a new design | white rib handknit sweater

If you follow me on Instagram, Twitter or Ravelry (posting on there again these days too!) then you’ll have seen this knit already, but I realised when wearing it today that I haven’t actually shared it on the blog yet, and since I’m so happy with it, I probably should.  So here you go – I knit a white jumper that I’ve worn 50 million times since! (Minor exaggeration). My idea was to knit a white cotton jumper that would be perfect for British ‘summer’ (ie. for when you want to look summery but the weather isn’t playing ball) and it’s been perfect for the last couple of weeks of mediocre weather.  Of course now I come to write about it, the sun hath shone for an entire Bank Holiday weekend and nobody wanted to even look at jumpers, but oh well.  We certainly shan’t be complaining about sunshine and barbecue weather, that’s for sure.  I’m sure grey skies shall resume shortly and my ‘British summer’ knit will become appropriate once again.

summer knits

On the topic of summer clothing, I’d say the warmer months are my favourite to knit for, which seems to surprise some folks. I guess knitwear is often still associated with woollens, and many people assume that because you knit with ‘wool’, one can only make winter garments. How boring would that be? Some of my favourite items have been knitted with soya, cotton, hemp, linen, silk… you get the idea. So yes, summery knits are my faves, partly because I love using a fresh, summery palette, partly because it allows for more scope with garment shape when you’re not concerned with being as warm as possible, and partly because they’re often quicker to make and I’m impatient.

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from sketch to sweater

Anybody who makes clothes/accessories/furniture/toys/miniature dragons/pretty much anything by hand will likely agree that an item turning out exactly like the sketch is incredibly satisfying. Creating an item that turns out unexpectedly great is wonderful too, but there’s something to be said for creating a physical item that looks exactly how you visualised it. An idea brought to life, if you will. Sounds slightly overkill for a simple white sweater, but I envisaged my perfect white sweater as fitting snugly, with flattering rib lines, contrasting tipping and a super straight high neckline, and voila! That imaginary sweater is now mine and to be kept a safe distance from tomato sauce at all times.

necklines necklines necklines

The one detail I fixated on (and took approximately 483 measurements for) was the neckline. I’m a big fan of an exaggerated neckline, you see. In my humble opinion, a neckline can make or break an item as it’s the part that frames your face (obviously), and I regularly discount otherwise lovely dresses and tops because the neckline is ‘meh’. No mediocre scoop necks please – I like my necklines really high, or really square, or a low v, or right up to my chin… somewhere in the middle just doesn’t do it for me and I find them pretty boring. High, straight, ‘slash’ necklines are a current favourite, and I figured that to make a top look like the neck goes perfectly horizontally across, it needs to actually be curved, so that when worn on a 3D body the curve ‘straightens out’ if you will.  Geeky me finds this kind of challenge most satisfying.  Luckily my calculations worked out well first time and I love how it turned out, and it actually goes over my head easily too so that’s an added bonus.

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yarn: Rowan Summerlite DK in White, Ocean and Sailor Blue

all in one piece

This one’s knit seamlessly from the top down with short row shaping and set in sleeves; I like making garments this way because A) the fit well, B) it looks neat, and C) it’s a lot less faff. No sewing up or picking up stitches, hoorah.

a classic palette

Like I mentioned, the sweater I’d envisaged was white, and despite playing around with various colour combinations in the yarn store I kept coming back to this one. Blues and white seem to be a recurring theme in my wardrobe, with a few neutrals, reds, and pinks thrown in too. I hardly ever wear green, orange, or yellow as I just don’t think they suit me, even if I think they look great on others. This ‘English Rose’ (as my complexion is often described) suits her nautical shades, what can I say. Red, white and blue is a classic combination that’s never going to date though so I’ll continue knitting with this palette for ever and a day. Even down to my trainers, that I currently wear with absolutely everything.

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jeans: TK Maxx (can’t find the actual brand online! I’ve totally gone off skinny jeans lately and am feeling the cropped flare look instead, so expect to see this pair often) | shoes: Veja (V10 Nautico style) | lipstick: Stila Stay All Day Liquid Lipstick in ‘Beso’

Shall wish you a happy 4 day week and long may the non-jumper wearing weather last.  I’ll make a sleeveless version next.

Lily Kate x

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