Let's Make a Mapleshade!
I designed a lot of garments last year, but one of my favorites (and yours) was Mapleshade, a swingy A-line tee with a top-down raglan construction and just a little tiny bit of cable detail running down a faux side seam. It was a soothing, relaxing knit after a winter that included a lot of There Is Really A Lot of Knitting Going On Here projects, and a fun change for me to draft something with a totally different construction style to the bottom-up, seamed sweaters I frequently design.
After a long dark winter, it’s finally getting to be warm enough and bright enough to think about pulling those “spring knit” projects out of the queue and getting them on the needles, so I’m starting to think about what pieces I want in my personal summer knitwear wardrobe again. And since I (deep, dark industry secret) don't actually get to wear a lot of my samples that much (either because they live with the yarn company I worked with, or because I personally need to save them for trunk shows or teaching), I thought it was high time I had my own totally-wearable-whenever-I-feel-like-it Mapleshade, and because basically everything is more fun in groups, thus, a pretty good time for a knitalong.
So, what’s the plan? We’ll be doing a knitalong for my Mapleshade sweater for the next two months or so, starting next Friday, April 26 (though you’re welcome to go ahead and swatch now), and running through June 30, 2019. I’ll do a series of posts here and on instagram talking you through various aspects of making the sweater, and will probably weave in some theory and technique posts on topics that are closely related and/or raised by the pattern. At a minimum, we’ll talk about swatching, choosing yarn, choosing a size, raglan mechanics, working through the yoke, separating the body and sleeves, working the cables, and a variety of modification-related questions about the body and sleeve shaping. We’ll have a thread in my Ravelry group, so you can share ideas, projects, and questions. At the end, I’ll randomly draw names from the finished projects on Ravelry for a variety of prizes, which will range from free patterns to books to yarn + pattern kits.
To help us all get the ball rolling, the pattern will be 20% off in my Ravelry store from now through Friday the 26th, using the code KNITALONG. Here are all the relevant pattern specs for this one:
Size
XS (S, M, L, XL, XXL, XXXL, XXXXL); finished bust circumference 28.5 (33, 36.75, 39.75, 44.5, 47.5, 52, 55)” / 72.5 (84, 93.5, 101, 113, 120.5, 132, 139.5) cm. Pullover shown measures 36.75” / 93.5 cm with 1” / 2.5 cm positive ease.
Yarn
The Fibre Co. Luma (50% Merino, 25% organic cotton, 15% linen, 10% silk, 137 yards / 125 meters per 50 grams), 6 (6, 7, 8, 8, 9, 10, 11) skeins, or 700 (800, 900, 1000, 1100, 1200, 1300, 1400) yards / 650 (750, 850, 925, 1025, 1125, 1200, 1300) meters DK weight wool/cotton or wool/linen blend yarn. Sample shown in “Sherry.”
Gauge
21 sts and 32 rnds over 4” / 10 cm in stockinette stitch on larger needles, after blocking. 14-stitch cable panels on body measure 2” / 5 cm wide each.
Needles
32” / 80 cm or longer circular needle in size US 5 (3.75 mm), or size needed to obtain gauge, and one needle size smaller. For neckband, either one set of double-pointed needles or long circular needle for magic loop, in one needle size smaller than gauge needle.
Notions
Tapestry needle, stitch markers, cable needle (optional).
Skills Required
increasing, decreasing, picking up stitches, knitting in the round, cabling with or without a cable needle.
I hope you’ll knit along with us! As always, let me know in the comments or by e-mail if you have specific questions I can help with along the way.