If you wish to be notified when I have published a novel pattern, write an e-mail to science@women-at-work.org with the reference line “Bio-Knits Newsletter”.

Promotion: Buy 3, get 4.

When you add 4 of my patterns to your cart, the least expensive one will be for free automatically.

Pritussa – The Poetess

“Pritussa” is continental Celtic and means Little Poetess. It is derived from “Prittia/Pritonia” for Poetess and the suffix “-ussa” for little.

This sweater is fun and simple to work and an example for how breaking the rules in designing and in one᾿s choice of yarns can create a surprising, vivid and eye-catching garment that is wearable in everyday life. Here, I have combined a 100% merino wool with a feather-light mohair yarn to make the features of the design stand out. I wished for an empire waist, as it is one of the greatest possibilities to flatter any figure – and it is also great during pregnancy!

But you can wear this sweater straight as well and move the area of the color transition down to your true waist. The sleeves are also of a typical full length. This is, however, not what I intended with the design of the pattern and thus not reflected in the photos.

Another effect that comes into play is the choice of colors. You do not need to use black and red (or even single-color yarns), of course, but you may wish to make sure, the lower body is of a darker shade than the upper, for that will give the impression of a more slender waistline.
With direct sunlight on the sweater, the “Vivaldi dark red” looks more like a pink; albeit the red is “pinkish”, the pink is not as pronounced as it appears in some of the pictures. I feel the landscape picture displays the color more accurately.

Yarns

I have used the DROPS Vivaldi for the upper body and my old stash of the Gedifra Merino De Luxe for the black cabled parts. The latter has been discontinued (you may still be able to purchase it here and there though), but you have a number of choices from other manufacturers such as Garnstudio (always great because of the availability worldwide) that give you an identical or very similar gauge of 23 sts and 30 rows and an even better yardage than the Gedifra᾿s 1.76 oz / 50 g = 164 yd / 150 m. E. g.:

• DROPS Baby Alpaca Silk: 23 sts x 30 rows; 183 yd / 167 m
• DROPS Alpaca: 23 sts x 30 rows; 183 yd / 167 m
• DROPS Baby Merino: 24 sts x 32 rows; 191 yd / 175 m
• DROPS Delight, if you like color flows in cables: 23 sts x 30 rows; 191 yd / 175 m

Pattern files include

• a table with sizes, measurements and corresponding knitting repeats
• suggestions on how to proceed, if your size is not included
• schematic of the sweater with measurements,
• written instructions,
• close-up pictures and a photo gallery.

What you will learn (if not already familiar with it):

• the cabled repeats, of course,
• increasing and decreasing in cables without disturbing their appearance
• joining cables in a beautiful way, as well as
• joining different yarns and parts of a garment as you go.

Sizes

There are six color-coded sizes included in the pattern: S, M and L – each as a small and large version (sS, lS, sM, lM, sL, lL).
I have also made suggestions on how to proceed, should your size not be included. It is not complicated to work an e. g. XS or XL with this pattern, as you will only need to subtract or add pattern repeats.

Material

• Yarn 1: DROPS Vivaldi (color 03 – dark red)

• Yarn 2: Gedifra Merino De Luxe (color 7814 - black) or any other suitable yarn (merino, alpaca, …) you will obtain an approx. gauge of 23 sts x 30 rows with

• Usage Vivaldi S – M – L oz/yd: 3.52 – 5.28 – 5.28 oz / 612 – 918 – 918 yd g/m: 100 – 150 – 150 g / 560 – 840 – 840 m

• Usage Merino De Luxe S – M – L oz/yd: 12.3 – 14.1 – 15.8 oz / 1148 – 1312 – 1476 yd g/m: 350 – 400 – 450 g / 1050 – 1200 – 1350 m

• Needles US 6 / 4 mm circular needles; Set of US 6 / 4 mm double-pointed needles; cable needle (or additional double-pointed needle)

• Stitch Markers to mark the beginning/end of rounds

• Tapestry needle

• Slim dark elastic band(s) to thread through cables within the sweater directly under your bust (to keep the sweater from wearing out) and maybe for the cuffs