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Yarn bought from The House of Hemp, at the 2003 Knitting and Stitching Show. Each skein is 100g and cost £7. It is 2-ply and quite thin. I will probably use needles somewhere around 3mm.

I am planning to knit this sideways in stocking stitch so I can have nice wide vertical stripes. I will have to do a bit of maths to make sure that the colour joins work smoothly:

• on each shoulder seam
• at the side seam where I start and finish knitting
• where I join the sleeves to the body (this is the least important one)

A V-neck would be nice but possibly impractical for sideways knitting.

Swatch

Knitted on 2mm needles. Before washing, 24 stitches and 48 rows per 10cm square. After machine-washing and drying flat, 32 stitches and 48 rows per 10cm square. I'm going to assume a gauge of 30 stitches and 48 rows, to allow for a little stretching with wear (remember that the rows are the horizontal direction and the stitches the vertical, since this is knitted sideways). I think I may have counted the rows a bit wrong though (they weren't very well defined) since while knitting the back and actually counting the rows I'm getting more like 54 rows per 10cm.

The pattern

Use 2mm needles. The yarn is 2-ply hemp yarn in 6 colours: A, B, C, D, E, F. Size: one size fits Kake.

Back

Use the long-tail cast-on for a stretchy edge. Throughout these directions, work a chain selvedge on both sides, and wrap the next stitch after a short row. The back is worked left to right.

Cast on 90 stitches in colour A. This strip uses [short rows]? to form the waist shaping.

• Row 1: P to end
• Rows 1a, b, c, d: K4, turn, P4, turn, K8, turn, P8, turn
• Row 2: K to end
• Rows 2a, b, c, d: P20, turn, K20, turn, P22, turn, K22, turn
• Row 3: P to end
• Rows 3a, b: K12, turn, P12, turn
• Row 4: K to end
• Rows 4a, b: P24, turn, K24, turn
• Row 5: P to end
• Rows 5a, b, c, d: K16, turn, P16, turn, K20, turn, P20, turn
• Row 6: K to end
• Rows 6a, b, c, d: P26, turn, K26, turn, P28, turn, K28, turn
• Row 7: P to end
• Rows 7a, b: K24, turn, P24, turn
• Row 8: K to end
• Rows 8a, b: P30, turn, K30, turn
• Row 9: P to end
• Rows 9a, b, c, d: K28, turn, P28, turn, K32, turn, P32, turn
• Row 10: K to end
• Rows 10a, b, c, d: P32, turn, K32, turn, P34, turn, K34, turn
• Row 11: P to end
• Rows 11a, b: K36, turn, P36, turn
• Row 12: K to end
• Rows 12a, b: P36, turn, K36, turn
• Row 13: P to end

Change yarn to colour B. This strip takes care of the armhole shaping and also begins the hem shaping.

• Rows 1-27: Work in stocking stitch, increasing one stitch at the hem end every three rows (start of the row on K rows, end of the row on P rows). I'm making the increases four stitches in, so I can keep my nice chain selvedge, and I'm using invisible increases.
• Cast on 75 stitches
• Rows 28-54: Continue to work in stocking stitch and increasing one stitch at the hem end every three rows.

Change yarn to colour C. This strip continues the hem shaping at a slightly slower rate.

See Also: Kake's Projects