Introducing Meabh
Are you ready to try something completely new?
We’re getting ready for our Autumn Sweater knit-along and this isn’t your usual autumn knit.
We’re pairing contiguous shoulder construction with brioche shaping and turning it into a sweater you’ll actually want to wear on repeat.
The result?
A structured knit with soft movement, sculpted detail, and just enough challenge to keep things interesting. And if you’re wondering how these two techniques came together, well it wasn’t easy.
A New Construction, A Familiar Rhythm
Have you heard of the contiguous shoulder construction?
I learned about it several years ago and I used it for one design, Autumn Whispers. It created a really interesting shoulder detail but designing it to fit a range of sizes was definitely challenging.
So fast forward to earlier this summer where I got the crazy idea of trying to combine a contiguous shoulder with brioche. While I do like a challenge I was a little concerned that I may have bitten off more than I could chew. The unique construction of this shoulder type and the restrictions of brioche made for some trial and error as I began on this journey.
Contiguous Shoulder Construction
Before we get into the Meabh sweater let’s start with what a contiguous shoulder construction is. (I’m omitting the brioche part for the moment). You begin by casting on stitches for the back of the neck plus a few stitches for each shoulder seam and a stitch for each front. From here you increase a stitch on each side of both shoulder seams on BOTH the right and wrong sides of the work.
As you can imagine, this creates very rapid, closely packed increases that grows each of your shoulders. You need to finish increasing when you are still a little in from the edge of your shoulder so that the top of the sleeve can cup the shoulder smoothly. You will have most, but not all of your body stitches at this point. The remainder will be worked just before you divide for your body.
The next step now is our sleeve shaping. You move the shoulder seam stitches out a couple on each side to create the top of your sleeve cap. From here you will begin increasing again, but this time it is on each side of the sleeve between the markers. To start with we will again increase on both the right and wrong side. Then you will work the increases on the right side only.
Finally you work straight down until you are near the depth of the yoke that you want. At this point you will begin increasing outside the markers for the body armhole shaping. These will add those extra stitches you need for the body (less any underarm). And if you’d like a more detailed video on this technique you can press play here:
So as you can see this construction type has a lot going on. Now when we throw brioche into the mix we’ve got an added complication. Brioche increases are worked in pairs. This means that to match up the standard contiguous construction you will be working double increases on just the right side.
So, when I began I had a few false starts.
To begin with, the brioche in the longer knitting grew. So my neck that was generously sized to begin with ended up nearly being the full shoulder width. But my trial run did allow me to see how the increases worked for the shoulder. It quickly became apparent that I needed to work much fewer shoulder increases than I has first thought.
I was much happier with the second version, the shoulder width worked nicely and the sleeve cap was forming well. This construction creates a generous, full sleeve cap that I quite liked. I opted to leave the sleeve full and work decreases and snug ribbing only at the cuff.
For this shoulder construction, because there are so many increases worked closely packed together the true shaping won’t really be seen until after blocking when they can be relaxed and coaxed to lie smoothly.
I wanted to keep the body simple with some subtle pattern details. I opted to use the natural beauty of brioche increases and decreases. I’ve created a small brioche panel at each side of both the front and back that will initially move slowly outwards and then afterwards will move slowly inwards as you progress towards the hem. With brioche I find that small subtle details work really well!
Meet the Meabh Sweater
This autumn’s knit-along project is the Meabh Sweater, a lightweight brioche pullover with sculpted sleeves, subtle shaping, and a modern silhouette. It’s designed to challenge your knitting skills and inspire you to try knitting a brioche sweater all with clear step-by-step support along the way.
This pattern uses a contiguous shoulder construction and carefully placed brioche shaping that makes the most of directional increases. It’s a meditative knit with just enough complexity to keep things interesting.
Pattern Details
SIZES
To Fit Actual Bust Circumference Up To: 33.5 (37, 40.5, 42.75, 46.25, 49.5, 51.75, 55.25, 58.75, 62.25)” / 85 (94, 103, 108.5, 117.5, 125.5, 131.5, 140.5, 149, 158) cm
3 – 5″ / 7.5 – 12.5 cm positive ease recommended.
FINISHED MEASUREMENTS
Bust Circumference: 36.5 (40, 43.5, 45.75, 49.25, 52.5, 54.75, 58.25, 61.75, 65.25)” / 92.5 (101.5, 110.5, 116, 125, 133.5, 139, 148, 157, 165.5) cm
40″ / 101.5 cm modelled with 5″ / 12.5 cm of positive ease.
