All is not as it seems in hand-knit-land today. No sooner do we congratulate a knitter on the beautiful sweater we can see poking out from inside their jacket, than they give us a cheeky wink and reveal that it’s just a knitted neck. Deliciously warm cuffs turn out to be weird sleevey things that have neither upper arms nor bodies. What are these wardrobe rascals even called? As the year marches on and the weather gets colder, Brontë’s been exploring behind the velvet curtain of the of the gallery of sartorial illusions to find out if this is knitwear for the fashionably absurd or knitting for the ridiculously ingenious. She’s now returned with a collection of designs that serve up bafflement and delight in just about equal measure..
Wrap Around by Alice Hoyle also available in her new collection, Knit
A scarf with sleeves or sleeves that behave like a scarf? Whatever way you look at it, this one’s a super easy knit and perfect for newbie knitters to practice stocking stitch and get a finished project before the winter’s out.
It’s chunky so go with Puno or Manchelopis to keep it light, or RP Zagal, WYS Re:Treat or DN Cyrano for something more woolly.
You know the kind of weather where it’s too warm to wear your sweater, but chilly enough to have it around your shoulders and tie the sleeves like a scarf? But at the same time the sweater’s a bit bulky to wear like that. Well MT has designed you a solution – It’s a kind of mock sweater with pretend sleeves, so it wraps in that nice cosy way without all the surplus fabric. Cool, right?!
Loosely knit sport-weight yarn means we’d recommend DN Ulysse or WD Cautiva.
Welcome to the Dickie: A scarf cum knitted bib with a neck in the middle that masquerades as a sweater once you’ve got a jacket on. Keeps your front warm without bulking out your sleeves, and in the case of this beauty, will give you a chance to knit extraordinary cables without having to hike all the way up sweater mountain.
Designed for a worsted gauge, you can go smooth like the one in the picture with DN Gilliatt, WD Mota, Dlana or Rauwerk, or make it fluffy by mixing a sport weight with some Gepard Kid Seta silk mohair.
Winter Hood by Pernille Larsen
It’s a hood that thinks it’s a Dickie, or perhaps it’s a balaclava that thinks it’s a hood. Either way, this super easy knit is a head-neck-upper chest area warmer, that involves a lot less shenanigans than knitting all those things separately.
Yarn-wise, double stranders can go with DN Gilliatt or WD Mota plus Gepard Kid Seta. And singletons can stick with Puno.
Somewhere between being a sweater and sock for your head, this beautifully shaped balaclava-hood-dickie combo puts me in mind of the heel shaping on a sock (in a good way). Designed with all the clever details that make FG designs such a joy to knit, this one would be super in the Sheepsoft, WYS BFL DK, or RP Vovó.
If you get the top-half-warmer idea but you can’t quite get past the weird mini tabard look, then perhaps we can tempt you with Riflet – it’s a cowl and then some, so it will do that poking out the top of your coat like a sweater thing, but you can also wear it without looking like you’ve got a bib on. This one is aran weight, so the perfect project to make friends with a single skein of WYS Fable or BFL Aran.
Fluffy and Snug by Isabel Kraemer
So you push your hands through these but there are neither fingers, thumbs or holes for them to poke through. Welcome to Cuffs – like gloves, just for arms instead of hands – perfect for waistcoat and vest wearers when things get chillier.
Worked at a tiny 28 stitch gauge (don’t worry – they’re only little!), these make a great project for knitting with something a bit delightful and indulgent like Gepard Kid Seta or the BC Garn Babyalpaca.
Gansey Boot Cuffs by Tamara Moots
Dip your toes into sock knitting without getting stuck on the heel, by coming out the other end with a boot cuff instead. Socks this thick wouldn’t be easy to wear inside normal shoes but, worked as a cuff, they can sit just around your ankle without bulking out your feet. I couldn’t resist these ones because of the nod to gansey patterning, which is also why I’d love to knit them in our proper Guernsey 5ply. But if that doesn’t appeal, Sheepsoft, WYS BFL DK, or RP Vovó would all be excellent alternatives.
Lewsky by Kiyomi and Sachiko Burgin
Long time Wild and Woolly favourite, this diving helmet-balaclava – head sweater – cowl – hood mashup, is the ultimate more-than-meets-the-eye knit, especially if you include the extra mock polo neck insert (it would be a bit rude not to – right?). You’re going warm and thick with the yarn here, so WYS Fable or BFL Aran, Rauwerk, Puno, or a Worsted with some extra fluff would work really well.
With grateful thanks to R Feldman for making this week’s subject line, and also making me.