I cast on for a Wheatsheaf Sweater to go with the Wheatsheaf Poncho. It’s a V neck sweater and I’m knitting the Aline version, not least to match my own shape as I’m bottom heavy or pear shaped. I am using Stylecraft Special Aran with Wool in the Oatmeal colourway. I’ll be writing the pattern to work in the round (bottom up) and also a seamed version. I have talked before about how seams add strength and structure to a garment, they also stop it moving around the body when worn.
I also had to consider the cable pattern and what impact that would have on the fabric of the sweater. Because the cable pattern uses more stitches per 4 inches/10cm, I had to add extra stitches to maintain the correct width of each piece of the sweater. That was easy for the sleeves and back of the sweater as they only have one central cable panel. However, on the front which has two cable panels, it required thought to centre the cables, add some stitches between them to make a seam stitch either side of the V neck.
Shoulders and Fit
I do like the trend for drop shoulder sweaters, but with slimmer shoulders and a larger lower body, it’s not a good look for my body shape. I decided to go with the Modified Drop Shoulder, I’ll add a diagram below this section so you can see what that means.
Drop Shoulders typically have the seam part way down the arm, which can be unflattering for those with slim or narrow shoulders as the jumper looks like it’s falling off the body and you end up with a large amount of fabric under the arms.
A modified drop shoulder, in this case, has the seam moved in to sit on my shoulder line, the sleeves are extended to match the difference between the underarm position and the new shoulder/armhole line. The solid line at the top of the sleeve shows the extra length added to the sleeve to ‘fill’ the armhole area but keep the shoulder seam where I want it to be.
Wheatsheaf Sweater body showing modified drop shoulder line, v neck and aline body shapingWheatsheaf Sweater sleeve schematick, you’ll see the sleeve is longer, the portion above the solid line at the top of the sleeve is the extension which fills the armhole gap.
Wheatsheaf Sweater Sleeves
The photo below shows both sleeves, on in progress, the other completed and blocked, they are worked flat for my prototype garment, but the pattern will be written to include instructions for working in the round too!
Sleeve two showing the first repeat of the cable pattern in the centre of the sleeve. The sleeve is shown with a 400g ball of the Stylecraft Special Aran with wool in the oatmeal colourway
I’ll be starting the test knit for the sweater pattern on the 20th February, if you’re interested, do sign up in the test volunteer thread to receive an earburn/message when the test starts, here. Or, sign up for our newsletter here.
Suitable yarns for the Wheatsheaf Sweater
You need an Aran weight or heavy worsted weight yarn. Cascade 220, Berroco Vintage or Vanna’s Choice would be suitable or any Aran weight yarn. I used Stylecraft Special Aran with Wool because it’s affordable and machine washable.
It’s finished, done, no more knitting on my Wheatsheaf Poncho. The buttons are sewn on, for the third time and ALL the ends are woven in. I am so pleased. Please excuse the photos, my hair is at that annoying stage where I don’t seem to be able to do anything with it.
Wheatsheaf Poncho worn by Loraine.
Loraine is looking past the camera and wearing a Spruce green poncho, the Wheatsheaf cable runs up one edge of the poncho and it is fastened on one shoulder/arm. The yarn is Stylecraft Special Aran with wool and is a heathered mix of Teal and Khaki.
I’m a UK size 20 (Covid fluff, enough said) and wearing the XL sized Poncho, it took just over 472g of yarn but as always, I add at least 10% to the yardage/usage in the pattern to allow for different knitting styles.
Who is the pattern for? I’m a busy Mum, I work, I’m a Parish Councillor, volunteer Director of our local Housing Association and seem to always have something to do. While I love complex cables and fancy lace patterns, I sometimes just need a project I can pick up and knit a few rows when I have time. The Poncho is mostly stocking stitch but the cable pattern adds enough interest to make you want to knit more rows to see the next bit.
It’s a relaxing and easy TV knit for nights in with the family and perfect to soothe your shattered nerves after a day of cooking, cleaning, home-schooling, shopping and making sure everyone else is fine. It’s also a nice warm project for those days you have to watch the kids at dance class, football or other activities when you’re the Taxi as well as Mum.
There are no bands or borders to pick up. The icord and ribbed bands are knitted as you go, absolutely no picking up of stitches, no faff, no cutting yarn or working in different directions. It’s super easy.
I had a drama with the buttons, the first set, sewn on with a Hobbit needle and Mermaid hair were too small and the poncho fell off me. I found larger buttons. Spent another 30 minutes trying to thread the wrong end of the Hobbit needle because I couldn’t see the hole, the Mermaid hair was so thin and fine I was ready to scream. I found my reading glasses and put on every light in the living room, honestly, the heat it generated must have had the Police thinking I was growing a cannabis crop.