Length From Back of Neck: 21.25 (21.75, 22.25, 23, 23.25, 24, 24.5, 24.75, 25, 25.5)” / 54 (55.5, 56.5, 58.5, 59, 61, 62, 63, 63.5, 65) cm
YARN
Approximate Yardage: 1029 (1113, 1195, 1277, 1363, 1453, 1568, 1660, 1737, 1869) yds / 941 (1017, 1092, 1167, 1245, 1327, 1433, 1517, 1587, 1708) m
Sample Yarn:
Stolen Stitches ‘Blasta’ (60% Irish wool, 40% New Zealand wool; 232 yds / 212 m per 3.6 oz / 100g); Colour: Corc; 5 (5, 6, 6, 6, 7, 7, 8, 8, 9) skeins
Yarn Option 2:
Stolen Stitches ‘Nua Worsted’ 60% Merino, 24% Yak, 20% Linen; 109 yds / 100 m per 1.76 oz / 50 g); 10 (11, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 16, 18) skeins
NEEDLES & NOTIONS
US size 6 / 4 mm circular needles, 32″ / 80 cm long or length needed for size plus 20″ / 50 cm for neck edging
Set of US size 6 / 4 mm dpns (if not using magic loop for sleeves)
Always use a needle size that gives you the gauge listed, as every knitter’s gauge is unique.
Tapestry needle, stitch markers, waste yarn or Barber Cord.
GAUGE
14 sts and 38 rows / rnds = 4″ / 10 cm in Brioche Stitch blocked
21 sts and 28 rnds = 4″ / 10 cm in 1 by 1 Ribbing blocked
Yarn Recommendations & How to Purchase
The Meabh Sweater was designed using our Blasta yarn. This is a rustic, durable DK woollen spun yarn that’s made with 60% Irish fleece making it ideal for a brioche knit.
Laura has also been busy making yarn kits for our KAL and in Blasta this includes a delicious new shade, Lough, which has only been available to our Celtic Knits Club members previously. Just take a closer look at how the colour sits on the skein, it’ll make your heart happy:
If you’d like a smoother stitch for your Meabh sweater, why not try our Nua Worsted yarn. It’s a soft, worsted-weight merino-yak-linen blend, perfect for warm, textured knits. Which means it’s perfect for brioche. Mmm, squishy knits.
We’ve added three new colours to the Nua Worsted range; Lilac, Broken Tiles and Figment. All are available in yarn kits on our website.
KAL Schedule: When & How to Join In
Autumn 2025 KAL Schedule:
During the knit-along, each section of the pattern is released on the below schedule as a ‘clue’. As each section is released, you’ll get the updated pattern details and tutorials for the released section. We then knit through this section together chatting about modifications, tips and techniques in Knithub.
All PDFs will be uploaded to your Teachable library under the resource section according to the schedule below. If you purchased the pattern on Stolen Stitches or Ravelry, we will also send you a pattern update with the next clue.
Clue 1: 17th September 2025
Clue 2: 1st October 2025
Clue 3: 15th October 2025
Grand Prize: 29th October – Raffle drawing for the grand prize from images posted on Knithub.
Tips for First-Time Brioche Knitters
New to brioche knitting? Don’t worry, we’ve got you covered.
The Meabh Sweater uses straightforward brioche techniques, carefully paced so you can build confidence as you go. While brioche might look complex, it’s really just a matter of rhythm and once it settles into your hands, it becomes a surprisingly intuitive stitch. It’s a great project for learning to ‘read’ your knitting.
Here’s where to start:
- Swatch first. Try a small sample in plain brioche to get comfortable with the yarn flow and stitch structure. You’ll learn more from a few rows than a dozen tutorials. To get you started you can follow along with this video:
- Watch our Brioche video series . Once you’re comfortable with a basic brioche stitch, you can take on increasing and decreasing in your swatch. These video walkthroughs break each step into simple, manageable parts with close-up visuals and clear explanations. Just choose the video for your knitting style. Remember we will be chatting through these during our KAL.
Continental Style:
English Style:
- Join the conversation in Knithub. There’s no such thing as a silly question. Whether you’re unsure about a stitch or need help reading your brioche fabric, you’ll find support from myself and the wider community.
Remember: brioche knitting has a learning curve, and that’s okay. It’s normal to make mistakes early on but every mistake teaches you something. Once you get the feel for it, brioche can become one of the most relaxing and rewarding stitches to work.
Take it row by row, you’ve got this.
Join the KAL
How to Join
We’re casting on together, and you’re invited.
Whether you’re in it for the brioche, the challenge, or just the joy of knitting alongside others, this is the autumn sweater project you’ve been looking for.
How to Join:
Click the links below after 4:30pm Irish time on Thursday, August 14th. (Set a reminder, we know how fast yarn kits can disappear.)
And then? Pop into Knithub, say hello, and tell us what colour you picked. We can’t wait to see it on your needles.