Osborn Fiber Studio

Head librarian and fellow knitter Susanah and I took a trip to the rare books room yesterday to have a long-awaited photo shoot with the Stole Sweater.

This sweater seeks to answer the question: How do you have a sweater that looks like a side-ways knit sweater from the front… But looks like a top-down sweater in back?

This might not be a question you were sitting around asking yourself, but if it was, the Stole Sweater is here to answer. The inspiration for the construction came, as you might guess, from the stoles worn by ministers. They are shaped so as to curve around the neck yet lie straight down the front, and it occurred to me, one could build a whole sweater out of such a shape.

The sweater is knit entirely in one piece, and the only seams are on the sleeves. (You could do the sleeves seamlessly if you really wanted to, but I much prefer to work garter stitch flat.) Malleable garter stitch fills in the gaps for an excellent fit. Highly-structured cables and two bind-offs on the yoke keep things from sagging. I designed it during Lent, when I wasn’t knitting, and it was almost the first thing I cast on when I started up again. It kept my lap warm through the end of spring, and kept me company while reading for my summer classes. I love it, and sometime will have to make one in my own size (this is a sillouhette for which you want to choose the no-ease size).

Test knitting has entered its final stages, so I expect to have this pattern out well before October 1st. Possibly even September 1st. Mom is frantically dyeing loads of Kirby Woolpaca in all our semi-solid shades, so you can use this excellently-suited yarn for the sweater if you so choose. Final yarn quantities will be published when test knitting is finished, for the sizes which range between 36″ and 52″ at the chest.

Don’t forget that if you sign up for the Liturgical Year series before October 1st, you will get the Stole Sweater pattern as my thank you.