Inversion Gansey

Maybe the Interweave Knits editors chose the name "Inversion Gansey" because the lace patterns used on the body are inverted on the sleeves, since they are worked from the top down?  But that is typical gansey construction....   

BUT WHO CARES?!  It made the cover of the Interweave Knits Fall 2010 issue! How cool is that?  (And okay, my working title-- "Girly Gansey"-- was really kinda silly.)  I thought it was styled very nicely, worn over a white blouse and trousers (photos here).  

I managed to get a few quick photos myself before I sent the sample in to IK.  This was a very pleasant project to knit, with a few different stitch patterns to keep it interesting, and an area of simple stockinette that helped move the lower body (always a potential slow spot when worked in the round) along at a nice pace; plus the yarn, Louet MerLin, is a worsted weight, which works up pretty quickly.  I decided to make things a little easier for the beginning lace knitter by keeping the lace with pattern stitches on all rows confined to the hem and cuffs, where working entirely in the round means all pattern rows are worked from the RS.

I did a LOT of swatching for this pullover.  First, I decided to design a sweater using typical gansey construction methods, but using decidedly nontraditional lace stitch patterns.  I searched my stitch dictionaries looking for lace patterns that would look good worked both up (on the body) and down (on the sleeves), and eventually settled on several possibilities.  I then swatched using Cascade 220, Manos del Uruguay (a silk merino blend) and Dream in Color Classy; the color of the Cascade was too light, and seemed to wash out the relief of the central lace cable, while the Manos del Uruguay was too shiny.  I ended up submitting the Dream in Color swatches-- I used the Deep Seaflower colorway, which not only seemed aptly named for a fisherman's sweater, but has lovely subtle color variations which didn't obscure the lace patterns.  (I ended up using this yarn in my Cambia Capelet pattern.)  But I'm not unhappy that the final yarn choice was Louet MerLin-- it's an unusual mix of linen and merino wool, with a nice drape and gorgeous colors.  

In the last photo you can see a bit of the underarm gussets.  For some reason I found these really fun to knit!  I definitely have to use them again in another pattern.