patterns > Sally Melville Designs
> L'Enveloppe
L'Enveloppe
Every time I wear this and everywhere I go, I’ve had it commented on—by strangers on the street, by shop owners or customers, by knitters or non. And each time they say something like “I love that … thing you’re wearing!” No-one knows what to call it, and—frankly—neither do I. Because one arm goes through (as does the neck) but the other arm is free, it’s not a cape, not a poncho, not a shrug, not a shawl, not a cowl. It’s small enough to wear under a coat but big enough to wear instead of one. And it envelops us in style. And so here’s its moniker: L’Enveloppe. (As you might imagine, this is French for envelope. Its style led me there. I suppose its name could have been “That thing you wear on an airplane in case the AC is turned too high,” but that didn’t sit as well on the page.)
Because I want everyone to knit this in whatever yarn they like, I offer this in 5 sizes, 4 gauges (13, 14, 15, and 16 stitches to 4” /10cm) and 2 stitch patterns (seed or the easier garter). AND, it is worth noting that I’ve seen swatches that combined yarns--from a shop or a stash: for eg, a light worsted + a lace yarn will give you gauge, a dk + a sock yarn will give you gauge. (You will need the full yardage for EACH of the yarns you combine.)
Because of all these choices, the yarn amount (as shown above) is very inaccurate: the amount of yarn you use will depend upon a) your size, b) your gauge, c) your stitch pattern. All of this is clear in the pattern.
And speaking of size, this is sized the same way knitting patterns are sized. Measuring around the fullest part of your bust, S = 32-34”, M = 36-38”, L = 40-42”, 1X = 44-46”, 2X = 48-50”.
April 2019
I finally made a fingering weight of this piece, using gorgeous BAAH yarn—shown in the final photo! It was so fun and will be so wearable! All I did was do a gauge swatch (26 sts), pick my size in the 13 st gauge, cast on twice as many stitches EVERY time a number of stitches was listed but otherwise followed the pattern as written. But when the direction has a numbers of stitches relative to a number of rows, you change nothing. (By that, I mean that when it says to “bring 2 sts into working every RS row,” you do exactly as written--only bringing 2 sts into working, not 4.)
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- First published: October 2013
- Page created: October 20, 2013
- Last updated: March 24, 2020 …
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