At the moment I am under the spell of “Enchanted Mesa” – a top down sweater designed by West Knits. The pattern is available to buy (inexpensive and well worth it!) on Ravelry.
It is a clever design which incorporates the short row technique for the yoke section. This means working on the circular needles but going back and forth before reaching the end of the round / row and turning to go the other way. In this case it is simple because there is no requirement to do any extra “wrap and turn” movements. It is simply just to turn and follow the instructions to keep count and to make the right increases. The beauty of this is in the shaping and how the colours form beautiful waves… it is a technique I had used before but I am so glad I am revisiting it. I want to develop this technique further. The book pictured has long been in my library at the ready so I hope to refine the technique in more detail in the future!
Another benefit of going back and forth – not knitting in the round – is you naturally get the ridges of garter stitch without endless rows of purl stitches. Just knit, knit, knit and only occasionally a purl row is required.
In contrast to the yoke, the roll neck top and main body are knitted in the round so this produces a smooth stocking stitch. It provides a lovely contrast in texture and the colours work in quite different ways according to whether there are bumps of garter stitch or the smoothness of stocking stitch.
The pattern requires a provisional cast on. It means you make a beautiful and strong edge to the roll neck, top of the sweater. A useful tutorial is here.
Also to it is good to be familiar with the cable cast on. You need to add some stitches for the underarm shaping so this video will help with the cast on method. Remember, to add stitches in the middle of your work to close a gap made by casting off some stitches, it is easier to turn your work around and cast on from the wrong side, the turn and continue working.
I am mixing a delightful stash of yarn for this project. I am.changing colour and making stripes as the mood takes me and my stash supply allows! Deep red, natural brown and a bright yellow feature but the star of the show is the sugar-free treat known as “dark caramel” or “mörkt karamell” in the original Swedish. You can see that Östergötlands Spinneri has a very tempting selection to chose from!
My favourite yarn shop, Litet Nystan, here in Stockholm no longer has this particular colour (I bought it ages ago) but they do have other colours to check out. I am running low on supplies and wondering if I can hold back on ordering another “mörkt karamell” skein or even some other yummy variations… Not cheap material but gorgeous and a pleasure to work with! ❤
There is a lot of freedom with this design as to which colours you chose and in what combination. If you search on Google images you can see either pictures of the rock face of the same name (presumably the designer’s starting inspiration) or you will see lots of lovely variations on a knitted sweater theme. 🙂
Definitely recommend this project.
Right, I am off to get a few rows in between working!
garnharmoni 
Christine, thank you for sharing this pattern. You have convinced me that this might have to be my sweater choice. I love top down, not -much-seaming knitting, and this wave pattern looks lovely. Thank you!
Hi Mary! I have to admit, I have not actually made too many sweaters so far and this one is really a great knit as it isn’t complicated and it has a real fun element with the waves. The designer says in the pattern to have fun and feel free with the colours you choose! 🙂 There won’t be much seaming to do, just a tiny bit for the sleeves. Go for it! Would love to see how it looks…So glad you are inspired! 🙂
/Christina