birches

Posted on Posted in projects

gosh, i love this birches cardigan—can i say that? i loved knitting it (twice now) and i love its coziness when i wear it. plus, it just screams “FALL” and just at the moment when our weather turned seasonally crisp (finally—the temps dropped twenty degrees last).

and its oversized cut allows me to throw it on over anything—perfect for running out to the store or a quick walk with my doggie. uncomplicated, but with a richly proportioned shawl collar that always falls into place and a cable feature that’s a real focal point.

i knit this prototype sample in our stone soup DK yarn (color marble) because i know how soft and light it knits up, especially on a bigger needle. it’s buoyant, but still falls into lovely folds; just the thing to show off the stitch patterns here.

the cables are distinct yet light and soft, never stiff. the knit/purl texture has great stitch definition and that little bit of poof to accent its wavy tendencies.

and yet, not so springy as to lend the overall fabric an unwanted stiffness. the textures remind me of the thick stands of birch trees in upstate new york, where i grew up.

the construction of this cardigan is quite straightforward, making for some speedy knitting. it has a straight body with a loose, casual fit that is far from “unshaped”. the front panel becomes the shawl collar with a few sections of simple short row shaping near the shoulders.

the drop shoulder stops short of the bicep and some shaping at the armhole does away with the bulk that is usual with a full drop shoulder. a slight amount of cap shaping in the sleeve allows it to articulate without pulling on the whole garment—much more flattering and polished.

wear it loose and open or belted; add toggles or buttons if like me, you prefer a secure closure to keep things neat. the pattern includes four sizes from XS/S to 3X/4X; shown here is size M/L with approximately six to eight inches of ease.

this is another design that will work beautifully with all of our other DK options as well as several of our sport yarn options. i wasn’t very far into my prototype when i decided i’d love another— this time in one of our super-light and frothy mohair yarns.  so i knit this second sample in our cabécou sport yarn in color sel gris. it looks so fabulous on ellen that i’m going to corner her on our rhinebeck trip for a mini photo shoot and share that with you when my mission is accomplished.

to view and purchase pattern only, please click here for ravelry purchase and click here for knitspot pattern shop purchase.

david has put together kits in a variety of our DK and sport yarns; click here to shop the kit listing.

time to get this winter cardigan on the needles—if you start now you’ll have it done just in time to laugh at the cold.

speaking of time, i’ve got to get going and wrap up a few last details before i leave for rhinebeck. my dear friend kimkimkim is landing here tomorrow afternoon and i want to have everything crossed off my to-do list by the time she gets here. i can’t wait to see her;  we’re making the drive to NYS together—we have SO MUCH catching up to do!

please stop by our booth at indie untangled or our popup shop on sunday at the courtyard marriott in kingston to take a closer look at birches and all of our wonderful samples and yarns. and don’t forget all the other goodies we’ll have—rhinebeck colors kits, knit naked zipper totes, festivus 4.0 yarn and kits, plus our new patchwork gradient yarn and much more—be there or be square!

2 thoughts on “birches

  1. Another ANOTHER gorgeous cardigan! LOL I bought the pattern this morning as soon as I saw it on Ravelry. I’d been wondering when it would come out, after all those little teasers hidden in other posts.

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