Knitting -- Dovrekofta

So a long time ago I posted about this pattern on Arne and Carlos' site and then I went looking for it on the web. I used Google Lens to find the actual pattern in an archive online. 

I had to finish some other projects first but I finally got around to it and I have several tips.

I worked it in Palette which is a fingering yarn.  Use a neutral color and a contrasting color. I used cream and rouge.

I changed it into a jumper instead of a sweater. The stitch count for the square-and-hexagon around the bottom is 28. Since this is like Fair Isle, you need more stitches than you normally would, because the fabric has less give than a one-color pattern. So cast on 308 not 280, which gives 11 repeats. For the sleeves, cast on 78, then increase to 84 when you're done with the cuff.

Work a 20 round K1/P1 rib; work 20 rounds above the cast on in the cuff as well.

Don't work steeking; work in the flat above the underarms for 60 rows. Don't do a mid-back elevation.. Work a K1/P1 neck for 14 rounds.

To stay in pattern when you make increases for the sleeves, you may want to add 8 stitches at a time. 

Increase 3 times in 160 rounds to get to 120 stitches at the top of the sleeve as follows:

In a "cream" round, after the marker, K1, KF/B, KF/B and work around. work KF/B, KF/B K1 before the marker.

Now it depends on what your last set of box/checkerboards was. You must have a checkerboard over a box and vice versa. So if there was a box in the last set it has to have a checkerboard above it, and you have to make a box.

Do it this way: K1 in "cream" after the marker; KF/B in "rouge", KF in "rouge", KB in "cream". The KB should be above the K1 in "cream" before the box. Now knit your checkerboard above your box.

If you have to have a checkerboard after the marker, K1 in "cream" after the marker, KF in "rouge", KB in "cream", repeat this, then K1 in "cream" and work the box above the checkerboard.

And do this in reverse at the other end of the round before the marker, except that you don't need the last "cream" because you are going to knit a "cream" at the start of the round.

It isn't pretty but it's on the underside of the sleeve. If you want to avoid this, you have to either increase like on Fair Isle with patches of "rouge" as you slowly increase, or you have to cast on extra stitches in the "rouge" round after the square and hexagon band. It's up to you.

You can do the cuffs with the rolled cuff or the cast on and straight to the K1/P1 rib. 

This is a pattern where you have to sew the sleeves to the body, as shown in the pamphlet.

IMPORTANT: If you think you see that the tops of the sleeves look darker than the body, you're right. I hadn't blocked this when I took the photo. That may help. But the BIG TIP is, make sure you always keep your color and your neutral in the same hand the whole time you work. If you start with your neutral in your right hand, always have the color in your left hand.

I'm working on matching socks because I wanted to try the eye of partridge stitch and I'll post when I'm done because I can give you tips on how to do the closed toe for a toe-up sock in the round.

Next month I'll have another old-fashioned pattern for you -- not an ancient traditional pattern but one that people used to knit tops for their kids in about 60 years ago.