Aranish sweater finished

Aranish sweater: front and back, a photo by Asplund on Flickr.

What I always find tricky is getting the neck opening right - both comfortable and nice looking. If possible I want complete pattern repeats on both back and front. In this case the centre panel is worked over so many rows the opening would have been too low in front if I had done that. (A low-cut gansey doesn't feel quite right - and not simply because I have no cleavage to flaunt.) I could have knitted half a repeat on the back, but decided to add a little loop shape instead for a finished look.

Another finishing touch I like experimenting with is blending edges and main patterns: getting the ribbing to turn into cable patterns and vice versa as far as possible.

raglan detail

Quite obsessed with the combination of cables and Cascade 220, I've started knitting yet another gansey. Alice Starmore's "Mystic" (from Fishermen's Sweaters) is a design I've admired and wanted to make for a long time - and I thought of it at once when I spotted the teal skeins.

in reality darker blue with more green in it

Det är alltid knepigt att få till halsöppningen, tycker jag: förutom att det ska vara bekvämt vill jag att det ska se så snyggt ut som möjligt. För det mesta försöker jag få med hela mönsterrapporter på både fram- och bakstycke, men det är under förutsättning att en rapport inte stickas över alltför många varv. En djupt urringad fiskartröja känns inte som en överdrivet lyckad idé...

I det här fallet bestämde jag mig för att lägga till en liten ögla på bakstycket i stället för att stympa mönstret genom att sticka en halv rapport, även om det också skulle fungera.

Jag är riktigt förtjust i det här garnet (Cascade 220), och när jag fick syn på några blågröna härvor kom jag att tänka på en fin design, "Mystic" av Alice Starmore. Tanke och handling äro ett. (Ibland.) Fortsättning lär följa!

Aranish sweater: shoulder straps

Aranish sweater, a photo by Asplund on Flickr.

After trying a couple of different ideas I've decided to combine raglan decreases and shoulder straps. If I had gone on with the raglan decreases they would have spoiled the honecomb pattern (unlike the way they blend with the decreases of the fishing net pattern). On the other hand, I didn't want the neck opening to be too wide, but this will be a happy compromise, I think.

I haven't grafted the straps yet as I wanted to knit the collar first to see if I could get it over my head. (My nose being a major obstacle in sweater matters.)

Christine asked about the pattern. My inspiration is a design in "Fiskartröjor" (fishermen's sweaters) by Uuve Snidare, but this is a heavily modified version of it with cables added and changed - not to mention the construction. The original design is made up of four separate pieces, and it doesn't have gussets.

Yesterday I went to Nordiska museet in Stockholm to check out a 1940s style apartment they've built for a fictional family.

Actually, I've made three of the garments in one of the closets! I've written posts about a green cardigan and a blue jumper before, but decided not to write about the project until the exhibition opened. It was a challenge I really enjoyed, trying to create convincing garments.

There is also a slipover (improvised) for the boy in the family. I like keeping people warm, even if they're fictional!

Aranish sweater: joins

Aranish sweater progress, a photo by Asplund on Flickr.

Perhaps this picture gives a better idea of the construction: the two gusset halves are about to be joined (three-needle bind-off) and the needle shows where the side seam is.

Den här bilden visar kanske tydligare hur jag tänkte mig konstruktionen. Man ser de två kilhalvorna som möts under armen; jag tänker maska av dem tillsammans. Det syns också var sidsömmen är, alltså inte mitt i sidan.

Aranish sweater

Aranish sweater in progress, a photo by Asplund on Flickr.

Thanks for all your kind words about St. Brigid! It was a really enjoyable project, and it reminded me how much I like knitting cables. Add to this that I thought Cascade 220 was perfect for cables, and what happens? Quite right, yet another new sweater in progress.

I call it Aranish as the yarn is thinner than Aran weight wool, but I'm using typical Aran patterns and am making a raglan sweater - and testing some construction ideas.

First I knitted the four pieces separately back and forth: I find it easier than knitting cables in the round as the cable patterns are done on right-side rows only and in this case every two/four/six rows.

However, I joined the four parts to knit the yoke in the round in order to avoid raglan seams. Instead, there are cables wih decreases on each side.

The front is wider than the back: there are side panels with increases to make gussets. (Same thing with the sleeves.) Therefore, the side seams will be closer to the centre of the back. This way I could accentuate the sides with a cable pattern without a seam in the middle of it. Not that it would have mattered that much, but I wanted to see if it worked.


The colour (no 9465) is difficult to photograph, but it is sort of cool brown with hints of grey in it.

Både flätor och Cascade gav mersmak, så nu har jag en till tröja på gång. Eftersom jag tycker att det är enklare att sticka flätmönster fram och tillbaka (lättare att hålla reda på var jag är när det bara är vridningar på rätsidan) har jag stickat fram- och bakstycken samt ärmarna för sig - men för att undvika sömmar stickar jag oket runt. I stället för raglansömmar har jag flätor med minskningar på var sida. 

Jag fick en lika fin som rolig komplimang för min St. Brigid i förrgår: "Den är så snygg att man blir alldeles förbannad!" Den ska jag leva länge på!

St. Brigid finished

St. Brigid: attaching neckband, a photo by Asplund on Flickr.

This is the first time I've knitted a neckband separately before sewing it in place - but probably not the last time! It was rather tricky getting the length right and making the seam neat, but I really like the horizontal braid: a glorious finishing touch to an already gorgeous design. Starmore for president!

I added a finishing touch of my own: framing the sleeves with cables that slant in opposite directions. When joined by the sleeve seam they form a new cable pattern.

sleeve seam

With this sweater finished I thought I'd return to the 19th century-style "spedetröja" I started a some time ago and that has been lying waiting patiently in my bag the past couple of weeks. But lying under what? Look at the tip of the needle! Perhaps it bent out of resentment being neglected.