Skiddaw

'Skiddaw' sounds like the sort of word you might use if you count a really long row of stitches and loose your place but it is in fact the name of this sweater which is a place in the Lake District. I started it proper in September 2018.

I tore this knitting pattern out of a magazine from somewhere, I am guessing I was not the owner of the magazine for me to do this! I knit a gauge square many times in many yarns but hadn't managed to find the right yarn for this much desired pull over. There is a cable detail running along the back of the sweater making it a knit that I thought would hold my attention. 

I have used Araucania 100% Nature cotton which I bought from a Black Sheep Wool yarn mountain at a stitch and craft show maybe four years ago now. I bought it for totally selfish reasons - I didn't want anyone else to have it for £9.99 when it was supposed to be £99! I had no idea what I was going to do with 10 skeins but it seemed enough to play with for a bargain price. 

The construction is really unusual. It is knit cuff to cuff in one whole piece making the design of the jumper a boxy swing style. This construction prompted me to hunt out the hand dyed yarn which had variations in colour. I decided that knitting cuff to cuff (vertically if you like)and interchanging the balls would show off the variations wonderfully without the overall look being disjointed which has happened to me in the past when knitting pieced garments with variegated yarn. Thankfully, it worked in a wave kind of way...

If you want to get your head around what it involves, it goes something like this:

1)You start at one cuff. 
2) Increase to make a sleeve 
3)Then cast on for the front and back so there are loads of stitches on a circular needle. You knit the front and back as one long row. 
4)Next you split for the neck. Knit the back on its own for a while.
5) Pick up the front stitches from a holder and knit the front for a while.
6) When the neck is wide enough you put all of the stitches back on the needle and knit the other shoulder. 
7)You start to get excited when the pattern indicates that you cast off the body and are decreasing the sleeves all the way to the other cuff. 
8)Finally you rib the second cuff. 

It is a huge garment to have slopping around whilst you knit, like trying to keep an octopus on your lap, but it only requires sewing up along the side seams at the end. There is a good schematic diagram showing the finished measurements for each piece which made it easy to pick the right size. It is supposed to have a large ease silhouette.

I love this sweater, but I don't know how long it will hold its shape because it weighs 800g. It will need careful washing because I think it could grow with the weight of water in it as well. I will be kind and careful with it to give her the best chance possible. I hope to be wearing this for many years. I'm glad I finally found a pattern yarn match.

What are you knitting? Any finishes around the corner?
Jo xxx