design spotlight

It’s Got a Bend in it (an exuberant cardigan inspired by the catchphrase of Margery Allingham’s great novel, The Beckoning Lady (1955) is one of the most popular designs from our new Mysterious Knits collection.

The unusual construction of this design up-ends a triangular shawl, which eventually becomes a versatile wrap-around cardigan.

I very much enjoy creating designs like this, of the cosy-wrap-with-sleeves variety. These are garments that suit every body, are super-enjoyable to knit and wear, and pose interesting questions to the designer (as well as the knitter) regarding their construction. I’ve explored several different shapes when creating garments of this type and here are just a few:

Midstream is an oversized shrug whose allover slip-stitch pattern forms an airy, drapey fabric with a really lovely, nubbly texture.

This design begins by knitting a long rectangle, from side to side.

When it reaches the length of the wingspan (from wrist to wrist) the rectangle is folded . . . .

and becomes a three-dimensional envelope.

Stitches are then picked up and worked in the round. First around the front opening, neck and hem, and then around the cuffs. Ta Da!

The rectangle is now a cardigan!

You can see from Midstream’s diagram how simple this garment shape is to make. . . .

. . .and in Rowchoish (from West Highland Way) I explored a rather different rectangle-with-sleeves variant

Like Midstream, Rowchoish begins by knitting a simple rectangle, which is wrapped around the body . . .

. . . but this time the rectangle drapes around the neck and shoulders, rather than extending out from side to side.

While the draped short edges of the rectangle form the garment’s fronts, stitches are picked up from the rectangle’s long edge to create the lower back and sleeve caps.

Rowchoish has an unusual, but really interesting sleeveless shape that makes a great shawl-alternative around a chilly house, or air-conditioned office.

Here’s another unusual take on a lengthways-draped rectangle: Auchnaha.

I have a particular fondness for this design, which is included in our Argyll’s Secret Coast collection.

This cardigan is knitted bottom-up, with a scarf-like lace panel integrated into the body.

When the shoulders are reached, the lace scarf is then knitted separately, in two pieces, which extend out from each front . . .

. . . to meet at the back of the neck.

Auchnaha is an interesting knit, and a really versatile shape, which I know a lot of knitters enjoy wearing.

I was aiming for a similar combination of interest and versatility with It’s Got a Bend in it

The knitting of this design begins at the bottom of the centre back, with the familiar garter-tab cast-on that you’d use when creating a simple triangular shawl.

The back of the garment grows just like a conventional shawl, with yarnover increases around a central “spine”.

When the correct width and depth is reached, the triangle’s short edges are divided, each into two, to become the garments shoulders and front sections . . .

With a little short row shaping, angled pieces are created . . .

. . . which produce a lovely garment shape when wrapped around the body.

The use of a lighter contrast shade through the stripes at the beginning of the back produces a particularly pleasing silhouette

whether viewed from back . . .

. . .front . . .

. . . or side.

And if you are wondering how on earth I “come up” with these designs, in which weird three dimensional shapes evolve from simple two dimensional pieces, the answer very simple: I just do what all designers do, and study variants of garment construction very carefully. I discovered these particular shapes in ready-made garments in my possession, as well as patterns for knitting and sewing. None of these garment constructions is, then in any sense “original,” in other words. The only thing that makes the design “mine” is my own personal riff or take on this shape, as well as the set of clear instructions, which enable other knitters to be able to make their own fun and cosy garments.

I’m really enjoying riffing on this particular construction at the moment so watch out for new designs forthcoming from me with a similar shape and style to It’s Got a Bend in it!

Patterns mentioned in this post

Midstream, from Bold Beginner Knits

Rowchoish, from West Highland Way

Auchnaha, from Argyll’s Secret Coast

It’s Got a Bend in It, from Margery Allingham’s Mysterious Knits