Button set two were also too small and I didn’t have enough of one colour. I ended up ordering larger buttons and they are PERFECT. That said, there may have been some swearing while I battled with needles and fine thread.
To be fair, my buttons stash was used to make NHS ear/mask savers, but I’d forgotten all about that when I went hunting for buttons.
Poncho Sizing
The Wheatsheaf poncho pattern is sized from S/M through to 4XL and is easy to adjust to fit by either casting on more stitches in the stocking stitch part of the poncho (the middle of the cast on) for width or adding cable repeats for more length. It is worked in a rectangle and bottom up (if the rectangle is laid flat). Unlike most of it’s style which are knitted sideways.
It’s a versatile piece and a relaxing TV knit so you have enough interest from the ‘one more row’ cables but also can just chill in the stocking stitch portions.
I’m including photos of the poncho on Vicky, my tailor’s dummy who is smaller than I am, but you get the idea. I can be buttoned top to bottom to make a long tube with buttons either end, this create sleeves with the middle section being the body of a shrug.
If you button one side to the other, as shown in the photo above, you can wear it like a poncho as I have, or move the buttoned section to the centre front like cardigan/cape.
Wheatsheaf Poncho worn by Vicky, the tailor’s dummy. The buttons are fastened at the front to wear as a cape. These are the second set of buttons, the final ones match the yarn.
The pattern will be released on 14th March, if you’d like a special subscriber only discount code, sign up for our newsletter here. It’s easy to adjust in width (the long edge of the rectangle) or height/length (the short edges with the cables) by adding or subtracting cable repeats.
Sign up for our newsletter to get an exclusive launch discount of 30% when the pattern is released.
Wheatsheaf Poncho Gallery
Wheatsheaf Poncho in green worn by Loraine who is a 45″ bust.
Vicky wearing the poncho, she’s a 38 bust.
Wheatsheaf poncho worn like a cape with buttons to the front.
Sleeves buttoned to wear as a shrug
Poncho folded lengthways and buttoned top to bottom to create sleeves
Suitable yarns for knitting the Wheatsheaf Poncho
Any aran weight yarn should work, the important thing is to achieve 17 sts per 4 inch/10cm. I used 5.5mm needles and it gave good drape with my Stylecraft Special Aran with Wool yarn. I used the Spruce colour way which is a mix of a muted teal and khaki to create a heathered green. I love it.
What’s on my needles, is it a poncho, a wrap, a bolero or a blanket?
After a conversation with a good friend, Helen, she talked to me about a poncho she wears a lot. It’s not a garment style that I have in my wardrobe but it’s been on my list to make one for several years.
We chatted about shapes and styles that are flattering, particularly for plus size sizes and I was keen to design a poncho that was versatile. But, also an easy knit for someone new to cables, with stocking stitch sections for an easy TV knit. That would be your go-to for an extra layer on cooler days, evenings or at the park with the kids when the breeze is a bit more than you expected.
I didn’t want to work the piece bottom up and I’ll explain my reasons why. If you aren’t a shawl knitter, a sweater or cardigan knitter, it can be daunting to be asked to cast on a lot of stitches. I almost always use longtail or the thumb cast on which uses the tail of the yarn and the working yarn to effectively knit your first row as you make your stitches.
If you’re familiar with it, you’ll have had the experience of being short of yarn, or having too long a tail at the end. As I knew I’d have to cast on a lot of stitches, I used a piece of yarn from two balls, one for the ‘tail’ and one for the working yarn. At the end of the cast on, and having counted my stitches very carefully, I cut the tail, leaving an end to weave in and worked a wrong side (WS) row with the ball that is now my working yarn.
Why working the poncho one piece sideways wouldn’t work
My other option was to work the Wheatsheaf Cable section to the height I needed, and pick up stitches for the stocking stitch portion of the poncho. I wanted to add buttons and buttonholes, to give you several ways to wear your poncho. That would mean picking up stitches for borders, adding edgings and a lot of faffing about. It would be an interesting and more advanced piece to knit, but how many people would want to knit it knowing the work involved?
Here’s my swatch, showing an icord cast on, an icord end to the cable, side border with icord knitted at the same time and stitches (on the left of the photo) picked up to work sideways from the cable section to make the rectangular piece. It uses different directions, picking up stitches, adding applied icord to finish one edge and an icord cast on for the lower edge of the cable. It’s hard to make it match and have some symmetry.
Knitting a wide Poncho bottom up and why?
Why I’m knitting my Poncho bottom up and why that’s a far better idea. The icord edgings I want to give the piece finesse and a neat edge can be knitted at the same time as the rest of the poncho. The button bands and buttonholes are also knitted as you go. The side borders can also have buttonholes if you wish to wear the piece folded like an asymmetric poncho and create the illusion of cuffs.
