Pattern of the Month

Instructions.

The cable over 6 sts is worked as follows:

Cable: Slip next 3 sts. onto a cable needle to back of work; k3, then k3 from cable needle.

Back and front alike:

With No 11 (3mm) needles cast on 84 sts and work 3½ inches in k1, p1 rib. Change to No 10 (3¼ mm) needles and stocking-stitch, increasing 1 stitch at each end of 7th and every following 6th row until there are 102 sts.
Work straight until back measures 12 inches at centre.
With right side facing, shape armholes by decreasing 1 stitch at each end of next and every following knit row until 78 sts remain.
Purl back and leave stitches on a spare needle, or stitch holder.

Work a second identical piece for the front.

Sleeves (make 2):

You have the option of log or short sleeves - work one or other set of intructions.

Long sleeve: With No 11 needles cast on 48 sts and work 3 inches in k1, p1 rib. Change to No 10 needles and stocking-stitch, increasing 1 stitch at each end of 7th and every following 6th row until there are 76 sts.
Work straight until sleeve measures 17 inches.
With right side facing, shape top by decreasing 1 stitch at each end of next and every following knit row until 52 sts remain.
Purl back and leave stitches on spare needle, or stitch holder.

Short sleeve: With No 11 needles cast on 66 sts and work 1 inch in k1, p1 rib. Change to No 10 needles and stocking stitch, increasing 1 stitch at each end of 3rd and every following 4th row until there are 76 sts. Work straight until sleeve measures 4½ inches, then shape top as for long sleeve.

Yoke:

You should now have 2 identical pieces for the back and front, and two identical pieces for the sleeves, all on spare needles or stitch holders.

With right side facing and the set of No 10 needles.....
[Editor's note: The yoke is going to be pulled in by the cable pattern. Sara noticed that the yoke tends to ride up a little in her version, and this may be improved by increasing the needle size for the yoke section. Whatever needle size you chose for the main body, consider going up a size for the yoke.]
arrange stitches thus:-
place the 52 stitches of the left sleeve, and the first 40 stitches of the front on the first needle; the last 48 sts of the front and the 52 sts of the right sleeve on the second needle; and 78 stitches of the back onto the third needle. [260 sts].

[Editor's note: If you are using a circular needle, thread the stitches on in the order: sleeve, front, sleeve, back. Put a stitch marker to mark the beginning/end of the round, as front and back look the same. Also remember that the yoke decreases in size until it becomes the neck opening so you may wish to change between lengths of circular needle and finally move to 4 needles as the round becomes smaller.]

Work in rounds as follows:

1st round: K5, * k7, p2, k17; repeat from * ending last repeat k12 instead of k17.
2nd round: K5, * k6, p4, k16; repeat from * ending last repeat k11 instead of k16.
3rd round: K5, * k5, p6, k15; repeat from * ending last repeat k10.
4th round: K5, * k4, p8, k14; repeat from * ending last repeat k9.
5th round: K5, * k3, p10, k13; repeat from * ending last repeat k8.
6th round: K5, * k2, p12, k12; repeat from * ending last repeat k7.
7th round: K5, * k1, p14, k11; repeat from * ending last repeat k6.
8th round: K5, * p16, k10; repeat from * ending last repeat k5.
9th round: K4, * p18, k8; repeat from * ending last repeat k4.
10th round: K4, * p6, k6, p6, k8; repeat from * ending last repeat k4.
11th round: as 10th round.

12th round: K2tog, k2, * p6, cable, p6, k3, k2tog, k3; repeat from * to last 22sts, p6, cable, p6, k4. [250 sts]
13th round: K3, * p6, k6, p6, k7; repeat from * ending last repeat k4.
14th, 15th, 16th, and 17th rounds: As 13th round.

18th round: K3, * p6, cable, p6, k2, k2tog, k3; repeat from * to last 22sts, p6, cable, p6, k2, k2tog. [240 sts]
19th round: K3, * p6, k6, p6, k6; repeat from * ending last repeat k3.
20th, 21st, 22nd, and 23rd rounds: As 19th round.

24th round: K2tog, k1, * p6, cable, p6, k2, k2tog, k2; repeat from * to last 21sts, p6, cable, p6, k3. [230 sts]
25th round: K2, * p2tog, p4, k6, p4, p2togtbl, k5; repeat from * ending last repeat k3. [210 sts]
26th round: K2, * p5, k6, p5, k5; repeat from * ending last repeat k3.
27th, 28th, and 29th rounds: As 26th round.

