The spring 2018 Interweave Knits is now arriving in stores and mailboxes, and I'm excited to share that I have a new sweater design in this issue.
All photos copyright 2018 Interweave/F&W Media/Harper Point Photography
The Evergreen Mountain Pullover features striking sculptural and textural lace on the back and front, with patterning that’s easy to memorize and satisfying to knit. The body of this drop-shoulder pullover is worked from the bottom up in pieces and blocked before the neck and sleeves are worked in the round.
The call for submissions for this issue asked designers what they'd most like to wear on a springtime retreat in the mountains. (Doesn't that sound nice? Wish I could go on one!) For me, the perfect sweater would have a casual, relaxed fit — a comfy pullover that's warm enough for chilly mornings when layered over a heavy T or a long-sleeve shirt — but also comfortable on warmer spring days when worn over something lighter, like a camisole.
I do love to knit sweaters in the round, but for Evergreen Mountain I chose to knit the front and back separately. That’s because the stitch pattern really needs to be well blocked to open up and reveal its true beauty. I knew the blocking would be much more effective if the pieces were knit flat. After the sides are seamed, though, the sleeve stitches are picked up around the armholes and then the sleeves are knit in the round, downwards to the cuff.
This sweater has one of my very favorite neckbands: a 1x1 rib that’s knit to double the intended length, then folded to the inside and sewn in place. It’s a little more knitting than just binding off in pattern, but I think the end result is well worth it.
For this design, I didn’t use the same ribbing on the hem, sleeve cuffs, and neckband. Instead, they’re all different — the split hems have a wide rib that flows perfectly into the lace stitch of the body, while the sleeves have a 2x2 ribbing. I could have used the wide rib on the cuffs, but I felt it would have been out of proportion on that narrower circumference.
Evergreen Mountain is knit in a worsted weight wool — Blue Sky Fibers Woolstok worsted. It was new to me, and I liked it quite a lot. It worked beautifully for the lace stitch and produced smooth and even stockinette on the sleeves. I would love to knit another sweater with it, especially with one of the natural (undyed) colors.
If you'd like to cast on your own Evergreen Mountain, you can get the spring 2018 Interweave Knits online — or look for it at your LYS or local bookstore.