Reykir and Testing

Hello!

I need to do a bit of catching up, so this will be a two-part blog post. The first part will feature my newest Icelandic-style pullover, the Reykir. Then I’ll mention my new Ravelry group and the test knit I’m running!

Ok, so first: the Reykir.

I’ve had the idea for this design in my head for years. I’ve even had the wool sitting in my stash for several years. I finally put it all together at the end of 2020, and I’m so pleased to introduce it here!

I was inspired to create this design when Knit Picks launched a new line of yarn, Simply Wool, with natural, undyed, minimally processed colorways. I really love the way these colors work together in gradation without any artificial dyes. This is exactly how many Icelandic Lopi sweater designs work as well. So much can be done by taking advantage of natural wool colors!

This design utilizes four gradated colorways in natural off-white and shades of true grey (I say this because often sheep’s grey and black are actually brown). I used Knit Picks Simply Wool Bulky in Wanda, Winkle, Wilbur, and Wordsworth (love the names!). The bulky wool knits up very quickly, yet another similarity to Alafoss Lopi (although it is not quite as heavy a gauge as the Alafoss).

I knew I wanted a simple body and sleeves so that the yoke would really pop. I also wanted to be sure this design (and all my future designs) would be size inclusive – from a 32″ (81cm) to a 64″ (163cm) chest size.

I spent quite a long time tweaking the chart for the yoke. Designing a gradated yoke takes some planning – especially when designing for such a large range of sizes, with different yoke depths. Will the gradations work out for every size? How many decreases are needed, and where to put them? How to make the pattern fit for every size?

Luckily, I was pleased with the final design after all that work.

I learned quite a bit about two-color motifs from this design. My mom also knit one of her own, and now we can match whenever we like!

I think this pullover could work well in a variety of colorways, natural or not! The colors could also be reversed so that the background is charcoal grey and the yoke fades from light to dark.

Take a quick look at the design on Ravelry for even more details.

And…speaking of Ravelry, I’ve decided to create my own Ravelry group! It feels a bit weird to do this, as if I’m somehow setting up my own fan page, but the real motive behind this new group is the ability to run test knits through it. If you are interested, come check it out, join the group, introduce yourself, and sign up for tests to get free patterns and more!

Right now I am running my first test through this new group page. I’ve had great response, and I can’t wait to see all the finished test projects and launch the pattern by the end of May! Here is a sneak peek of the design, and I’ll be posting more about it shortly:

Ok! I won’t add any more to this already hefty post! Coming up soon: I have a new design releasing in the next few weeks, in a Knit Picks collection of 1960s mod-inspired designs. This is something completely out of the ordinary for me, but I’m excited for its debut! I’ve also got at least three more designs in the works, plus a sock design to be released in the coming months. So stay tuned!