable Wool DK in Malbec, a rich wine-like color, that suits this more grown-up version. 

A big thanks to Bristol Ivy for the photos and Martha Wissing for the technical editing. 

If you really love A-Line sweaters, wait for a second pattern announcement and special discount coming later this week! (Don't want to miss a pattern? Sign up for the newsletter!)

Pattern Details 

Sizes

Bust Circumference: 34 (36, 37 ¾, 39 ¼, 40 ½, 42 ½, 46 ½, 50)”/ 86.5 (91.5, 96, 99.5, 103, 108, 118, 127) cm. To be worn with 1-2 inches of positive ease.

Sample knit in size 39 ¼, with approximately 2”/5 cm of positive ease. (Wondering about ease?- Check this post out!)

Yarn

9 (10, 10, 11, 11, 12, 13, 14) skeins Swans Island Washable Wool DK in Malbec/EWS205 [100% Washable Organic Merino Wool]; 140 yds [128 m] per 50g or approximately 1210 (1310, 1390, 1450, 1515, 1600, 1775, 1940) yards of DK weight yarn.

Purchase

Lady Heartrose is available for purchase for $7.00 USD via the following methods:

Ravelry  //  Ms. Cleaver Creations  //  Love Knitting (coming soon)

Want to knit a matching adult/kid set? Get the pair for $3.oo off the individual prices! (Discount automatically applied to Ravelry purchases. Already have Heartrose? The discount will still apply!)

Ravelry  //  Ms. Cleaver Creations

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Coming Soon....

Two new sweater patterns coming soon.  Want to find out when they do? Sign up for the mailing list below!

What I'm Working On

I have so many ideas these days of things I want to design, make, create and only so much time and/or energy to do such a small portion of them. It's a bit frustrating, but better than having no ideas or motivation!

After two months of straight deadline knitting, my time has opened up somewhat, and I've picked up my long-neglected Lady Heartrose Cardigan, which is inching ever closer to being finished, though I'm nervous about running out of yarn and having a heckuva time finding the kind of buttons I want. I'm thinking about holding off publishing it to do a double photo shoot with that sage lace number, which is the next knit in my queue. It's in some gorgeous Shalimar Yarn that I can't wait to knit more with.  There are going to be a lot of sweater from me this fall. 

I've also been swatching and sketching, coming up with new ideas for sweaters and embroidery projects. I've been talking with yarn dyers and companies and am trying to figure out my schedule for designs, because I have so many projects now that I have to schedule things (which is awesome and a little bit scary).

In this midst of all this, I've managed to make a 30 minute skirt for Little Miss Cleaver in 40 minutes, which was a rip-roaring success that was worn three days in a row before I insisted it needed washing. (Fabric from BeautifulWork) and spend some time with friends, and even drop in on Thursday afternoon knitting at KnitWit, where my Belacqua Cardigan sample can be found hanging by the Quince & Co. yarns. 

It's a good time for making. :) 

(PS - all these photos are from my Instagram feed, if you're into that sort of thing).

Design Diary: Lady Heartrose - Swatching

Usually I sketch before I swatch, but in this case, since I worked a little backwards.

The yarn here is Swans Island DK Washable Wool Merino in Malbec. The original child's cardigan was in a hand-dyed fingering weight washable wool from the Woolen Rabbit. For the grown-up version I wanted something with similar properties, but in a slightly larger, more knit-able, scale. For that, the Swans Island was a perfect match, with the Malbec a nice feminine, but grown-up colorway.

[Full disclosure: I had ID'd this as my dream yarn a while back, and then earned access to some  yarn support from Swans Island following the publication of my  Breakwater Pullover].

Unless I know I want a particularly dense or flowy fabric, I generally begin swatching with the needle size indicated on the ball band. The swatches here are done on US 6/4.0 mm and US 7/4.5 mm. I learned to knit on size 7 needles, and as such, I've always had a bit of a soft-spot for them.

While the 7s resulted in a bit looser fabric, the main difference in these swatches is the scale of the cable pattern. The size 6 swatch uses the same cable pattern from the childre's cardigan, while the size 7 swatch doubles the thickness of the rib and cables. 

I gently washed and blocked both swatches (just flattening and not stretching), which is extra important in super-wash yarns, which I've found have a tendency to grow. Then I pinned on various place of my unnamed dress form  to see how it hangs and feels in scale to the body. Unless I'm doing a sample for a publisher, I usually keep the form at my own measurements, which is a 38-39" bust. 

Scale is the key here. If Lady Heartrose was a fall/winter cardigan, I'd go with the thicker version in a heart-beat, but for a spring/summer garment, I want something more delicate, so the thinner cable it is. The size 6 fabric also just looks a bit "cleaner" to me, so size 6 swatch wins overall!

Next up - practical math and complex spreadsheets!! 

The Breakwater Pullover

Following on my recent menswear design for Knitscene, I jumped into another menswear-inspired project, the Breakwater Pullover, for the Maine-based Swans Island company.

Swans Island specializes in heirloom blankets and organic yarns, dyed with all-natural dyes. The Breakwater Pullover is part of the All-American Collection, ten designs to highlight their all-new 100% American worsted weight wool yarn. I was pleased to be part of the collection alongside fellow Maine designers Bristol Ivy, Alicia Plummer, and the Swans Island team.

Breakwater was inspired by classic Aran sweaters, but distilled to it's most essential elements. This project is a great introduction to cables, as the center panel keep things interesting, but never overwhelming. The menswear-inspired styling means there's no side-shaping to worry about either (though it'd be easy enough to add if you wanted to). The loose gauge, slouchy fit, and raglan shaping make it a a quick knit and a great weekend sweater. With a size range from 35¾ to 50¾" - this one will work for the men too!

Not sure how to pull off the boyfriend sweater look? I've pulled together some styling inspiration here.

Pattern uses 6 (7, 7, 8, 8) skeins Swans Island All-American Collection, 75% USA Rambouillet wool, 25% USA alpaca; worsted weight (80 gms, 210 yds each) Color Shown: Newport #AAW416

Breakwater is available via Ravelry for $6.00 USD

All photos courtesy of Swans Island.