The “Hailey Sweater” by Taiwanese designer Irene Lin @irenelin.knit is now available in French!
Irene has imagined a sophisticated, feminine sweater, all lace and cables, with a modern silhouette and a lovely, clean shoulder line. We particularly like its wide cut and generous armholes, making it both comfortable and stylish.
It’s a light, graceful sweater that’s perfect for playing hide-and-seek with the sun!
CONSTRUCTION
This sweater is knitted seamlessly from top to bottom. Work begins at the top of the back, knitted back and forth to the base of the armholes. The stitches of the fronts are then picked on the cast-on row and the sides of the back. The two fronts are then knitted separately, from top to bottom, up to the middle of the neckline, where the right and left parts of the front are joined. The front is worked to the armholes and joined with the back: the body is knitted in the round to the hem. The stitches are picked up to knit the sleeves, also in the round.
TECHNIQUES USED AND SKILL LEVEL
This pattern is at an intermediate to advanced level, and will require you to know how to cast on (continental or Long-Tail cast-on and Backward Loop Cast-On), picking up stitches, and knitting lace and cables. The lace and cables pattern requires attention, but is not particularly difficult and will be easily memorized.
The pattern includes written instructions and charts for the motif.
HOW TO PICK YOUR SIZE
The pattern comes in 4 sizes and can be made with Worsted/ DK or Sport yarns. It is designed to be worn with a lot of positive ease, and you can choose sizes 30 to 40 cm larger than your actual bust size if you want the same kind of ease as the photographed samples (the first and second sizes have the same body circumference but different armhole depths). Body height and sleeve length can be easily adjusted by adding or removing a pattern repeat.
Body circumference: 116 (116, 140, 164)cm / 45.75 (45.75, 55.25, 64.5)”
Upper arm circumference: 45 (53, 56, 62)cm / 17.75 (20.75, 22, 24.5)”
Sleeve length from underarm: 45cm / 17.75” for all sizes.
Body length from underarm: 16cm / 6.25” for all sizes.
SAMPLES AND YARN CHOICE
For the two versions of her “Hailey Sweater”, Irene chose two yarns of different thickness and composition, Robinson and Ulysse. Both versions are beautiful in their own way, and show how wonderfully this pattern lends itself to exploration.
Irene’s version in Robinson
The first version knitted in Robinson takes advantage of the roundness of this three-ply yarn and its worsted thickness to create patterns with a crisp definition, with plump cables, and a fabric that’s supple but holds up well. The presence of recycled cotton gives this yarn a slightly textured look and a cool, comfortable feel that suits this mid-season sweater very well.
Irene chose the “muscari” color, a soft, nuanced light parma blue obtained from a blend of wool dyed with natural pigments.
Sample knitted in size 2 in Robinson «muscari», with a shortened body.
Yardage for Robinson’s version (70% Organic merino d’Arles (France) and 30% recycled cotton, 270 yards (250 m) / 100g) : 4 (5, 6, 7) balls OR 1000 (1250, 1500, 1750) m/1094 (1367, 1640, 1913) yds of light Worsted weight yarn.
Irene’s version in Ulysse
The second version, knitted in Ulysse, is worked at a slightly loose tension with a more pronounced lace and transparency effect. The resulting fabric is much softer, with a lovely drape and lightness.
Irene chose the color “baleine bleue”, a deep dark blue dyed on a “poivre et sel” base.
Sample knitted in size 1 in Ulysse «baleine bleue».
Yardage for Ulysse’s version (100% mérinos d’Arles and black merino from Portugal ; 250 m (202 yd)/100g): 5 (7, 8, 10) balls OR approx. 925 (1202, 1480, 1757) m/1011 (1314, 1618, 1921) yds of Sport weight yarn.
Gauge for the two versions:
17 sts x 28 rows = 10 x 10 cm / 4 x 4” in stockinette stitch (4 mm needles recommended) after blocking.
20 sts x 25 rows = 10 x 10 cm / 4 x 4” in pattern stitch after blocking.
Irene’s two versions inspired us to explore the pattern’s rendering in other materials, and we sampled it in three other yarns: Candide (70% organic Mérinos d’Arles, 30% recycled cotton; 185 m / 50 g), which combines Robinson’s composition with Ulysse’s yardage for a very light rendering, Antigone (pure linen; 260 m / 100 g) for a very luxurious summer version, and Pénélope (90% organic Mérinos d’Arles, 10% silk; 133 m / 50 g), which brings a very pretty roundness and cozy elegance.
The top-to-bottom construction and generous ease of movement make it easy to adapt to any potential gauge differences and get on with the adventure 🙂
Swatch knitted in Candide “nougat” (70% organic Mérinos d’Arles, 30% recycled cotton; 185 m / 50 g) with 4.5 mm needles
Swatch knitted in Antigone “lin” (pure linen; 260 m / 100 g) with 4.5 mm needles
Swatch knitted in Pénélope “bois flotté” (90% organic Mérinos d’Arles, 10% silk; 133 m / 50 g) with 4.5 mm needles
Irene Lin’s Hailey sweater is available in French and English on our website, and in English, Japanese and Korean on Ravelry.
I hope you’ll like this pattern and feel like welcoming spring with a new sweater on your needles!
About the designer:
Irene is a knitwear designer who creates patterns with thoughtful details and a comfortable fit.
She loves sharing her passion for knitting and hope her designs bring joy to fellow knitters.
Ravelry: Irene Lin
Instagram: @irenelin.knit
Youtube: IreneCrafts
Photo credits for Ulysse and Robinson’s samples: Irene Lin