by Jennifer

Finished Object: Icelandic Yoke Sweater #2!

fullsizerender

I finished the Icelandic yoke sweater for my son over the weekend, and I’m SO happy with how it turned out!

This one was the result of Jackson trying on my North Shore sweater, and very nearly walking off with it (if it had been even one little bit softer, he probably would have tried to take it). He wanted a sweater, too, but like Caragh, he wanted it SOFT, and also in a more geometric pattern. He didn’t like any of the ones I could find on Ravelry; they were too busy, or too feminine-looking (to him), or too flowery, or too “scenic.” So I looked through most of my stitch pattern books and found the main “X” pattern in one of them (I can’t remember which, unfortunately), and then to keep it simple, created a basic colorwork striped pattern for above and below it.

This one, too, is knit in my DK weight cashmere base, Elysium. This is a base I’ve only ever used in my Yarn Club, but it’s so nice I might have to do a special run sometime.

fullsizerender

I designed Jackson’s sweater from scratch rather than going with a pattern, because I already knew he wanted a yoke pattern I was going to have to design. Having just knit two bottom-up yoke sweaters, I’m now familiar with the general construction and structure. Finally, having just finished Caragh’s sweater, I knew what my gauge was for this yarn, and how it would behave in this sort of design. So I set about by measuring a sweater Jackson already had, added a bit for growing room, and went from there.

fullsizerender_1

He loves it, and it fits him very nicely. I knit it with enough room that it should fit him forever, even after he fills out a bit from his current tall, lanky frame. Knowing how both my husband and my brother went from being very lanky (even skinny) as young men, to still fit but broader in the shoulders especially, I knew if this was going to be a sweater Jackson could wear for a long time, I needed to plan ahead.

fullsizerender_2

So, it’s loose, but not too baggy. (Jackson wanted to make sure I got his toe shoes in at least one photo, so there you go! Obligatory toe shoe shot.)

fullsizerender_4

Jackson picked the colors: a deep, dark charcoal blue with light gray and natural white for the pattern. They look so great together, and so great on him.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

While I loved knitting for my kids when they were little, creating something I know they’ll wear into adulthood, a cherished, handmade piece of their wardrobe that’s basically a hug from their Mom every time they wear it, makes me incredibly happy. And a just a little bit teary when I see them wearing what I’ve made especially for them. It’s really one of the best things about making things by hand.

Since posting the first photo to my Instagram and Facebook accounts last night, I’ve had quite a few requests for the pattern. So, I’m going to knit this again, in one of my regular bases (either Birte, Brigantia, or Selene) and actually write it down while I do it. Then, I’ll be looking for a slew of test knitters!

img_3813

So, leave a comment if you might be interested in test knitting this design. AND a suggestion on what to name this design, if one comes to you. Naming patterns is just as difficult as naming colorways can be!

 

24 thoughts on “Finished Object: Icelandic Yoke Sweater #2!”

    1. Good idea on asking him :-D. I’ll see what he says (although, he works for me in my studio and some of the names he suggests for colorways are just … um … NO ;-D ).

      Like

      Reply

    1. Thanks! Yes, that was the issue for him: he wanted an icelandic yoke sweater, but he didn’t want it to look “girlie.” And all the patterns I could find had some “girlie” element in them (too flowery, too much zigzagging, too busy), so I had to make it up. The stripes definitely help keep it simple and more masculine, too.

      Like

      Reply

    1. Awesome! Thanks, Judy! And yes, his shoes. He loves them. He has a winter pair (which is heavier fabric) and a lightweight summer pair. And a “messy” pair for when he knows he’s going to get them wet. haha

      Like

      Reply

    1. Thanks! I think so, too. At first, he thought it was a little too roomy, but now that he’s actually worn it (instead of just trying it on), he thinks it’s just fine.

      Like

      Reply

    1. Awesome! I will absolutely take you up on the test knitting!! I’m going to take a wee break and knit something on fat needles, and then will probably go back to this and get it done, while it’s still *somewhat* fresh 😀

      Like

      Reply

    1. No pattern yet, but I’ll be re-knitting in a standard base (the cashmere I used for this is not) and publishing it! I’ll post here on the blog when the pattern is available, but it will be a few months, at least (I’ll need it to be test knit as well).

      Like

      Reply

Leave a Reply

Fill in your details below or click an icon to log in:

Gravatar
WordPress.com Logo

You are commenting using your WordPress.com account. ( Log Out /  Change )

Google photo

You are commenting using your Google account. ( Log Out /  Change )

Twitter picture

You are commenting using your Twitter account. ( Log Out /  Change )

Facebook photo

You are commenting using your Facebook account. ( Log Out /  Change )

Cancel

Connecting to %s