I’m super smitten with Julie Weisenberger’s latest little sweater, Eva. With its cropped length and open sides, it sits somewhere in between a shawl and a cardigan. I’m not 100% sure I’d like how it sits on my frame, but I like it enough I think I’m very likely going to find out. It just seems like such a simple little throw-over-anything sort of sweater, and I love the funkiness of the dangling ties. (I like it less with them actually tied.) Given that I’ve been saying for a couple of summers now that I’m eager to try her top-down set-in-sleeve method, I’m thinking this may be the one I actually knit.
The abbreviated scale of it makes me willing to tackle a fingering-weight sweater, albeit knitted on US5 needles, but a sweater quantity of fingering is the last thing you’ll find sitting in my stash. So in addition to giving me a chance to try out her method, it may also be the chance to knit with BC Garn Bio Balance, one of the yarns on my Nashville-friendly blends list. Will swatch and see!
.
PREVIOUSLY in New Favorites: Over-the-top tams
Very sweet…just enough for summer…
Yep, definitely a season spanner here.
Her top down method is brilliant. I made one of her cardigans and marvelled at what a clever and neat construction she has developed. I would make more of her patterns if I suited cropped clothing.
She’s got several patterns (using this method) that aren’t cropped — https://www.ravelry.com/designers/julie-weisenberger
I fell in love with Eva. I’m going to swatch with some YOTH Best Friend and see what happens!
Ooh, good call.
ooh, I wanna try Bio Balance, too
This reminds me of an aran-weight cardigan I have knitted twice from a pattern in Vogue (Designer) Knitting 200? – in that one the sides are joined but the bottom hem is split and the front dangly bits are asymmetric (one side is both wider and longer than the other) and cabled. I have a feeling it might be by Norah Gaughan. I liked both versions and it might be time to knit it again.
Interesting! That’s not ringing any specific bells for me, but does sound Norah-ish.
https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/31-cabled-cardigan
Yes! It is Norah Gaughan. Not only that, but I cast on a swatch for it last night and I think my third version of it is desperate to be born! It’s actually more a worstead-weight than aran, nice and warm without being too heavy. I still love this pattern to bits.
I bought this pattern over the weekend. I think it will be beautiful with my little black dress in a cashmere/silk combo…
i fell for this design too (i knitted a Cocoknits Antonia/Antony-Maddermade Uniform mash up this winter and it was very fun!) but i balked a bit when I read that the pattern includes references to page numbers in the book. I’m waiting to for people to start making these to see if I understood that correctly. (I’m hoping it just references pages in the book for extra help). It seems like a lot to have to buy both. (Am I being cheap?)
I saw that too, and had the same concerns, so I messaged the designer on Ravelry… her reply was as follows:
“It is possible to knit Eva without the Cocoknits Sweater Workshop book, it is a complete pattern on it’s own. However it does reference the book. We strongly recommend having the book because it teaches the Cocoknits Method for knitting top-down seamless sweaters, including the worksheet used for all the patterns and specific techniques referenced in the pattern. If you would like to attempt to knit Eva without the book, you absolutely can. And to help, check out the Knit Tutorials page on our site and filter to “Cocoknits Method” for tutorials of the techniques you’ll need.
this is so helpful! (and why didn’t i think to do this! Thank you for sharing such helpful info).
i love the outfit–the one piece under the cardy is a great fabric, shape, design, and color :)
The really neat thing about knitting is that you can turn a cropped sweater into a hip length sweater. And you can turn a sweater with cool swingy bits into a sweater without those same pieces. I have knit 4 Cocoknits patterns and they are terrific. The shoulders fit beautifully as they are tailored and neat. And yes you need the book. But, its well worth the expense the method can be used to re-work patterns written top-down by many other designers.
Not sure about the “dangly bits” – otherwise, very cute and perfect for Nashville weather, I think. (says someone who has never been there and lives in the beautiful climate of the West Coast)!