Cotton jumper for summer days
Just because it’s summer it doesn’t mean we have no need for sweaters, but maybe not thick woolly jumpers. I had the opportunity to try out some cotton yarn from Rowan Yarns, together with a pattern from the Mode at Rowan summer collection. It was the first time I’ve knitted a sweater in cotton yarn and I was delighted to find that I loved it!
Knitting in wool yarns when it’s really warm outside can be rather sweaty, having a warm jumper in the lap is like sitting under a blanket. Knitting with cotton was still warm, but it didn’t cause me to overheat. Perfect for summer knitting!
Cotton yarn is by its nature quite dense and have no bounce or stretch to it. If you’re used to knitting with wool, you know exactly what I’m talking about. Wool stretches and bounces back when we knit, giving an even tension in the fabric. With cotton the yarn needs to be held tighter to keep the tension even and, at least I, have to go down a needle size or two compared to wool yarn to keep the stitches even and avoid a too loose fabric.
A lot of knitters don’t like knitting with cotton due to the stiffness of the yarn and having to knit tighter than normal, but I’d argue that it’s a different way of knitting altogether. They are different fibres and need to be approached differently. Cotton yarn deserves a chance.
I picked a sweatshirt style jumper with a chevron eyelet pattern from Mode at Rowan’s 4 summer knit projects. The patterns are designed by Quail Studio and features the chevron jumper, a ribbed tee, a mesh sweater and a shopping bag.
The chevron jumper is knitted in Rowan Summerlite DK, I even picked the same colour as the sample in the pattern, Seashell (466).
The pattern is very straight forward, bottom up, knitted flat and seamed together. I confess to liking seamless construction for simplicity, but I’ve finally cracked the code to a nice mattress seam. It gives a tailored structure to the finished garment and helps holding the shape. I knitted the neckband in the round after seaming both shoulder seams, I found it easier that way. I also made my neckband a little narrower than in the pattern as per my personal preference.
I’ve used it a few times and it’s such a perfect summer sweater! It’s airy thanks to the loose fit and eyelets. It looks really good, both timeless and trendy, and I can pair it with dresses, skirts, shorts and trousers alike.
I am completely sold on cotton knits for summer. I’ve been a wool gal before, now I’m definitely going to branch out more often. I absolutely recommend everyone to try out cotton yarns, it’s different than wool and it is really nice to wear. I’m going to wear my chevron jumper a lot, it will be perfect for cool summer days and all through autumn as transitional wear.
Thank you to the teams at Rowan Yarns and Quail Studio for giving me the yarn and pattern for the jumper. I’ll be back for more cotton knits!
