Matta

At the end of last year, when we agreed on a collaboration with Tukuwool, I knew right away what I wanted to design first. I had this image in my mind of a beautiful lace cardigan in their Kainuugrey wool, Tukuwool Harmas.

What: Matta / Own pattern

How: Circular needle 3.5 mm

From: Tukuwool Harmas, 255 g

Harmas is spun from a Finnish landrace, Kainuugrey, which is softer than the more common Finnsheep. Even though the yarn is very soft, it still has this rustic feel to it and I thought it would be fun to juxtaposition that with a delicate lace.

Matta has an all-over lace pattern and a round yoke. The yoke increases are cleverly hidden among the lace. 

The neckband, cuffs and hem are worked in twisted ribbing. The back of the neck is shaped with short rows during the neckband. This way you don't have to worry about short rows messing up the lace pattern.

The cardigan gets its neat finished look from the lovely roundness of tubular cast-on and Italian bind-off. They require a bit of work but are well worth the effort.

Matta is a very romantic design. Not only for the lace but also because of the shape of the cardigan. I for one love a cropped cardi or a pullover that has positive ease elsewhere but a close-fitting hem that sits on the natural waist.

The sleeves are super simple as all sleeve decreases are worked only just before the cuffs. This way you don't have to worry about the decreases messing up the lace pattern.