Thursday, October 16, 2014

New Pattern: Meadow Road

Meadow Road, a long-sleeve women's pullover featuring pretty lace and twisted stitch details on front and back, is now available in my Ravelry, Etsy, and Craftsy pattern stores.

Meadow Road Pullover
Pattern: Meadow Road, by Bonnie Sennott
Yarn: Stitch Sprouts Yellowstone (80 percent wool, 20 percent silk) in the Bison colorway
Needles: US #5/3.75mm and US #3/3.25mm

Meadow Road—named after the road in Montague, Massachusetts, where the photos were taken—utilizes a mostly seamless construction. It's worked in the round on a long circular needle from the bottom up to the armholes; front and back are then worked flat and joined at the shoulders. Sleeves are worked in the round, top down, using short rows to shape the sleeve caps.

The sweater's A-line silhouette is designed to be attractive on a wide variety of figures; bust sizes range from 32.25 inches/82 cm to 51.75/131 cm. For a loose, comfortable fit as shown in the photos, choose a size with 4–5 inches/10–13 cm of positive ease at the bust. If you prefer a closer fit, choose a size with 2–3 inches/5–8 cm of ease. The sample was modeled with approximately 4.5 inches/11 cm of ease.

Meadow_Road_Back_3

Meadow_Road_Hem_1

I'm not a fan of crew necks—I find them uncomfortable to wear, and they're rarely attractive on me. So I gave Meadow Road the kind of neckline I like best: wider than a typical crew neck but not as wide as a boatneck. I finished the neckband with reverse stockinette, which rolls inward, creating a neat, clean edge. The same reverse stockinette edging is worked on the sleeve cuffs.

Meadow Road is one of those sweaters you can easily adjust to your body and your preferences. The length of the sleeves can be modified by working fewer rounds before the gathered cuff. The body can be lengthened or shortened as well, by working the lace chart more or fewer times after the hem. (Keep in mind that if you add length, you may need more yarn.)

Meadow_Road_Full_1

This sweater evolved from my Bluet cowl design, published last spring. I originally envisioned a cardigan with the stitch patterns from Bluet placed on each side of the buttonbands. But I wasn't entirely happy with how the lace flowed into the neck shaping. So I shifted the stitches around to make them symmetrical, added reverse stockinette in the middle for texture, and changed the plan from a cardigan to a pullover. Voila! Meadow Road was born.

Meadow_Road_Back_1

The placement of decreases within the center panel gives the appearance of cables, but in fact there are no cables—it's all lace: just decreases and yarn overs. 

Meadow_Road_FB_2

The yarn is a lovely wool/silk blend from Stitch Sprouts, called Yellowstone. From the first swatch, I was smitten with it. Yellowstone produces stockinette that's smooth and even and shows off textures really well. I'd use it again in a heartbeat!

Meadow_Road_Full_4

Credits: Thanks are in order to my sisters Jenny, who tech edited the pattern, and Betsey, who graciously modeled. The scarf is naturally dyed cotton gauze, from Cozy Memories

If you're at Rhinebeck Saturday and run into me, you'll get to see the sweater in person—I'll be wearing it there.

Thank you very much for reading!




1 comment:

Bonnie said...

Thanks, Annie Claire!