Jaime's Striped Roxborough Dolman
In June, I had the pleasure of attending the National Needlearts Association trade show in Cleveland. This is the trade show for yarn where we meet with vendors and designers and check out new yarns and products. The best part of trade shows is being inspired by so many samples (and seeing so many friends!). When I walked into the Kelbourne Woolens booth and saw Meghan wearing the Roxborough Dolman tee knit up in Perennial, I knew I had to make one... in the exact black and white stripes she was wearing.
Pattern: Roxborough Dolman Tee by Courtney Kelley
Yarn: Kelbourne Woolens Perennial, Black (2 skeins) and Natural (1 Skein)
Size Made: 54.25"
Mods: Made neck opening slightly smaller
Perennial is a new yarn from Kelbourne and it is lovely! It is a wool/alpaca/nylon blend (strong for socks!), but it is unusual in that it uses Suri alpaca. Suri alpaca is a longwool type of alpaca and the fiber tends to halo more in the way of a mohair. I love the bit of soft fuzz the Suri lends to this yarn. It is soft, a bit drapey and lovely to knit with.
This pattern features two things i love: stripes and a boxy, oversized shape. It was the perfect pattern for summertime knitting (you know, pool knitting, campfire knitting, beach knitting, plane knitting) in that it was simple and straightforward. The easy bottom-up construction features gradual increasing that creates the dolman shape and short sleeves. My only mod was to make the neck opening a bit more narrow by seaming the shoulders 4 more stitches on each side.
I'm not going to candy coat this: knitting a fingering weight sweater takes some time, but it is so worth it! Nothing drapes quite like a fingering weight yarn and add 25% Suri alpaca and you've got a total winner. I am so in love with this sweater. It is a bit warm for really hot days, but it's going to be perfect come fall on its own or layered under a Wiksten Haori.
Perennial comes in an amazing vibrant palette so the stripe combos could be epic! I choose the most classic black and white which I am very happy with. Overall 10 out of 10!
Leave a comment