Elven Armor Pullover

The Fellowship of the Knits: the Unofficial Lord of the Rings Knitting Book, by the tireless Tanis Gray, has been released, and I'm thrilled that two of my patterns are included: the Elven Armor Pullover, and the Horse Banner Fingerless Mitts.

I wrote this post mainly as a tutorial for the construction of the Elven Armor Pullover; kudos and thanks to those who decide to knit this pattern, because it is not easy! But it is one of my favorites of my own designs: it is both wearable and unique. So I want to make the process and the pattern as easy to follow as possible.

Both of these patterns were great fun to conceive and design; having been a Lord of the Rings fan since childhood, I had read all of the books, and seen all of the movies as soon as they came out. So I started by re-watching the movies, skipping and fast-forwarding a fair amount, and looking for knitting ideas. I found the inspiration for the Elven Armor Pullover in the layered wrappings of the battle armor worn by the Elves of Rivendell, as seen both on Elrond, and on the statues guarding the entrance to that Elven outpost.

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I do enjoy a knitting design challenge, and this pullover was certainly that; first I had to figure out how to translate that wrapped look into knitting, and I quickly decided that the only way to do that was to construct a base garment, and then attach overlapping strips to it to simulate the wrapped look. I also quickly decided that the layers shown over the shoulders would make the sweater too costume-y, but the layers around the torso and lower sleeves could be both Elvish, and wearable (and beautiful) on humans.

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Then I figured out how to shape the base garment (above photos); I kept it cropped both because it made the design easier - no waist shaping, which would keep the overlapping wrappings from laying properly; and fewer wrappings - I knew these would be repetitive and tedious to work! The shaping increases and decreases are used as landmarks for placing the overlapping strips (see markers showing where strips will be attached, in photo below).

Rather than knit the strips separately and then sew them on, I decided to pick up stitches from the base garment and knit the strips onto it. This is more complicated in some ways, but it does ensure that the strips are the right length and that their shaping (yes, they had to be shaped to follow the contours of the base garment) is in the right place.  

The fact that the top strip has to follow the edge of the neckline and then pass under the arms dictated both the slope of the V-neck and the angle of the top strip, but the slope of the neckline didn't work well for the bottom edge of the front of the pullover, which is why the angle of the strips changes slightly from bottom to top. The shaping increases at the center front are spaced farther apart than the decreases along the sides, because the side decreases end just before the underarm, and the front increases extend to the bottom of the V-neck, so using these as guides for the strips ensures the correct angle for each strip. (The bottom strip is worked first, with the base garment upside down, and then the upper strips are added in sequence.) The photo above shows a couple of ways the path for picking up stitches for one of the angled strips can be marked: with removable markers, and/or by using a tapestry needle to thread a piece of waste yarn through a dozen or so of the stitches along the line between the front and side markers.

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Photos above show starting to pick up stitches for one of the strips. I recommend using a flexible, long circular needle a size smaller than that used for knitting, with a pointy needle tip, to make this process easier (all stitches for each strip will be picked up and placed on the needle before beginning to knit the strip). In the second photo, the needle tip is pointing to one of the increases that will be used as a marker for one of the strips.

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The above photos show stitches being picked up for the top strip, along the back neck and across the shoulder to the front neck. The photo below shows the line of picked up stitches for the top strip transitioning from the bottom of the V-neck across the right front towards the right underarm.

The top strip is worked in two pieces to allow it to appear to cross itself at the base of the front neck. 

Across the back, the layered strips are level, meaning that it is important NOT to cross a knitted row when picking up stitches for each strip, but rather to follow a single knitted row all the way across the back.

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The above photo shows where I tacked down the top strip, as it tended to flip up otherwise.

Also see the instructional videos I have posted on my YouTube channel, with "Elven Armor Pullover" in the title. 

Farewell, and may the blessing of Elves and Men and all Free Folk go with you. May the stars shine upon your faces! (Elrond, in The Fellowship of the Rings)

Additional notes:

Book photos courtesy of @insighteditions and @tanisknits

I do not own the rights to this pattern, so I cannot offer it for sale as an individual pattern PDF. I don't know if the publisher (Reel Ink Press) has any plans to do so. 

 

 

Comments

[Nepheleb]

Seeing Elven Armor pop up on ravelry is what made me take a closer look at (and ultimately purchase) this book!

[Angela Hahn]

Glad to hear it, the book includes lots of great patterns! Some of my favorites (besides this one and my other pattern, the Horse Banner Fingerless Mitts) are the Noble Maiden Hat, Elf Warrior Mitts, and the Elven Heritage Pullover.