Ravishing

Back in May, when Carol Feller gave us her workshop on novel techniques for top-down construction, we had a sneak preview of her hundredth pattern, a lovely cardigan called Ravi. To celebrate Carol's pattern centenary, she's organised a knitalong, with the pattern being released in four "clues" over the summer. It's huge fun, and there's people taking part all over the world. But Jacqui has been knitting a preview of the pattern, and it's now on display in the shop (gosh, she's a fast knitter!). In the picture above, you can see the lovely clever yoke, worked around the neck and shoulders and shaped with short rows. When the yoke's done, the body of the cardigan and the sleeves are picked up from its edge and knitted downward: The yarn she chose was the Pearl Ten shade of Malabrigo Finito (the softness has to be felt to be believed), and she used just six skeins for the third size. Both row and stitch tension are important for this pattern, because the garter stitch lies both vertically on the yoke and horizontally on the body. Jacqui found that she got the right tension on 3.75mm needles rather than on Carol's original 4.00mm, and she worked the neck edging slightly differently to the pattern. (We like her version a lot.) And her favourite part of the project? "The curving edge at the back hem", she says. Using short rows again, the back has a charming dip to it - innovative, elegant and fun to knit. Those are words that sum up the whole garment, really, so if you're passing the shop, make sure to look out for it. And why not embark on your own Ravi? It's written for sportweight yarn, and we have lots of choices in stock at the moment as well as the Finito, from Debbie Bliss Baby Cashmerino in dozens of shades to the softest pure alpaca in Blue Sky Alpacas Melange, from machine-washable pure merino Millamia to Alpaca Silk. And this summer is shaping up to be a splendid one for cosy cardigans, isn't it?