Mount Merritt Cardigan

Description

The Mount Merritt Cardigan 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 Mount Merritt and instructions on how to create it.

Mount Merritt is the make. wear. love. fall 2017 retreat design for color goddess Spirit Trail Fiberworks. Jen’s yarns blend colors beautifully, with rich, saturated shades and (sometimes, lately) a speckle here or there. I wanted to design something warm, snuggle-worthy, and enveloping – something you’ll reach for when the days get cold, or things are overwhelming: So I started with a super-long length, super-cozy worsted yarn (Jen’s Luna base), and comfy patch pockets.

I also wanted to provide a canvas for using up a special hank of yarn, so I added a simple slip stitch color pattern at the hem and bottom of the sleeves, echoed on the pockets. I’ve used a speckled yarn, but please feel free to vary your choices – this is a great place for a super-variegated hank to create a stained-glass effect, or a blazing neon that needs to be used sparingly.

Sizing

Mount Merritt is available as a custom-gauge, custom-size pattern for the yarn and measurements of your choice via CustomFit. It’s shown here on Maya in a set-in sleeve “women’s relaxed fit” with a straight silhouette, but is available with any of CustomFit’s other constructions, silhouettes, and fits as well.

Gauge

Your own customized version of the Mount Merritt Cardigan pattern will be written to your gauge, whatever it may be. Though the look of the slip-stitch colorwork will change at different gauges, this design will look great in gauges from fingering through heavy worsted.

Please swatch in Stockinette for this design. To see whether you like the way your yarns look in color pattern, though, you can click here to see instructions for the slip stitch. One note about the slip-stitch pattern: While your stitch gauge will stay constant with Stockinette, your row gauge will be compressed – so I advise you not to count rows for the slip-stitch portion of the garment, instead relying on measurements.

Materials

I used Spirit Trail Fiberworks Luna, in MC “Casco Bay” and CC “Winter Harbor”, for the sample shown here.

At 5 stitches to the inch and a tunic length, as shown here, you’ll need 7 (7, 8, 8, 9, 9, 9, 10, 10, 11, 12, 13) hanks of MC, and 1 hank of CC to make a standard (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.

If you’d like a shorter sweater, you’ll definitely need less yarn than this – in that case, I recommend Hannah Fettig’s excellent resource Stashbot, available both as a printed pamphlet and as an iOS app. (CustomFit will give you a yardage estimate before you finalize a custom pattern, but stashbot is great for estimating yarn requirements when purchasing yarn.)

Construction

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