Drea Renee Knits – Metamorphic – Knitting Kit
Designed by Andrea Mowry – Drea Renee Knits
Printed pattern included, sold under licence from the designer.
Metamorphic is a cropped striped pullover knitted from the top down, in the round, and deliberately inside out. The purl side is the right side, which means the whole jumper is worked in knit stitches and the fabric you end up wearing has the soft, broken texture of reverse stocking stitch rather than the flat face of the knit side. Faux seams run down the centre front and back and around each sleeve, so a seamless sweater ends up looking properly tailored.
The stripes come from alternating two yarns every other round. We have paired Orry Yarn Merino DK as the main colour with Schoppel Edition 3 as the contrast. The Merino DK holds the structure and keeps the stripe edges clean; the Edition 3 shifts gradually through its gradient as you knit, so the contrast stripe changes character from the yoke to the hem without you doing anything at all. No two finished jumpers come out the same.
Skill Level: Intermediate ★★★
There is no chart and no colourwork, and the body is plain knitting throughout, so the knitting itself is calm. The demand is in the details. The collar is shaped with wrapped short rows and the pattern uses a tubular cast on and a Kitchener bind off at collar, hem and cuffs, which give the ribbing a rounded, professional edge. All of these can be substituted for simpler versions if you would rather. Working inside out takes a round or two to get used to, and then stops being strange.
Sizes: 1 (2, 3, 4, 5)(6, 7, 8, 9), with finished bust circumferences of 32.75 (37, 40.75, 44.25, 48.75)(52.25, 56.75, 61, 64.75)" / 83 (94, 103.5, 112.5, 124)(132.5, 144, 155, 164.5) cm. Recommended ease is 0–4" / 0–10 cm.
Gauge: 22 stitches and 34 rows = 10 cm (4") in striped stocking stitch in the round on 4 mm / US6 needles, alternating both yarns every other round, measured after blocking.
The Kit Includes
- Orry Yarn Merino DK in your chosen colourway, in the quantity for your size band
- Schoppel Edition 3 in the matching gradient, in the quantity for your size band
- Printed pattern in English, supplied under licence from Drea Renee Knits
You'll Also Need
- 4 mm / US6 circular needle, 40 cm and 80–100 cm, plus your preferred method for small circumferences
- 4.5 mm / US7 for the sleeves, if your gauge tightens (see below)
- 3.5 mm / US4 circular needle, 40 cm and 80–100 cm, for the ribbing
- Six stitch markers
- Cable needle (optional)
- Waste yarn or stitch holders for the sleeve stitches
- Wool needle for Kitchener stitch and weaving in ends
A note on the needles
Three needle sizes look like a lot, and two of them are worth explaining. The ribbing needle is two sizes smaller than the main fabric needle, which is what keeps the collar, hem and cuffs from flaring. The larger sleeve needle is optional but worth having: most of us knit tighter on a small circumference than on a large one, and a sleeve worked at body gauge on body needles often comes out narrower than the schematic. Knit a few rounds of the sleeve, measure, and go up a size if it has tightened.
Swatching
Swatch in the round, alternating the two yarns every other round exactly as the pattern does, and measure only once the swatch is blocked and completely dry. A flat swatch in a single colour will not tell you what this fabric does.
Choosing your size
Measure around your full bust, add the ease you want, and pick the finished bust circumference closest to that number. The sample is knitted in size 2 on a 35" / 89 cm bust, giving 2" / 5 cm of positive ease. Because the jumper is knitted from the top down, you can try it on as you go and stop the yoke, body and sleeves wherever suits you.
Techniques used
- Knitting and purling in the round, inside out
- 2x2 tubular cast on and Kitchener bind off (both substitutable)
- Wrap and turn short rows, and resolving wraps on both sides
- Raglan-style yoke increases with M1
- Faux seams worked as a single purl column
- Picking up underarm stitches
- Working a small circumference in the round
Why You'll Love It
- A gradient contrast yarn does the colour work for you. The stripes evolve as you knit and the finished jumper has a depth that two solid shades cannot give you.
- Knitting inside out means no purling on a whole jumper, and the reverse stocking stitch face is softer and more forgiving than the knit side.
- Cropped and worked from the top down, so it is quicker than a full-length jumper and you can adjust the length while it is on the needles.
- Nine sizes, 32.75" to 64.75" finished bust.
- Two yarns at two different weights in nine sizes is exactly the sort of sum that puts people off a pattern. We have done it for you.
Yarn Usage
Orry Yarn Merino DK is 50 g / 115 m per ball. Schoppel Edition 3 is 50 g / 150 m per ball. Kits are sold in four size bands, each made up to the quantity needed for the largest size in the band, so every kit has enough and most have a little to spare.
What's in each kit
| Size band | Merino DK (MC) | Edition 3 (CC) |
|---|---|---|
| Sizes 1–2 | 6 balls / 300 g / 690 m | 3 balls / 150 g / 450 m |
| Sizes 3–5 | 8 balls / 400 g / 920 m | 4 balls / 200 g / 600 m |
| Sizes 6–8 | 10 balls / 500 g / 1150 m | 5 balls / 250 g / 750 m |
| Size 9 | 11 balls / 550 g / 1265 m | 6 balls / 300 g / 900 m |
What each size actually uses
These are the designer's approximate figures. Your own usage will vary with your gauge and any changes you make to the body or sleeve length.
| Size | Merino DK (MC) | Edition 3 (CC) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 552 m / 603 yds | 354 m / 387 yds |
| 2 | 627 m / 685 yds | 402 m / 440 yds |
| 3 | 692 m / 757 yds | 445 m / 486 yds |
| 4 | 753 m / 823 yds | 484 m / 529 yds |
| 5 | 847 m / 926 yds | 544 m / 595 yds |
| 6 | 914 m / 999 yds | 587 m / 642 yds |
| 7 | 990 m / 1082 yds | 636 m / 695 yds |
| 8 | 1092 m / 1194 yds | 701 m / 767 yds |
| 9 | 1192 m / 1304 yds | 766 m / 837 yds |
If you plan to lengthen the body or the sleeves, add a ball of each to be safe. Both yarns are sold separately on the site should you need a top-up, though dye lots cannot be guaranteed to match once a kit has shipped.