Last summer Kate asked me to knit the beautiful Poet – a pattern by Sari Nordlund – as a sample for the shop. We had seen Christine’s version a few weeks before and thought this was a great design to share with our customers. The idea was also to test drive Rauwerk Sport that we’d only just received by that point. For me it was also the occasion to get some tasty piece of lace on my needles.
Poet is a seamless top-down jumper with 3/4 sleeves, raglan shoulders and the most amazing lace motif covering the whole body. Bearing in mind that this is a 4ply pattern and Rauwerk a sport weight yarn I had to knit a size small in order to get a size medium. I made a couple of minor changes by increasing the sleeves length and the ribbing around the neck and the hem. I have also shorten the ribbing at the cuffs which was originally long enough to be folded back over the forearm.
Interestingly Sari makes you work the short row section before joining the round at the neck. You therefore begin by knitting flat, working your raglan increases together with the lace panels until completion of the short rows. Once that’s done you cast on extra stitches for the front neck and then join the round. It’s a construction method I never came across before but which makes sense here as knitting the short rows straight after joining the round would be a bit fiddly.
Rauwerk Sport is a woolen spun 100% merino yarn witch a sticky handle. To knit lace I would have instinctively gone for a yarn with more drape like a worsted spun or a super wash. Rauwerk has proven me wrong as it was able to highlight the motif very well. The control gained from its sticky handle was also a big plus. It made the stitches grip to each other better and so they were less likely to drop and unravel. Although it wasn’t a speedy knit the chart was relatively easy to follow.
Note that woolen spuns grow quite noticeably during blocking. This phenomenon also known as blooming corresponds to the wool fibre readjusting within the space available. Woolen spuns are therefore easily adaptable and can work with a wide range of different gauges. My Poet was knitted on a 4.00 mm needle and the gauge was closer to a DK rather than a sport. This is a yarn that I would confidently recommend for any kind of DK projects.
Poet reminded me how much I enjoy knitting lace. Rauwerk was a real treat to work with and I am glad I did get to try it out. If you’re interested in learning more about this all-organic yarn here is a link to the review and interview we published over the summer.
Until Next Time… Happy Knitting!
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