Fair Isle Sweater, Black and Cream, No. 9

A sweater knitted by hand in pure 4-ply wool, in black and cream, worked in Fair Isle bands that repeat from hem to shoulder.

Crowns, stars and small flowering motifs alternate with narrow striped rows, each band with its own rhythm, all of them reading as one pattern. A high ribbed collar stands at the neck; the sleeves finish at three-quarter length above ribbed cuffs, and the hem is ribbed to match.

Generous through the body: 48 cm flat at the underarms, falling 70 cm from the shoulder. Pure wool, warm, with the weight that only a densely patterned knit carries.

This piece began as a pattern by Patricia Roberts, published in 19 magazine in 1978. I knitted it then and wore it until it gave out. Patricia Roberts died in December 2020, and with her went one of the designers who made British hand knitting count in the 1970s and 80s. Three years of searching never turned up the pattern again, so I rebuilt it from memory, stitch by stitch, forty years later. Consider this the second life of a sweater I have missed ever since.

There is no second one.

Details

• Pure 4-ply wool
• Fair Isle, black and cream
• High ribbed collar, three-quarter sleeves, ribbed cuffs and hem
• Length 70 cm from shoulder; width underarms 48 cm flat
• Hand wash cool, dry flat
• Hand-knitted. One of one.