Woodfolk Sweater by The Petite Knitter

A lesson in patience and colour work

According to my Ravelry, I started the Woodfolk sweater, by The Petite Knitter, back in October 2023. I’ve been on Ravelry since 2008, but only revived my account last year, after a 10 year break from sharing. After stepping back significantly from Instagram, I found the part I missed the most was browsing pattern hashtags, looking for inspiration for my next craft project. Ravelry doesn’t wholly replace this, but it’s definitely better than nothing, so I’ve been inspired to start sharing more of my knits over there, in an attempt to offer back to the knitting community that inspiration I gain from the site.

I took Badger on a solo date to Munlochy woods, which proved the perfect backdrop to finally photograph my finished Woodfolk sweater. The mossy forest floor and abundance of fir trees perfectly complemented the tonal greens of the yarn. A combination of logs, stones and my backpack provided the tripod for these photos, so apologies in advance for the slightly-off angles, strained facial expressions, and wonky t-shirt neckline. I always feel self conscious taking selfies ‘in the wild’ (rather than in a private garden) so didn’t take too many shots, meaning these few are the only ones acceptable for the final edit!

I had a bit of a false start with this pattern, initially trying to do the colour work section in 3 colours, instead of the 2 recommended in the pattern. I wanted to use up some remnant yarn, and thought a pop of colour in the centre of the colour work would look stylish and fun. The yarn I chose was completely the wrong weight, plus I picked the wrong size pattern for my gauge. The resulting neckline and colour work was a shambles, too small and deformed to even try on. I thought I had a photo to share with you all but apparently I was too mortified to capture the resultant failure on camera. So you’ll have to trust me when I say it was an unwearable mess.

I frogged the work I’d done and put the pattern aside over Christmas. Earlier this year, I picked it back up and decided to splash out on some new yarn for the neckline. I don’t buy new yarn very often, unless it’s to complement thrifted yarn (like my beloved Drops Kidsilk mohair from Knitted Home I often hold double with charity-shop-found yarn), but I felt this pattern was worth buying a skein of something soft and beautiful, since the colour work is right at your neckline. The remaining green yarn was a destash from a friend, so was technically thrifted, which made me feel more justified in buying an expensive but oh-so-worth it skein of Cardiff Cashmere from the same shop I buy Drops Kidsilk.

Turns out, when you pick the right size and the right weight of yarn, this pattern is actually very straightforward. Who knew that following the instructions would result in success? The colour work section is interesting but not too complex, whilst the body and sleeves were very simple stockinette tubes, a bit boring to knit but perfect for watching TV. I omitted the bust shaping, since I prefer a more boxy, androgynous silhouette, and did double thickness cuffs and neckband, my preferred choice for a sweater.

Would I knit this pattern again? Not any time soon to be honest, but I wouldn’t rule it out. Like many colour work yoke sweaters, this one is interesting to knit around the neckline, and then felt a bit of a drag through the sleeves and body. I had to really push through the boredom to get it finished. This isn’t a specific criticism of this pattern, more the colour work genre in general. I would probably prioritise knitting an Icelandic Lopi sweater first, I’ve always loved that style and it would get some use now I live in the Highlands. I’ve been wearing a giant wool sweater of my Grandad’s over the top of my regular clothes, whilst pottering in the garden, despite it being July. On the other hand, I have an issue with my chunky and Aran weight sweaters being too thick to wear under a coat when I’m out of the house, but the Woodfolk sweater, being knit in 4ply, is perfect as a layering piece. So maybe I’ll be casting on another Woodfolk sooner than I think…