One of the big knitting pattern trends at the moment, is for sweaters with a yoke. These are usually colourwork yokes but you will also see some with lace, cabled or ribbed yokes.
It is definitely colour work that is driving the trend. This is partly because of the hand-dyed yarns that lots of people have in their stashes. A section of fair isle or intarsia is a great way of combining an interesting variegated or speckled yarn with a solid or more neutral shade and it can also be a great way of using those little gems of mini skeins you may have acquired.
Another reason for the popularity of yokes is that they reduce the need for sewing up because they are effectively knitted in one piece regardless of whether they are worked bottom up or top down.
A bottom up yoked sweater is likely to have the body and the sleeves all worked in the round and then joined for the yoke – just needing a little seaming under the arms.
In a top down version the yoke is worked first, then stitches left on holders for the sleeves while the body is worked in the round and then the under arm stitch are picked up so the sleeves can also be worked in the round.
Cardigans may have the body and yoke worked in rows or they might be made in the round with a steek section so they can be cut open at the end.
KnitPro interchangeable needles are very handy for yoked sweaters and cardigans because you can switch to longer cables (or join cables using one of our connectors) when you have a large number of stitches for the yoke and use much shorter cables for the sleeves.
In a top down version you can also leave your sleeves stitches on shorter cables with the end stoppers screwed on instead of conventional stitch holders. This can save a lot of slipping stitches of and onto needles in the course of your project.
We’ve picked out a few yoke patterns you might enjoy.
Clockwise from top left: Ola Yoke by Ella Gordon; Sunset Highway by Caitlin Hunter; Pinion by Christa Giles; Moraine by TinCanKnits
