Shape
The shape of this sweater is cropped (short) and very slightly a-line. The sleeves are small at the wrist and then all the increases happen very quickly to create a looser, more relaxed sleeve.
Now when showing this sweater at the trunk show he question that came up was if it could be lengthened and the answer is yes, of course! The only modification I would make if you were adding length is to space the a-line decreases out a bit wider (and even add more stitches and extra decreases possibly). Always make sure you have extra yarn if you are adding length so that you don’t need to worry about dye lots if you run out! (Plus there are lots of accessories you can make from Cosy Knits as well if you end up with a little extra.)
Reading Charts
If you are new to charts and lace then you should check out a few of my tutorials on lace. All directions are given in written format as well but charts are definitely easier to keep track of! When working lace it is a big help to put a marker between each repeat of the lace chart. That way if your stitch count is off you will know exactly what section you have the problem in. When you learn to read your lace you’ll quickly be able to figure out where you missed an increase or decrease and in fact most of the time you can fix it on the needles and never need to rib back down. This is really useful for all-over lace like this yoke as it’s not fun to rip.
Gauge
If you’ve read this pattern carefully you will spot that the gauge Nua Worsted is knit at is tighter than standard. This was a deliberate choice that the designer made for the yoke. Kate discovered that the lace with twisted stitches created the impact and texture she wanted when it was knit more tightly. If you like your knits a little looser you might even make this work with Nua Sport. Do be aware that it will create a different effect though. Swatching is your friend here, a good swatch will let you know what the yoke is going to look like.
(You can find some handy hints for cheats with circular swatching here).
Cast-Ons & Bind-Offs
This loosely fitting sweater relies on smaller cuff and neck sizes to maintain its shape and structure. However you need to be really careful that you use loose/elastic cast-ons and bind-offs so that it will easily fit over your hands and neck.
As the cuffs are worked in a 1×1 ribbing an Italian Cast-On would be a really good fit for a stretchy cast-on. Alternatively going up a needle size with a long tail cast-on could also work if you’re careful.
For the bind-off at the neck you have a few options. My favourite option would be Jenny’s Stretchy Bind-Off but of course you can also use a larger needle size and watch your tension.
I hope you’ve enjoyed this in-depth look at the construction and techniques for Comerford from Cosy Knits. You can find the other tutorials in this tutorial series here.
If you’re working on a Cosy Knits project make sure you post a photo of your finished piece on the finished thread before December 6th to win a Gift Pack from Stolen Stitches.