The silhouette of this jumper is right up my alley, its Ravello by Anabel Kraemer.
Loose from the waist down, neat from the boobs up, slim armed, stripey goodness. Ravello is knitted top down, quite a challenge because I am no expert when it comes to knitting. I added the lifted increases at the raglan seam to give the impression of a seam – ?why. But it does seem to give the area some stability – kudos to me eh?! Right behind me would be the Sydney Harbour Bridge if the trees didn’t keep growing!
I bought the suggested yarn which is a Holst Garn wool but the stuff kept snapping and I don’t think I’m a tight knitter at all. So after the 3rd snap I visited the ever helpful staff at Morris and Sons and bought some of their own brand Estate 4 ply. It was a perfectly behaved yarn and knitted up beautifully though I hope the bit of pilling which has started at the underarm doesn’t continue. BTW does anyone else have an aversion to the term armpits? Or is it just me?! Anyhoo, I have a whole lot of Holst Garn yarn on offer if anyone wants it. Best described as scratchy and greasy!
I know blocking is important but I didn’t and the garment sits perfectly I think. Ooooh the yellow yarn came from a knitting shop in Kelowna, Canada, years ago – never did conquer the socks! Hi there S!!

The one caveat on recommending this pattern is the stripes are knitted in the round. One can easily end up looking like a barber pole, because knitting in the round is essentially a spiral. There are all sorts of ways to get around this, I used a lifted stitch at the end of each row. A Craftsy knitting class teacher suggested carrying the stripe colour down the 4 rows, but admitted she’d prefer to knit stripes in a flat piece with side seams to hide the ends – me too. Being as I’m a novice knitter, correctly tensioning those intarsia bitties is a tad tricky and I’m not all that happy with the look of the carries.
This free short rows class on Craftsy was excellent and the tutor – Carol Feller, has a delightful irish accent to boot. She demonstrates a few ways to knit short rows in order to make increases within a knitted area similar to a dart, you then get to choose your preferred method. I do love me a Craftsy class, I use them like a TV station dedicated to my favourite pastime. Must ask them to sponsor all this free advertising I give ’em!!
I ‘d never knitted in the round before and the staff at Morris and Sons were very helpful yet again. Now I’m a ‘magic circle’ devotee – but not for stripes! I have chosen an aran type cardi for my next knit, in a delicious raspberry colour, a giant leap? Perhaps. Wish me luck, I’m diving in! I’ll leave you with a little competition. Here’s the photo, your job is to suggest a caption!
Thanks for the shout out! You know, I have never been to Kelowna.
This is a great jumper and interesting to read about your knitting in the round experience. I have to admit that I still don’t like knitting in the round. Each time I do it I find it a pain to drag the whole sweater around and keep my tension nice and even. I knit more evenly when I knit flat…and it just makes more sense to me. I wish I had the attention span for those nice Craftsy classes…
You know, my creativity has departed me today but all I can think is that those plants look like great hair. I don’t know why!
Thats funny S, they are an Aussie native plant and were marketed as Cousin It! I’ve cast on a cardi – my first, diving in!
Great looking sweater, a versitie addition to your wardrobe. I am also a fan of Craftsy. Rosemary
Thanks fabricfan, yes quite a useful jumper. I only wish it wasn’t developing a hole in the elbow – think I caught just part of a stitch rather than the entire stitch. Craftsy is great isn’t it?
Ooh, lovely. I like your colour scheme a lot! I might have a look at the knitting classes on craftsy, they sound useful. I like knitting in the round, but that might be because I’ve only ever knitted one garment flat!
You’d have a field day with your awesome skills Kirsten. I noticed I’d bought one on cabled necklines, yet to be watched! But it sounds intriguing. Hint – put the class on your wishlist, sometimes they take pity on you and offer a discounted price if you haven’t purchased immediately!
Haha, sneaky! Good tip, thanks 🙂
Armpit – yes – terrible word. I remember wanting to use it age 11 to describe my hair length in a letter. I used “underarm” instead, but that is not exactly a delicious description.
But I love the jumper, mainly for the colours and the shaping, which I think is very fetching and pretty on you.
But knitting cardigans, and in the round, I think is out of my league for now. But glad you are doing it because I may, one day, jump in too.
Ah yes, how about the scottish oxter then? http://caledonianmercury.com/2010/04/09/useful-scots-word-oxter/005110
I so agree with his feelings about armpit, and oxter seems a good choice. I will try it…
Very nice jumper, and being Scottish myself, although I knew the word oxter immediately as armpit or underarm, it’s not a word used much nowadays in an everyday way! Good word though!
My kids tell me language is ever evolving – LOL and ROFL now being so yesterday! I lived in Scotland for 18months – midwifery training, labor ward language differs markedly from common useage worlwide I think!
Yes, I think your right! Hahaha.
Having been lucky enough to see this jumper in the flesh (so to speak) I think it is fabulous and if you are taking orders please let me know!! Very chic and I love the colours.
Golly gee, thanks luv! Missed you, but totally understood…