Working bottom up, even with a lot of stitches, is as easy as knitting a simple shawl, once the knitting is finished, you add buttons, weave in ends and you are done. No picking up, no fancy finishing. If you don’t want to add buttons, you can just fold the piece and seam it closed and only wear it two ways. If you take the time to add a few buttons (super easy) then you have at least three ways to wear the poncho, maybe more.
Ways to wear the poncho, rough sketches over some designers croquis.
The Wheatsheaf Poncho after two vertical repeats of the cable pattern
Poncho laid flat on a wooden background, knitted using Addi 5.5mm circular needle and Stylecraft Special Aran with Wool in Spruce, a blue/green. The poncho has a decorative cable on the right and left of the wide rectangular piece.
What’s next with the poncho pattern and testing?
We’ve been thinking of events and Knit Alongs/Crochet Alongs (KALs/CALs) to have during the year to keep everyone entertained and another designer in our group is also working on a poncho pattern. Our plan is start at the end of January (Sunday 31st) and the Poncho Along will end on 30th April. I’ll have the pattern ready to test and any of my testers can take part in the Poncho Along, with their garment.
Linnutee (Estonian for Milky Way, however the direct translation would be A Birds Path) is a cute tee specially designed for gradient yarn cakes or mini skein sets. It would also be a great way to use up those self striping yarns you aren’t sure how to use.
It is completely sized to fit each part of your body, from the hips to the shoulders. If you have trouble getting your sweaters to fit, this book is for you!
I’ve knitted this myself to test the pattern for Emma, it’s easy, relaxing and a great way to use up scraps of sock or sport weight yarns to knit a very lightweight but super warm sweater for cool days and nights.
I love the collar on this cardigan, but suggest you look at other projects for this garment on Ravelry as the designers photos, whilst beautiful, are really dark and are very hard to see.
The body of the cardigan is worked in a lovely lace-pattern. The sleeves are worked in stockinette sts, and could be worked to any length. The hems of the body/sleeves are folded back. The cardigan is supposed to be roomy and comfortable, with it’s rounded neck, and box-shaped body.
Part poncho, part pullover, and all pretty with flattering ombre neckline and an elaborate and large floral motif around the yoke. Knitted in sport weight yarn and perfect for mini skins, gradient sets or self stripers.
I love the mustard colour at the start of the top down yoke on this one, a beautiful contrast to the crisp cream and navy. Knitted in DK for a relatively quick knit.
The pullover is knitted from side to side in one piece beginning with a provisional cast-on. Pockets are cleverly knit in. Cowl and ribbing at hem are picked up and knitted. Sleeves are knitted from the top in the round, and sleeve caps are shaped with short rows.
Once Again is a top-down, pullover sweater; knit in-the-round with a stranded yoke that is coupled with simple cable stitches. Short rows are used to shape the neckline after the yoke pattern is completed.
Utmost Happiness sweater is worked seamlessly top-down. After a ribbing for neckband and set of short rows to raise the back of the sweater, a round yoke is decorated with an elaborate cable pattern achieved with mosaic knitting.
Two colour stranded knitting, simple but stunning. I love the use of a variegated yarn and a great way to use those pesky skeins with lots of pattern or colour.
Indie Gift Along 2020 my WIPs, FOs and plans for December knitting and crochet.
I cast on the Ronan Cardigan by Tiona Murphy for the Gift Along, it’s going to my friends Ben and Kelly for their new baby boy who was born a few weeks ago. I used Stylecraft Special Aran with Wool in the Denim colourway and it works well with the cables. It’s also machine wash for a new and busy Mum of two.
I’m also sending them a couple of cotton burp cloths from a pattern by my good friend Emma Sadler, it’s called Muzies.
I have wanted to knit Alameda by Clarice Gomes since I saw her knitting the sample in a beautiful green colour when we met on a Saturday night Zoom knit and natter which we both go to. It’s absolutely stunning and I love it so much. I’m using Lanas Stop Bambini in the Linen colourway. You can buy that yarn here. I’ve knitted a bit more since then and will add another photo to the project page, click the image below to see more info.
This is Clarice’s sample
I did another crochet test of a pattern for Lillinette Crochet of her Ilsan pattern, you can make two of the squares and join them to make a Biscornu which is a clever construction and makes a very pretty pin cushion. I used scraps of DK sparkly yarn in silver grey, purple and magenta.
I cast on for the CareAway Shawl, I’m not sure I made the best yarn choice, but I do absolutely love the colours, it’s a creamy white, a light grey and a mustard yellow and is called Skittles. The yarn is Stylecraft Bambino DK.
Woolly Madly Deeply Ltd
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