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Sunday 27 September 2020

Knitted Aran Jacket

The Beryl Jacket by Wensleydale Longwool took me two years to track down. 

I know two people who have made this and I coveted it.  It looks really smart and warm and classy.

The two people said they no longer had the pattern.  I went to a wool festival and they were selling a complete kit with their wool which I could not justify or afford frankly.

At last years Knit and Stitch show they were selling the pattern on its own for a humble £4.  Yeahhhh.

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The wool I used was half the price.  ‘Wendy, with wool tweed Aran’.  It has little flecks of other colours in it.  Bought from Liz and Lisa at Pendle Stitches in Clitheroe.

The whole thing is moss stitch (knit one, purl one AKA Seed Stitch), so I had to learn increasing and decreasing in Moss Stitch.  The Inc and Dec stitches made a lovely pattern on the edge of the raglan sleeve. 

The collar emerges out of the front pieces and makes an S shape to curve along the raglan and around the collar, joining at the back.

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Sewing together the raglan sleeve.

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It was a big beast when it was finished and took some sewing.

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I used plastic clips to align the edges before sewing.

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Normally I would back stitch a garment together, but after much searching on the internet I settled on a kind of ladder stitch, which used the ditch between the first and second stitches on a row.  Using every row to meter out the stitches correctly.  Then drawing the two pieces together to make a seamless edge on the outside and a neat line on the inside, which was less bulky than back stitch.

We were in Conwy (North Wales) when I was stitching it together and there is not a shop which sold buttons to suit.

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These buttons were bought in Llandudno, and are reminiscent of the leather patch buttons my mum used to use on cream Aran garments when I was young.  They have a pleasing swirl design on them.  If I find any better in the future I will replace them, but they are great for now.

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The front.  Before buttons.

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The back.

The sleeves are a bit long, but any decision about those will wait until after the first wash.

Definitely the hardest and most time consuming item I have made so far.  It took well over 6 months.  All through lockdown, I spent many happy hours sat in the sunshine behind the house keeping it going.

Moss Stitch is pretty unforgiving on the hands too and I now have Trigger Thumb, which is getting better slowly.

Was it worth it, Yes.

Would I make another, Yes.  But I will make the next one with the correct wool.  Mine is a little chunky compared to the others. It is very warm too.

But I love it.

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