Cider Mill

Description

Please note that Cider Mill is available as a custom-gauge, custom-size pattern via my CustomFit custom pattern generator. Upon purchase, you’ll receive a credit for a custom version of Cider Mill and instructions on how to create it.

Cider Mill is the kind of sweater I wear all winter in my studio. I keep things chilly enough here that I need a substantial sweater from about October through March. When I have a choice, I reach for something that’s comfortable enough to snug up in for an entire day – and stylish enough to look great in a video call.

Cider Mill has slipped into my wardrobe perfectly: The long length, A-line shape, and bonus pockets are as cozy as it gets; at the same time, the unusual wide twisted rib and artisan glass buttons are clean and modern. The yarn, thoughtfully and locally made by Jill Draper, is utterly amazing: It’s 100% cormo-merino crossbreed that feels as good as it looks.

Sizing

Cider Mill is available as a custom-gauge, custom-size pattern for the yarn and measurements of your choice via CustomFit. It’s shown here on Amy in an “average fit” with an a-line silhouette and set-in sleeve construction. It’s also available with other silhouettes, fits, and the modified drop shoulder construction.

Gauge

Your own customized version of the Cider Mill pattern will be written to your gauge, whatever it may be. This design looks great at any gauge.

Materials

I used Jill Draper Rockwell, in the color “Dark Roast”, for this sample. Rockwell is a 100% cormo-merino crossbred wool that’s made, from sheep to skein, in the Northeast. It would take someone with better words than I have to describe how amazing this yarn is. It’s warm and rustic, but so soft you could weep. The marled colors are exquisite, and work perfectly with Cider Mill’s clean lines. Wearing a sweater out of this yarn simultaneously transports me to my favorite fall fiber festival, and makes me feel like I’m getting a giant hug all day long. I liked the yarn at a gauge of 20 stitches and 28 rows to 4” (10 cm).

To make a standard-size 30 (32, 34, 36, 38, 40, 42, 44, 48, 52, 56, 60)’’ / 76 (81.5, 86.5, 91.5, 96.5, 101.5, 106.5, 112, 122, 132, 142, 152.5) cm sweater, you’ll need approximately 5 (5, 5, 5, 6, 6, 6, 7, 8, 8, 9, 10) hanks of Rockwell for this design.

For other yarns, CustomFit will give you a yardage estimate before you finalize a custom pattern, but you can also use Hannah Fettig’s Stashbot app or pamphlet to estimate yarn requirements when purchasing yarn.

Construction

Cider Mill is worked in pieces from the bottom up and then seamed, with either set-in sleeves or modified drop shoulder sleeves. The pockets are knit separately and seamed on.