New Pattern: Presidio Cardigan in mYak
Oh my goodness, y’all, I am so, so excited to unleash this one into the world! Say hello to the Presidio Cardigan, which just might be my favorite thing I’ve ever made. I’m so thrilled with the way this one turned out, and I can’t wait to get the sample back so I can wear it with absolutely everything this spring. This sweater was such a fabulous exploration of some ideas I’ve had going for a long time about how to do knitterly, fascinating cables in a modern, flattering, effortlessly wearable garment, and I’m so happy to be able to share it with you.
Straightforward, understated, wear-with-everything garter stitch on the front gives way to dramatic, shifting cables across the back and sleeves of this tailored cardigan, designed in mYak’s glorious Baby Yak Medium. Worked mostly in garter and at a worsted gauge, this ultra-wearable cardigan knits up quickly, while the garter-and-cable fabric drapes effortlessly on the body. Subtle A-line shaping and tailored shoulders make for an ultra-flattering silhouette, while an integrated vertical buttonband provides a polished finished look (and gets you from yarn to finished sweater a whole lot faster). Presidio’s low-hip length works with dresses or pants, and is built for layering over anything from a tank top to a button-up shirt. The cables themselves are simple to knit and easy to memorize, while a clever succession of increases and decreases shifts and wends them slowly towards the center of the back. Presidio is worked from the bottom up in pieces and seamed, with charted and written instructions provided for the cables.
In FAQ form, here’s all you need to know about this one:
Where can I buy the pattern?
The pattern is available from my Ravelry store.
Who is this for?
It’s a great project for you if: you love texture, you are comfortable with cables and seaming (or are willing to learn), and you like cardigans.
It’s not a great project for you if: you’re absolutely seam-a-phobic, you’re not comfortable keeping track of where you are in a repeat, or cables don’t really do it for you.
Can I see it first?
Yes! I’m making “preview versions” of my patterns available, so you can “try before you buy,” so to speak. The “special sauce” (stitch counts, charts, etc.) is hidden, but you’ll still be able to get a sense of how the pattern is drafted and whether that’s going to work for you. The preview for this one is here.
I meant the sample. Can I see it in person?
YES! Are you in Santa Clara this weekend for the craziness that is Stitches West? I am too, and me and the sweater and my Lombard Street hats (and the print versions of the patterns) will be at the mYak booth (#1344). The patterns and samples will be there all weekend, and I will be there from 11 am - 12 pm on Friday and Saturday. I’d love to chat with you about your knitting, introduce you to the wonderful magic of yak, and help you get off to the races on the sweater for the plane ride home.
What else do I need to know?
I’m so glad you asked. Here’s all the details for this one:
Size
XS (S, M, L, XL, XXL), finished bust measurements approximately 34 (38, 42, 46, 50, 54)” / 86 (96.5, 106.5, 117, 127, 137) cm. Sample shown is size 42.5” / 106.5 cm, modeled with 6” / 18 cm positive ease at the bust. When choosing a size, aim for 1-3” / 2.5-7.5 cm positive ease at the hip and 4-7” / 10-18 cm at the bust.
Yarn
mYak Baby Yak Medium (worsted weight, 100% baby yak, 125 yards / 117 meters per 50 grams), 8 (9, 10, 11, 12, 13) skeins, or 1025 (1150, 1250, 1375, 1500, 1625) yards / 950 (1075, 1150, 1275, 1375, 1500) meters of light worsted weight wool or wool-blend yarn.
Gauge
20 sts /28 rows over 4” / 10 cm in garter stitch on larger needle, after blocking. Cable panel on sleeve measures approximately 2” / 5 cm wide.
Needles
32” / 80 cm or longer circular needle, or long straights, in sizes US 6 /4.0 mm and US 7/4.5 mm, or size needed to obtain gauge and one size smaller. Circular needle is used to accommodate large number of sts.
Notions
stitch markers; cable needle (optional); tapestry needle; waste yarn, stitch holders, or spare double-pointed needles; six buttons of approximately ¾” / 2 cm diameter
Skills Required
cabling with or without a cable needle; increasing; decreasing; picking up stitches; seaming, three-needle bind off.
