Pukohukohu by Elizabeth Nihoniho

Pukohukohu

Knitting
August 2019
Fingering (14 wpi) ?
26 stitches and 33 rows = 4 inches
in Stockinette after blocking
US 3 - 3.25 mm
US 4 - 3.5 mm
1040 - 1804 yards (951 - 1650 m)
Finished Bust Circumference: – 34 (38, 42, 46, 50)” / 86 {97, 107, 117, 127} cm
English
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Finished Sizes
Pūkohukohu allows for up to 4” / 10cm of positive ease.
Finished Bust Circumference: – 34 (38, 42, 46, 50)” / 86 {97, 107, 117, 127} cm (Schematic included in pattern)

Needles and Notions
US 3 / 3.25 mm circular needles 32” 80 cm long and also for knitting in small circumferences. Adjust needle size as needed to obtain correct gauge.
US 4 / 3.5 mm circular needles 32” / 80cm long
2 x US 3 / 3.25 mm double point needles
US 3 / 3.25 mm crochet hook for provisional cast-on
3 x small buttons approximately ½” / 1 ½ cm across
Stitch markers – both circular and removable
Tapestry needle
Waste yarn

Yarn
Revive Designs 4 ply / sock yarn 85% Merino / 15% Nylon (437 yds / 400 m per 100 gm) – approximately 3 (3, 4, 4, 5) skeins of colourway Sage.
If substituting yarn – approximately 1040 (1260, 1420, 1640, 1804) yds / 950 {1150, 1300, 1500, 1650} m of fingering weight yarn required.

Gauge
26 stitches / 33 rows per 4” / 10 cm with US 3 / 3.25 mm needles in stockinette stitch, after blocking.

During the summer, my eldest son and I went tramping in the mountains of Te Wai Pounamu (the South Island of New Zealand). The snow had long gone so the beauty of the fauna and flora was on display. There were delicate mosses like little stars bravely battling the rugged extremes of wind and heat. It was only by us stopping and slowing did those little mosses reveal their glory, their hidden quiet beauty was breath-taking. Pūkohukohu was born in that moment. Pūkohukohu (poo-kor-hoo-kor-hoo) is te reo Māori for moss, and also lungs. To knit is to stop and breathe slowly. The slipped stitch stars are the little Pūkohukohu (moss) in the quiet.

Pūkohukohu is a yoked jersey worked from the top down in fingering weight. It is cast on at the neck and worked flat through the increases of the yoke before joining in the round to work the slipped stitch pattern. Sleeves are held on waste yarn while the body is finished. Then the sleeves are returned to needles, some stitches picked up and then knit in the round until the cuff, which is worked flat. Finally, I-cord edging is worked around the cuffs, neck and back opening.