I knitted a lot of this sweater while watching Star Trek: Voyager. In particular, the cowl neck was designed during a rerun of the fifth-season episode “Bride of
Chaotica”, which featured costumes in the spirit of 1930s science fiction, including a futuristic Elizabethan-style ruff.
Accordingly, I short-rowed the collar across the back to make a somewhat extreme shape. When folded down (as you see to the left), the collar looks pretty normal. But when fully extended, the cowl dips down in front, rises to cradle the lower part of the skull in back, and provides a warm, wooly frame for your face. Make it in a colour that matches your eyes!
The sleeves extend below the wrist and flare out over the hand. The body is slim-fitting and flares gently at the hem. Both body and sleeve hems are double layers, worked by picking up from the cast-on edge and working in the round for six rows before stitching the hem to the inside. The cowl neck is also a double layer, worked by picking up stitches from the neck, knitting a lot, then folding the cowl to the inside and stitching to the neckline. If you don’t want such an extreme cowl, you can omit the
entire short-row section for a moderate collar.
This sweater was designed to fit a 32" bust measurement. Finished dimensions are: chest 34", hem 39", underarm sleeve length 19" (remember, the sleeves are designed to be long), length 22".
Yarn: About 825 meters (990 yards) of chunky weight yarn. I used 15 balls of Ad Hoc Rustico, a two-ply thick-and-thin wool blend in olive green. If your yarn is unsuitable for seaming the sweater, then you'll also need a smooth yarn in a matching colour.
Gauge: 3.5 stitches and 4 rows to 1".
Needles: 6.0 mm, or whatever you need to get gauge. You will need a 24" circular needle for the cowl, and two 5.5 mm circulars for the cuffs (or you can use dpns). The body and sleeves may be knitted with straight needles if desired.
Note: The general instructions for making up this sweater follow. Because of the length of the instructions for the cowl neck, there are separate pages for the main pieces, and for the cowl.
Making up and finishing:
Make back, front, and two sleeves(instructions here)
Block the pieces, then join front and back at shoulders
Pick up and knit cowl neck, with or without short-row section (instructions here)
Sew sleeves to armhole, then sew side and sleeve seams
Work hem on body and sleeves as follows:
On cuff and hem edges, pick up one st for every cast on st. Using 5.5 mm needles, work in st st so that the knit side is exposed when the hem is folded inside. Work 6 rows even then transfer hem sts to waste yarn. Fold hem in and sew in place. When folding in, the hem will be rounded due to the bulk of the yarn.
|