Pattern now available!
As promised, here are some more photos of the Cambia Capelet. I took advantage of the recent snowfalls, which provided a pretty background for pictures, but in fact I think Cambia is really perfect for fall or early spring, when it makes a great outer later.
Having said that, I've been throwing it on inside the house when I feel a bit of a chill, and it's been wonderful! I can still knit or work at my computer while wearing it, and with no front or back (and no right or wrong side-- it can be worn with either side facing out), it couldn't be easier.
And I think it's quite flattering. The wide neck opening frames the face nicely, and keeps the wool from touching the neck-- a plus for those of us with sensitive skin. It's sized so that it fits comfortably (not tightly) over bust and arms, but without a lot of ease; the above-elbow length and the stretch of the fabric are what make it work (although if you're planning to shoot baskets, or hail a cab, you might want to wear it over just one shoulder, or as a skirt!*).
I should mention that the sample pictured differs slightly from the pattern version: in the pattern, for all girls' sizes and for women's sizes XS-L, there are 2 additional stitches in each purl section (between cables), and for women's sizes 1X and 2X, there are 3 additional stitches. The photo below shows a swatch with the 2 added purl stitches, superimposed over the sample capelet.
Why the change? Well, each yoke-shaping decrease removes one purl stitch from between the cables, and when I started grading the pattern for different sizes, I quickly realized that this method wouldn't get the neck opening small enough for sizes L-3X.
The reason this was only a problem in the larger sizes is that the increases in bust and arm circumferences with each size are not proportional to the increase in cross back (shoulder width), which changes only an inch from sizes L to 3X. I didn't think the capelet would look right if the upper edge didn't fall inside the ends of the shoulders (even though this would also mean that in sizes 1X and 2X, the over-one-shoulder and skirt options would not work-- the upper edge circumference just would not be large enough).
So my only choice was to start with more stitches in each purl section, and I reluctantly decided not to offer a size 3X, which would have required adding 5 stitches to each purl section (compared to the pictured capelet) to achieve the shaping I wanted.
Other than the cables being slightly farther apart in the pattern vs. the pictured version, the other difference, in women's sizes XS and S ONLY, is that the neck opening will be slightly smaller than pictured (about 2" smaller in size S). It will still be a wide boat neck in all sizes, and should still allow the capelet to be worn as a skirt or over one shoulder (except for sizes 1X and 2X).
I'm working right now on a sample for size 2-4, from the final pattern, so hopefully I'll soon have photos of the girls' version of Cambia!
*Except for sizes 1X and 2X-- see text for explanation.
Comments