Some years ago the kind folks at Welsh yarn company Cartref sent me a small parcel with their brand-new yarn produced entirely in Wales. Cartref means “home” in Welsh and they had set out to create a yarn that embodied Wales. I made a swatch with the yarn and fell in love with its bouncy, yet robust mix of Welsh Mule and Welsh BFL. And now I’ve designed a sweater that feels like home too.
Catterline (shop link) is inspired by the relaxed pullovers worn by artist Joan Eardley whilst painting in the Scottish fishing village of Catterline. The chevron stitch pattern mimics the brushstrokes Eardley used to depict the fierce winds and waves of her adopted home, and I chose to work Catterline (ravelry link) in the most glorious golden colour in honour of the hues Eardley used to depict the fields around the fishing village. Eardley is one of my favourite artists and I’ve long wanted to design something in her honour (I launched a series of patterns called Authors and Artists back in 2015 - that is how long this idea has been sitting with me).
So, let’s look at this sweater which I have lived in ever since I finished it.
I have expanded my size range, so this sweater is graded in 11 sizes running from 30” to 60” busts. It is designed to be worn with 15-20cm/6-8" of ease, but you can play around with the fit as you like. If you’d like a slightly more fitted look, you’d knit it with less ease and vice versa. I always thought an oversized fit would look odd on my full-bust figure, but I have really leaned into the relaxed silhouette and find it is so versatile with both dresses and jeans. Plus you can add layers underneath for really cold days.
When I first began sketching Catterline, I knew I wanted a cropped sweater. I am quite short-waisted, so I also knew that I had to be careful with measurements: one woman’s cropped sweater is another woman’s bandeau! I have added instructions on how to add length and also a very detailed schematic/sizing table to help you figure out the perfect measurements for yourself.
Does it all sound daunting? It is not.
Fitting a garment is all about knowing your own measurements. If it makes it easier, I am wearing the size XL1 with around 6” of positive ease. The type of sweater is less about finding a size that fits all of your measurements, and more about what kind of fit you’d find comfortable.
I’m a big fan of comfort.
In an ideal world we would have gone to Catterline to shoot the photos. It is not far from the fishing village where Dave grew up, and we have many friends in the area. Unfortunately, travel was not possible (and continues to be impossible). Joan Eardley studied at the Glasgow School of Art, and some of her most well-known paintings depicted Glasgow children, so we thought we’d find somewhere suitable. We ended up falling in love with a little nook near Glasgow’s Riverside Museum - the colour combination of the grey metal, the beige birch trees, and the golden leaves felt like an Eardley painting come to life. My hair added the little zing you find so often in Eardley’s paintings.
We also took the opportunity to shoot some seated photos. Over the years I have become less mobile and more reliant upon mobile aids. Instead of ignoring that in our photos, we have decided to embrace my reality and share it with you. Besides, it’s nice to see what a garment looks like when we sit down!
My thanks to Dave Fraser for the photography and the schematics (and for introducing me to Eardley’s art all those years ago).