For this warm coat, Alina Egerman followed instructions for the basic up-and-down sweater, but lengthened the bodice, divided the front into two pieces to make a cardigan with a center overlap, shaped the armhole for a modified drop shoulder, and added a stand-up collar to the crew neckline. For a thick fabric, Alina combined a strand of her handspun with a strand of commercial yarn in a basket-weave-stitch pattern. Because of the weight of the fabric, Alina knitted the fronts and back separately, then sewed them together. To minimize bulk in the seams, she worked a mattress stitch into half of the selvedge stitches.
“My project began with a silver Romney fleece carded with purple-dyed flecks of silk noil. When I finished spinning the yarn, I found that it was harsher and denser than I had originally envisioned, plus the dye in the noils bled out, blurring the contrast I loved so much. To make matters worse, I was short on yardage.
“I persevered and bought some commercial brushed mohair yarn in vibrant purple and swatched with both strands knitted together. The fabric was much more pleasant to the touch than the Romney yarn alone and much more wind- and rain-repellent than the mohair alone. Because I was knitting on larger needles now, the double-stranded yarn knitted into fewer rows per inch, requiring less handspun.
“As a spinner I am familiar with the tendency to hoard handspun yarn. But I also feel that it is important to accept and make use of what we have. The wool, the work of my hands, even my disappointment with the outcome were all spun into my yarn. By using my imagination, I was able to make something I love without letting anything go to waste.”
The Fitter List for Alina’s Basketweave Coat
Measure your body and allow for the appropriate amount of ease (see page 14) or measure a sweater that fits the way you like and enter the numbers below. Refer to your gauge swatch for your stitch and row gauges, then translate each measurement into numbers of stitches and/or rows as you go along.
Yarn name: Yarn #1: Berroco Mohair
Fiber content: 78% mohair, 13% wool, 9% nylon
Weight classification: Worsted (#4 Medium)
WPI: 12
Number of yards/pounds used: 1,210 yards
Yarn name: Yarn #2: Romney Wool Handspun
Fiber content: 80% wool, 20% silk
Weight classification: Sport (#2 Light)
WPI: 14
Number of yards/pounds used: 1,210 yards
Stitches per inch (in pattern stitch with both yarns held together): 4
Rows per inch: 6
Needle size: U.S. size 9 (5.5 mm; straight)
Cast-on method: Long-tail
Bind-off method: Chain
Selvedge treatment: NA (all stitches worked in pattern)
Sleeve increase/decrease method: Paired decreases
Seam technique: Modified mattress stitch
Bodice
Circumference: 44 inches
Width: 22 inches; 88 stitches
Length With Edging: 28 inches; 170 rows
Length Without Edging: 27 inches; 166 rows
Length of Edging: ¾ inches; 4 rows
Armhole Depth: 9 inches; 50 stitches
Back Neck Width Without Edging: 8 inches; 32 stitches
Back Neck Width With Edging: NA
Front Neck Depth Without Edging: 2 inches; 12 rows
Front Neck Depth With Edging: NA
Lower Front Neck Width: 6 inches; 24 stitches
Begin Front Neck At: 26 inches; 158 rows
Shoulder Width: 6 inches; 24 stitches
Sleeves
Sleeve Length Without Edging: 16 inches; 98 rows
Sleeve Length With Edging: 17 inches; 102 rows
Cuff Circumference: 8 inches; 32 stitches
Half Cuff Circumference: 4 inches; 16 stitches
Cuff Length: 1 inch; 4 rows
Upper Arm Circumference: 20 inches; 80 stitches
Half Upper Arm Circumference: 10 inches; 40 stitches
Sleeve Taper Rate: 1 stitch decreased each edge every 4 rows 24 times
Cardigan variation:
Bodice Front Width Including Border: 50 stitches
Center Front Overlap Width: 4 stitches
Seven 1" buttons for center front; one ⅝" button for collar. Alina worked onestitch buttonholes on Rows 19–20, 41–42, 63–64, 85–86, 107–108, 129–130, and 151–152, centered on the 6-stitch garter stitch front edgings as follows.
Right-side row: K4, BO 1, k2.
Wrong-side row: K2, use the backward-loop method (Glossary, page 133) to increase 1 stitch, k3.
Modified Drop-Shoulder Variation (Angle Method):
Across Front Width: 20"; 80 stitches
Width of Armhole Shaping: 1"; 4 stitches
Armhole Depth after Shaping: 9"; 54 rows
Depth of Angle Shaping (angle Method): 1"; 6 rows
Overarm Sleeve Length: 18"; 108 rows
Underarm Sleeve Length: 17"; 102 rows
Sleeve Cap Length: 1"; 6 rows
Sleeve Cap Top Row Width: 18"; 72 stitches
Collar variation:
Collar picked up around neckline and worked for 4" (24 rows).
Sweater Map for Basketweave Coat
Alina combined a strand of commercial brushed mohair with her handspun yarn.
Work as for the Up-and-Down Classic Crew (see page 17), but determine gauge on basketweave-stitch pattern.
Rows 1 and 2: *K2, p2; repeat from *.
Rows 3 and 4: *P2, k2; repeat from *.
Repeat Rows 1–4 for pattern.
