Good morning! It’s Rip it Up pattern release day and, happily, after a couple of days without power here in Kintyre, we are fully back online. Perhaps appropriately, given the wild autumn weather, today’s design has a post-apocalyptic theme: After the Flood.
After the Flood is a textured, cocooning cardigan that’s worked from the top-down.
While the cardigan’s back is worked in plain stockinette . . .
. . the two fronts feature the quick-to-memorise twisted-stitch pattern that you might recognise from last week’s releases, Veedon Fleece and Heid Hunter (which I’m also wearing in these photos).
There are several things I enjoy about After the Flood . . .
First and foremost, this is a super-straightforward knit, and because of the way that it’s constructed and made, any finishing you need to do at the end is absolutely minimal.
The two front pieces are picked up from the back shoulders; everything is joined on as you go, and the openings are finished with a neat and nifty corded edge (which means there’s no rib or trim for you to pick up at the end).
Just a couple of ends to weave in, and a quick block, and your cardigan is ready to wear!
I really like this cocooning shape, which I find very comfortable and wearable and which is quite similar to the style of St Catherines (one of my all-time favourite cardigan designs, which has a rather different construction).
This shape is roomy and cropped, and has a hi-lo thing going on, in which the back sits a couple of inches deeper than the front: a consequence both of the short rows (which are worked right at the beginning of the piece) and this particular style of neckline (which naturally draws the fronts in across the body).
There are no front fastenings: left open, the cardigan is naturally rather swingy
. . but, when needed, a single shawl pin or brooch will do the job of ensuring the two fronts sit in place.
. . . whatever the weather is likely to throw at you, on a windy Kintyre autumn day.
We had to take shelter between some very blustery showers during this shoot, but were rewarded for our efforts by a rainbow . . .
. . . which, given the cardigan’s name and inspiration, seemed entirely appropriate.
After the Flood is the name of a track on an LP that I’ve loved ever since I bought it on vinyl in 1991: Talk Talk’s Laughing Stock. So Laughing Stock is this week’s classic album: you’ll find it widely available on whichever streaming service you prefer to use, and if you’ve never heard it I suspect it might not be what you expected. I’ve had this album on hard rotation in my collection for 35 years, and still find it great to knit (and think) to — why not give it a listen?
Those of you who liked the very particular hand-dyed shade which KC and I created for last week’s pattern releases, Veedon Fleece and Heid Hunter, will no doubt have noticed that I’ve used “For You Blue” for After the Flood also.
Hand-dyeing yarn is a skilled and laborious business which makes these kits rather expensive, as well as few in number. KC has done a lot of dyeing in preparation for this release, and we currently have kits in the shop in all sizes, but please do be aware that stock is very limited.
For many years now, I’ve been knitting pretty much exclusively with our own commercially-produced yarn ranges: the dyed shades of Milarrochy Tweed and Schiehallion, as well as the natural ones of Ooskit. I’m sure the majority of you knit with hand-dyed skeins pretty routinely, but for me, knitting with this gorgeous yarn has been an unusual and genuine treat. I love the slight variegation and depth of colour KC has managed to achieve, and what a thrill it has been to be involved in the bespoke creation of what really is (for me, at least) the perfect blue.
After the Flood will also work brilliantly in any non-hand-dyed shade of Schiehallion or Ooskit, of course, as well as countless other sportweight or DK yarns that knit to gauge. I look forward to seeing what you make! And if you’d like the pattern to knit yourself an After the Flood cardigan, the Rip it Up club remains open for new subscribers. As a club member, you’ll receive all of our already-released designs, as well as all of those to come through November and December. There’s also the Rip it Up print book to look forward to in the new year, and the club represents a considerable saving (of more than £50) when compared to purchasing these individual patterns separately. You’ll also receive a 10% discount on all KDD shop purchases for the duration of the club. If you’ve not already done so, there’s still time to join us!
Join the Rip it Up and Start Again Club here!
Enjoy your day, and I’ll be back soon (post-apocalyptic weather permitting) with your Rip it Up Sunday essay!
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