Royale

Okay, so usually when I finish a design and then put it out into the world for public consumption, I am immediately filled with a strangling mix of glee and terror, when all my insecurities about things I could have done differently/better/while inhabiting a different personality/with more Zen/whatever immediately jump up and down on my head.

Not this time. Or, at least I can say that the glee part of my brain is winning, for the moment. I love this pattern. I love it to little tiny bits. This is the ‘Royale’ pullover, (available here in my Ravelry store, and here on Patternfish) and my second of two designs for Tanis Fiber Arts this season (just in time for the Knitter’s Frolic on Saturday!)

I’d been wanting to do a pullover pattern of some kind for Tanis, as I’d done a cardigan jacket for her last fall, and I also knew I wanted to do something with cables. Once I got the yarn in my hands – this is a “new and improved”, deeper, richer version of her standard ‘garnet’ colourway – I knew exactly what this needed to be. No wimpy cables here. No no. Regal, royal, decadent cables. And nice and fitted, yes please. Tanis’ superwash Aran is wonderfully comfortable to wear and there’s no reason not to put it into a nice modern fit. I’m a particular fan of the 3/4 sleeves and scoopneck, if I do say so myself.

The front and back each feature a large cable motif framed by a smaller one, and the smaller cable motif is then repeated along the centre of each sleeve. Additionally, I’ve written the pattern so that the tiny cable twists from the motifs grow from the ribbing at the hem and cuffs. The cable patterns are all fully charted, and once again I strongly recommend cabling without a cable needle to speed things along, which I’ve talked about recently as well.

I’ve included instructions for 6 sizes, between 30″ and 49″ (garment bust size) and recommend that this be made for slight negative ease or zero ease if at all possible. Schematics are also included, so feel free to modify at any time if you wish – i.e. change the length, change the height of the neckline, etc, if you feel you would achieve a more comfortable fit this way.

This is certainly a skilled knit, but one that is not too far out of reach of any knitter who has a few sweaters and a few cabled pieces under their belt. Once you establish the cables and get started, everything repeats and you start to get into a rhythm. There is waist shaping, and the body and sleeves are each worked in the round, then once you reach the neckline and armholes the front and back are worked flat, back and forth, as is the sleeve cap once you reach that part of the sleeve.

As usual, please let me know if you find any errors or concerns. This has indeed been through a test-knitting phase by a friend of mine, but naturally there is always the possibility of something slipping through the cracks. Contact me at crazy.knitting.lady[at]gmail.com and I will do my best to help with any questions.

And now, I am off to put the finishing touches on one last thing that I’ll show you tomorrow. It’s been a busy little while here at Knitting To Stay Sane, and I’m just glad to finally be able to show a few things off.

Happy knitting, as always!