Work as for the Up-and Down Classic Crew (page 17), adding the desired length.
Work as for the Up-and-Down Classic Crew (page 18).
Work as for the Up-and-Down Classic Crew (page 18), using a long-tail cast-on (Glossary, page 133) and beginning with 4 rows of garter stitch, then changing to basketweave-stitch pattern. Change the shoulder to a modified drop shoulder with angled shaping (page 40). Use a chain bind-off (Glossary, page 131).
Bind off 1 stitch at the base of the armhole, then decrease 1 stitch every 2 rows until all of the armhole stitches have been eliminated (leaving just the number of stitches for the desired across-front width). Work the remaining bodice straight to the shoulder line. Bind off all the stitches.
Work as for the Up-and-Down Classic Crew (page 19), centering the width of the front overlap (to accommodate button and buttonhole bands) along the centerline.
Beginning with a long-tail cast-on and ending with a chain bind-off, work as a cardigan (page 37) with a 6-stitch overlap at the center front, and working buttonholes as described in the Fitter List. Work a modified drop shoulder with angled shaping to match the bodice back.
Tip Determining Armhole Depth
Sometimes it’s easier to determine armhole depth by measuring your desired bodice length from the armhole down. Hold your arm out to the side and measure from 2" beneath the crook of your underarm to your desired hem length. Subtract that number from the total desired garment length, and the remaining number of inches is the armhole depth. Cast on the desired bodice-width stitches and knit the Bodice Back to this measurement. Measure from the top of your knitting to your shoulder line to determine your armhole depth.
If you don’t want the bulk of a seam under the armhole, use a stockinette selvedge on the sleeve and bodice. Work the decreases on the selvedge edges by working the first (and last) 2 stitches together. Then use a mattress stitch seam with a one-half stitch seam allowance (Glossary, page 138).
To make a cardigan, divide the number of stitches in the desired bodice width in half and work one half for each side of the front, working the two halves as mirror images of each other. To add bands to accommodate the buttons and buttonholes, add a few stitches to the center front of each piece. Alina wanted to work her bands in garter stitch with a 1" overlap. Because her gauge for garter stitch was tighter than her gauge for basketweave stitch, Alina worked 6 stitches to get the desired 1".
For simplicity, knit the front piece that will have the buttons first. That way you won’t have to worry about buttonhole placement. When that piece is completed, use it to determine the placement of buttons and work the buttonholes on the other front piece to match (see Alina’s Tip for Buttonhole Placement at right).
Work the modified drop shoulder to match the bodice back, remembering to work the armhole shaping on opposite sides of the two fronts so they will mirror each other.
Work as for the Up-and-Down Classic Crew (pages 20–21), but divide the neckline chart between the two fronts. Be sure to include the stitches for the front overlap on each piece.
Indicate overlap edging on neckline graph by drawing a solid line on the half of the bodice that will fall in front (buttonhole band) and a dotted line on the half of the bodice that will fall behind (buttonband). Add the width of the plackets to the number of stitches in the bodice fronts.
Work as for the Up-and-Down Classic Crew (page 22), but alter the shape to accommodate a modified drop shoulder with an angled notch (page 40).
Work as for the Up-and-Down Classic Crew (page 24), but use the underam length (i.e., do not include the sleeve cap) for the taper calculations (see page 41).
Beginning with a long-tail cast-on and ending with a chain bind-off, work a modified drop shoulder with an angled notch (page 40). Begin with 4 rows of garter stitch, then work the basketweave-stitch pattern to the end. Work the sleeve to the desired underarm length, working the taper as you go. Shape the cap exactly as the armhole: bind off 1 stitch, then decrease 1 stitch at each end of the needle every other row until you reach the number of stitches that corresponds to the desired width of the sleeve cap top row. Bind off all stitches on the next right-side row.
Work as for the Up-and-Down Classic Crew (page 27), using mattress stitch seams.
Pick up and knit 1 stitch for every stitch or row around the neckline opening. Work even in basketweave stitch until the collar is the desired length. Bind off all the stitches.
Work as for the Up-and-Down Classic Crew (page 27). Sew buttons to left front, opposite buttonholes, saving the smaller button for the left front collar (on Alina’s coat it is on Row 17, 14 stitches from the centerline). Sew a loop of yarn in the top edge of the right front collar opposite the collar button.
Tip Button Placement
Traditionally, buttons are sewn on the left side for women, right side for men. (I remember this by thinking of the painting of Napoleon with his right hand slipped between the buttons of his coat.) Place the buttons evenly spaced on the buttonband. Mark the placement with crossed pins. Since the buttonholes will appear between garter ridges, place the horizontal pin in the groove between the ridges and the vertical pin to mark the center of the button. Remove the buttons.
To balance the button placement, decide on the exact placement for the top and bottom buttons first. Then count the rows between the pins for each button, making sure you have the same number of garter ridges between each button. If the number of rows differs between some of the buttons, begin at the top button and count down the front placket, placing the buttons at even intervals. It’s better to have the bottom button a little high than the top button too low.
Now place a button on the front placket again to determine the width of the buttonhole. Note that the buttonhole can stretch to nearly twice its size, so make it about a third smaller than the button. The number of stitches in this width is the number of stitches to bind off for each buttonhole.
