Wednesday, June 24, 2015

Rideau Wrap: a Reboot

A year ago, I completed a design for a group of Eastern Ontario farmers. Until now, the pattern was available only in kit form in a beautiful custom-spun alpaca/wool blend. As of today, the pattern is available on Ravelry for free with two commercial yarn alternatives: Brooklyn Tweed's Shelter and Berocco's Ultra Alpaca Light. Kits are still available from Janice at Windblest Farm, should you wish to indulge in hand-dyed luxury.







From the pattern intro:

This very oversized, minimally-shaped, no-sew cardigan/wrap is designed to work on a wide range of body sizes and shapes. The stitch, Barbara Walker’s “Banded Insertion” pattern, has garter stitch ridges and stocking stitch valleys worked on two differently-sized needles, three sizes apart. The result is a light, airy, drapey fabric that works up fairly quickly.

The body is cast on provisionally at the centre back, then worked outwards until the sides are joined by 3-needle bind-off. The sleeve stitches are transferred to a small circular needle and worked out to the cuff, with the ridges gradually spaced at longer and longer intervals. Finally, the centre back is joined, and an I-cord border worked all the way around, with graceful scallops framing the neckline.

Click here to download a copy from Ravelry and enjoy some carefree summer knitting!