It feels like it’s been forever since I last shared a new cardigan pattern with you, so I’m excited to introduce Mary Mead today. It’s a top-down, v-neck cardigan with seamless, set-in sleeves. The sweater has an all-over garter and eyelet stitch pattern that’s pleasantly easy to knit.
I had two major sources of inspiration for this sweater. The first, as I previously wrote about, was cardigan worn as part of the midwife uniform on Call the Midwife. My second source of inspiration was garter stitch itself. I had been craving a garter stitch sweater, but I was worried that it’d either be unflattering or not fit with my style. Finally it hit me that I could use garter stitch in panels to break up the horizontal lines and add in some attractive vertical lines. Once I had my garter and eyelet panels figured out, I realized that I could hide the waist and sleeve shaping in the garter panels so it’s almost invisible. You have to look closely to see that the garter panels gradually shrink the closer you get to the ribbed waist or sleeve cuff, and the eyelet patterns remain totally undisturbed.
For the pattern sample I used Berocco Ultra Alpaca light on US 5/3.75 mm needles and US 2/2.75 mm needles. The recommended yarn makes for a nice cozy sweater, but the fiber content is also what makes the garter panels work well. The alpaca in the yarn causes the garter stitch to relax so it doesn’t try to creep up. If you substitute yarn, make sure you use something that drapes well like a yarn with silk or alpaca content. Mary Mead comes in seven sizes and is $6.50. You can buy the pattern on Ravelry or check out Mary Mead in the Untangling Knots pattern shop.
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