Blær — Zip Cardigan with Zigzag Yoke Knitting Pattern

Blær is a round-yoke zip cardigan from Ístex’s Lopi 33, designed by Hulda Soffía Arnbergsdóttir and knitted in Álafosslopi. It is knitted in the round with two purl stitches up the front, which are machine-sewn and cut open for the zipper. The yoke is a set of zigzag bands that step from the darkest colour at the bottom to the lightest near the neck. The pattern has two colour versions — brown (chocolate with black sheep, acorn, oatmeal, light beige and white) and fuchsia (fuchsia with black and four greys) — and two styles: men’s, longer, with a zigzag border above the hem and cuffs, and ladies’, shorter and plain below the yoke. Sizes XS to XXL. All twelve colours are still made.

What you get

• The knitting pattern in English (PDF), emailed right after purchase — nothing is posted
• Two colour versions — brown and fuchsia
• Men’s and ladies’ lengths, in sizes XS, S, M, L, XL and XXL
• Three charts — the hem border, the cuff border and the yoke — with a key for both colours
• Yarn and needles are not included. The kits have this pattern and all the yarn: the brown kit or the fuchsia kit

Yarn used in the pattern (not included)

Brown version: Álafosslopi — 100 g balls · sizes XS (S M L XL XXL)
A 0867 chocolate — 5 (5 5 6 6 7)
B 0052 black sheep — 1 (1 1 1 1 1)
C 0053 acorn — 1 (1 1 1 1 1)
D 0085 oatmeal — 1 (1 1 1 1 1)
E 0086 light beige — 1 (1 1 1 1 1)
F 0051 white — 1 (1 1 1 1 1)

Fuchsia version: Álafosslopi — 100 g balls · sizes XS (S M L XL XXL)
A 9969 fuchsia — 5 (5 5 6 6 7)
B 0005 black — 1 (1 1 1 1 1)
C 0058 dark grey — 1 (1 1 1 1 1)
D 0057 grey — 1 (1 1 1 1 1)
E 0056 light ash — 1 (1 1 1 1 1)
F 0054 ash — 1 (1 1 1 1 1)

Sizes

Gauge
13 stitches and 18 rows = 10 cm (4″) in stocking stitch on 6 mm needles.

Needles
5 mm (US 8) and 6 mm (US 10) circular needles, 40 and 80 cm — 5 mm for the hem rib and the neckline, 6 mm for the body and the yoke
5 mm and 6 mm double-pointed needles for the sleeves — 5 mm for the cuffs

You will also need
A zipper — it is in the pattern’s list, and the finishing says to measure the finished cardigan for it — and, though the list leaves them out, a sewing machine and sewing thread in a matching colour, stitch holders for the underarm stitches and a tapestry needle.

How it is knitted
The body is cast on with 113 (121, 129, 137, 145, 153) stitches on 5 mm and knitted back and forth in K1, P1 rib for 5 cm; then 2 stitches are cast on at the centre front — purled all the way up, for the steek — and the body is joined and knitted in the round on 6 mm. Men’s: chart 1, a 7-round zigzag border, then plain to 40–45 cm; ladies’: plain to 36–44 cm. The sleeves start with 5 cm of rib on 5 mm double-pointed needles — men’s in colour B, ladies’ in the main colour — the men’s with a 6-round border from chart 2 (the text says chart 1; chart 2 is the one sized for the sleeve — our reading), and are increased under the arm every 9th round. Body and sleeves are joined and the round yoke is knitted from chart 3, 39 rounds with three decrease rounds, from 163 (179, 195, 211, 227, 243) stitches to 63 (69, 75, 81, 87, 93); the smaller sizes leave out marked rounds. The 2 purl stitches are bound off and the neckline is knitted back and forth in K1, P1 rib for 2 cm on 5 mm. Then the front is machine-sewn twice through each chain of purl stitches and cut between the seams, and the zipper is sewn in under the front edges.

Design: Hulda Soffía Arnbergsdóttir — pattern from Lopi No. 33 (no. 1), Ístex.

How you get it — the pattern is a PDF in English. It is emailed to you right after purchase; nothing is posted.

Yarn — not included. We sell Ístex lopi by the ball in our yarn shop, or choose the kit, which has this pattern and all the yarn in one parcel.

No email? Check your spam folder, then write to support@icelandicstore.is with your order number. A person answers, Monday to Friday.