Knot Bad

Knot Bad is the fourth design in my Macramé Collection, a series of designs inspired by the beautiful shapes and textures of macramé. Knot Bad features spiralling cables down the centre front of the garment, representing the designs of macramé wall hangings.

The design can be worked with short- or full-length sleeves, to suit your climate and personal preferences.

SIZING GUIDE

This garment is graded into sizes 1 (2, 3, 4, 5) (6, 7, 8, 9, 10). Recommended positive ease is 4+” / 10+ cm at the chest circumference.

Finished Garment Chest Circumference:

34.5 (38.25, 42.5, 46.25, 49.75) (54.75, 58.5, 62.26, 65.25, 68.25)“

86 (95.5, 106, 115.5, 124.5) (137, 146, 155.5, 1163, 171) cm.

SAMPLE

The wearer is 5’10” / 178 cm with a 37” / 92.5 cm chest circumference. The sample has been worked in size 4, giving the wearer 9.25” / 23 cm of positive ease at the chest. To accommodate the height of the wearer, an extra 0.5” / 1.5 cm of depth has been added to the armscye depth, and an extra 2” / 5 cm of length has been added to the body and sleeve length.

CONSTRUCTION

This garment is worked top-down, with a modified Ziggurat construction - as developed by Åsa Tricosa - for the yoke. Back and shoulder stitches are cast on first, and short row shaping is worked to shape the back of neck and slope the shoulders. Stitches are picked up around the end of the shoulders and along the front to form the front shoulders and start of the sleeves; further short row shaping is worked to slope the front shoulders. The neckhole is shaped before stitches are cast on at the front to form the neckhole and join in the round. The front of the garment features cablework. Once the cablework is completed and the yoke has been separated into body and sleeves, each are worked in stockinette, in the round, to desired length. Waistband and cuffs are finished with half-twisted ribbing; the neckhole is finished with an I-Cord neckband.

Instructions for the cable details are both charted and written out in full.

GAUGE

Using 3.25 mm / US size 3 needles, or needle size required to meet gauge, 26 stitches over 34 rounds in stockinette stitch, wet blocked, creates a 4x4” / 10x10 cm square.

YARN

The sample has been worked using Mr Birdstreet Yarn’s 4 ply base (75% Superwash Merino / 25% Nylon; 425 m / 465 yds per 100 g) in colourway Old No.7.

YARDAGE (includes ~10% excess)

1029 (1118, 1236, 1333, 1413) (1575, 1677, 1795, 1907, 1980) metres

1126 (1223, 1352, 1459, 1546) (1723, 1835, 1964, 2087, 2166) yards

242 (263, 291, 314, 333) (371, 395, 422, 449, 466) grams

TOOLS & NOTIONS

2.75 mm / US size 2 circular needles (to work neckband, cuffs and waistband; varying cable lengths would be helpful)

3.25 mm / US size 3 circular needles (to work yoke, body and sleeves; varying cable lengths would be helpful)

7 markers

scrap yarn

tapestry needle to weave in ends

SKILLS REQUIRED

-long tail cast on

-working flat

-German short row shaping

-picking up stitches along a knitted edge

-joining and working in the round

-working make one left and right increases

-reading cable charts OR cable written instructions

-working twisted knit cables

-cable cast on

-working a repeating pattern of decreases

-decreasing using K2tog and SSK

-standard bind off