30th round: K2, * p5, cable, p5, k2, k2tog, k1; repeat from * to last 19sts, p5, cable, p5, k1, k2tog. [200 sts]
31st round: K2, * p2tog, p3, k6, p3, p2togtbl, k4; repeat from * ending last repeat k2. [180sts]
32nd round: K2, * p4, k6, p4, k4; repeat from * ending last repeat k2.
33rd, 34th, and 35th rounds: As 32nd round.

36th round: K2tog, * p4, cable, p4, k1, k2tog, k1; repeat from * to last 16sts; p4, cable, p4, k2. [170sts]
37th round: K1, * p2tog, p2, k6, p2, p2togtbl, k3; repeat from * ending last repeat k2. [150 sts
38th round: K1, * p3, k6, p3, k3; repeat from * ending last repeat k2.
39th, 40th, and 41st rounds: As 38th round.

42nd round: K1, * p3, cable, p3, k2tog, k1; repeat from * to last 14 sts; p3, cable, p3, k2tog. [140 sts]
43rd round: K1, * p2tog, p1, k6, p1, p2togtbl, k2; repeat from * ending last repeat k1. [120 sts]
44th round: K1, * p2, k6, p2, k2; repeat from * ending last repeat k1.
45th, 46th, and 47th rounds: As 44th round.

48th round: P2tog, * p1, cable, p2, k2tog, p1; repeat from * to last 10sts, pl, cable, p2, k.l. [110 sts]
49th round: * P2tog, k6, p2, p2togtbl, k1; repeat from * to end. [90 sts]
50th round: * P1, k6, p1, k1; repeat from * to end.
51st, 52nd, and 53rd rounds: As 50th round.

Divide stitches onto No 11 needles, 45 across front and 45 across back. Work 7 rows k1, p1 rib across front of neck; cast off in rib. Work back of neck in the same way.

To Make Up

Press parts on wrong side under a damp cloth.
Join side and sleeve seams and right shoulder ribbing.
Sew 2 press-studs on left shoulder. Press seams.

Materials

Original materials called for: 14 ozs. for long sleeves, 11 ozs. for short sleeves of Patons Moorland Double Knitting**.

Example knitted in Twilleys Freedom Spirit DK - 8 x 50g balls - about 900m.

1 pair each of No 11 (3mm), and No 10 (3¼ mm) needles, and a set of 4 No 10 (3¼ mm) needles, or circular needle.[Editor's note: Please see the important notes about the wool used for the modern version, the consequent needle sizes used, and the sizing.]

A cable needle. Two press-fasteners.

Tension

Original yarn knits 24sts x 32 rows to four inches on No 10 needles.

Substitute yarn knits 22sts x 28 rows to four inches on No 8 (4mm) needles.

Size matters

Original sized for bust 33-35 inches; length from top of shoulders 20½ inches; sleeve seam: 17 or 4½ inches.

See "adapting the size".

**A word on the wool.

If you have some vintage Patons Moorland DK - you may like to note that I surmise they used this brand name for more than one version of this wool; I have some Moorland from the 1980s and I believe it is a relatively thick DK, which would be hard to contemplate knitting on No10 needles.

Sara used Twilleys Freedom Spirit DK, (120m per 50g ball), which knits as 22sts x 28 rows to 4ins on 4mm needles.
[Editor's note: This wool is ideal for felting, so be extra careful when washing it.]
If you use a needle size of No 8 (4mm) needles instead of the original needles, it will increase the nominal size of the sweater from 34 to 37 ins. This may be desirable.

See "adapting the size".

Disclaimer
(well...almost)

In transposing any patterns it is always a risk that errors will be introduced, in spite of dedicated proof reading.
If you have any problems with this pattern, please and I will try and assist.

Adapting the size:

The original pattern is for one size: 34-35 inch bust. The sweater is designed to be tightly fitting, and the nominal sweater size is just under 34 ins, so it intends there to be slight negative ease. The original wool and needle sizes indicate a "fine double knitting" wool with a tension of 24sts to 4 inches on 3¼mm (relatively fine) needles.

The sizing is a bit small for an average size these days, so moving to a conventional DK wool (22 sts to 4 ins on 4mm needles) makes a nominal size of about 36½ins, making the sweater suitable for up to a 37-38 ins bust. Also - whatever wool and needle size you opt for - note particularly the suggestion to move to a larger needle size when working the yoke.

If you increase the size by further gauge changes with thicker wool, you will find that the sweater may be less suited to the close fitting styling, and you lose the 50s "look".