Icelandic Yoke Sweater by Elizabeth Zimmermann

Icelandic Yoke Sweater

Knitting
December 1981
Any gauge - designed for any gauge ?
4 stitches = 1 inch
1500 yards (1372 m)
38" (40") around
English

Pattern description from Newsletter #14: “Dear Knitter, In 1958 I prophetically gave you a yoke sweater. They are now so fashionable that I give you another version of it. The basic concept of construction follows in this paragraph; it leaves to you the choice of design, size and yarn. This sweater goes by formula (you will find percentages in parentheses), and up to the underarm is identical with my #4 Brooks and #8 Raglan models. Yoke-shaping is governed by measurement; let us take as an example the sweater given below. The body is 20” across, so the depth of the yoke is 10”, i.e. half the body-width. Work 5” of this without shaping, and into the upper 5” fit three decreasing-rounds of k1, k2tog around. Be sure not to start decreasing until the yoke is half-finished. When yoke is 1” shy of desired length, work vital back-of-neck shaping. Neck, cuffs and lower edge may be finished with hem or ribbing. I like to have patterns on the yoke only, but the Icelanders but them on cuffs and lower edge as well.”

Materials from The Opinionated Knitter: 4 wheels Icelandic Wool, doubled; 1 wheel for patterns. One 24” and one 16”circular needle, one set of sock-needles, approx. size 7 or 8, to give above GAUGE.

Materials from Knitting Workshop: 24oz Icelandic wool for body (worked doubled); 4oz for yoke pattern. 24” and 16” circular needles of a size to give you the above GAUGE (approx. #7, 8 or 9); 1 set d.p. needles of the same size.

This pattern may be found in the appendix to Knitting Workshop on pages 146-147. Picture on pages 53. Also in The Opinionated Knitter pages 76-77.

A yoke-style sweater based on Elizabeth’s Percentage System (EPS) with a stranded color pattern in the yoke.
The design can also be found in Chapter 4 of Knitting Without Tears listed as the “Seamless Yoke Sweater.”

Newsletter #14 was published in Fall 1964.