We were so delighted to see that the latest issue of Twist Collective featured a beautiful cardigan design using our fabulous alpaca/wool/silk blend, Simplinatural. Nevyn by Susanna IC is both super stylish and wearable. Love the cables! Susanna was kind enough to share her design process. Read all about it below.
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Published in Twist Collective Winter 2014, I designed the Nevyn cardigan with detailed cables, mock ribbing, and I-cord edgings, in combination with a body skimming fit. The back cable panel creates a subtle waist shaping, the vertical lines of the overall ribbing pattern elongate and flatter a wide range of body types, while the zipper accentuates the garment’s modern vibe and clean lines. I worked Nevyn in pieces so it can be sewn together in order to provide extra support along the side seams; this prevents stretching and helps balance out the weight of the back cable motif and the front zipper.
To me, fall and winter knitting is all about cables and textures worked in cozy, soft yarns. I love working with cables and Nevyn started its life as an idea for a cabled vest. Ever since I moved to Texas, I don’t get to wear my jackets and hand knit sweaters very much, but I do get a lot of use out of my sleeveless vest. It is a great layering piece because I can wear it over short and long sleeve tops during the transitional seasons, and I can also wear it under a jacket as an extra-warm layer during those few frosty days.
This is a quick sketch of the vest idea and a swatch of the back cable pattern from the original submission to Twist Collective:
After the basic idea was accepted, I’ve reworked the vest into a cardigan since not everyone lives in a warm southern climate. This was a win-win situation because adding the sleeves allowed me to add more cables just above the wrist ribbing – and I believe that one can never have too many cables. Then came the wait for the yarn… I am always impatient to see what yarn and color was chosen for my design, and opening the package always feels a little like Christmas morning. I was not disappointed. Alpaca, silk, and merino! Oh, my! Not only is SimpliNatural incredibly next-to-the-skin soft and snuggly, I was thrilled to find this beautifully rich shade of charcoal gray, which is one of my favorite colors. This project just flew off the needles thanks to the yarn’s softness and its amazing stitch definition, perfect for all the cables and textured stitches.
Here are two photos of the finished cardigan, © Faye Schiano for Twist Collective:
In closing, here are just a few options for making Nevyn your own. The original fits fairly close to the body, so for a roomier fit you can simply work the next larger size. If desired, you can easily customize the length of the sweater by working a few extra rows before the beginning of the back cable pattern. Finally, if you’d prefer a Nevyn vest, you can do that just by starting the armhole shaping about an inch lower and adding an inch or two of ribbing along the armhole after the shoulders and side seams are sewn together.
I would love to see your interpretations of Nevyn, and I hope you will share your projects with me on Ravelry. See you there!
Susanna
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