Welcome back to the second part of this Unite/Reunite blog post! The Reunite cardigan was released yesterday, completing the penultimate pattern release in the Something to Knit Together Winter Edition. You may well have seen the photos already, but if not, here they are! Jen has paired the cornflower blue Reunite cardigan with some cheerful orange dungarees. Reunite is a beautiful and versatile layering piece, showcasing a cabled texture knitted in the same easy rhythm as the other collection pieces.
I also promised to talk about pattern hacking today, so read on to see what else can be done with the Reunite/Unite patterns – and snap up a free gift!
I may or may not have mentioned this a few times already 😉 , but the stitch patterns in the collection are all interchangeable, and one of the reasons I designed them to be so involves the sweater/cardigan option. I wanted to give knitters the opportunity to substitute any of the other stitch patterns if they opted to knit both the jumper and cardigan, and so far I’m glad I did! For my part, I took a while deciding on a colour for the cardigan sample, but in the end I chose this beautiful blue (this has since completely sold out). That didn’t stop me thinking about the other gorgeous colours in the Something to Knit with Aran range, and ultimately I was too weak to resist…
I will be knitting a jumper with this Lawn green yarn (the main subject of my Modified Choice colourway in the Everything kit) that borrows the texture of the Assembly scarf. Whilst waiting for the yarn to arrive in these turbulent times, I got nearly halfway through another cardigan. This is knitted in charcoal grey yarn from my stash, and so far there’s a completed back and a sleeve:
In this variation I have kept the cables twisting in the same direction as per the original pattern. However, as you can see (this may also have been mentioned earlier), there is an even number of cables, so half of them can be made to twist left instead of right. It’s a subtle change, but one that a few knitters have done with their projects (if Ravelry is accessible/user-friendly to you, you can view the Assembly scarf project page at this link) and achieved relatively easily.
The sleeve chart pattern has also been reset in the pattern hack; on the original pattern there is a central cable running into the shoulder seam, but I have readjusted it so that there’s a textured panel in the middle. If you’re keen on knitting symmetrical sleeve cables on the Unite/Reunite patterns as they stand, without using the extra charts, one idea is to have left twisting cables on one sleeve and right twisting cables on the other. That way the cable twists will ‘move’ around your body in the same direction, and you can choose a left or right sleeve according to how you tweaked the cables on the body. It’s a beautiful detail that you’ll definitely appreciate when you see the garment laid flat.
If this is something you’d like to have a go at, I’ve prepared some charts that you can use in conjunction with your purchased pattern to substitute the other textures, and you can access them by using the contact form below. Initially I considered creating a password-protected download, but it’s too much faff for a Friday and there are too many WordPress plugins to choose from, so here’s a form instead! Just send it to me including your email address, proof that you’ve purchased the Something to Knit Together Winter Edition, and I’ll reply with the pattern hack charts.
Above you can see just how far I have(n’t) got with the green jumper; in the photo on the left I’ve zoomed in on the centre so that you can see the symmetrical cables in the centre. I’ll share ongoing progress of this project on Instagram, but I’ll bring it back to the blog when it’s finished. I’m hoping to have it done in time for spring, so wish me luck!
Because of the double post this week and Vogue Knitting Live next week, I’ll be back on Wednesday 20th January to introduce the final pattern in the collection. I’ll leave you with an outtake of me in the Reunite cardigan saying hello to a friendly passer-by – see you soon, and happy knitting!
