hey, you . . .

. . . get off my cloud!

Well, now the pattern is at last nearing completion, I think I can show you my new hoodie — knit top down, with pleasing puffy sleeves, and a cloud pocket, inspired by the old BBC weather symbols. It is a hoodie to be worn in the summer and is (I hope) a little suggestive of that season: a pale blue sky, and a drifting cloud. If you’ve been reading my posts about making this hoodie, you’ll know that what I particularly love about it are its details: its sleeves, its pocket, its neat hems and facings, and (of course) its acres and acres of i-cord.

At first I tried to knit the pocket ‘blind’, just making up the cloudy shape as I went. But I soon realised that this would not work – on my first attempt I merely made a nice, mound shape, with some even nicer 3 stitch icord around it. After a few more (failed) attempts, I decided to do things by the book, and actually graphed out the angles and dimensions of the cloud in the original BBC weather symbols designed in 1974 by Mark Allen. Then I translated my maths into something knit at 6.5 stitches to the inch, and outlined it with a bold 5 st icord. Nifty! This is what I based my pocket on:

(© BBC)

And this is what it became.

Hurrah! I was very pleased with the cloud, and am also pleased with the pixie-style hood. This is picked up around the neck and shoulders after the rest of the sweater is complete. It lies nice and flat thanks to some neat facings (made in a similar manner to the way I describe here) and then the hood and front-neck are finished off together with (yes) a continuous icord bind off. The neckline sits nicely, though I do say so myself. Here is the hood from the back:

and – wait for it – from the front.

I fear I may be starting to resemble a cartoon character, but I’m seriously pleased with the end result — so really, who cares? Its worth saying now that in the final pattern the cloud pocket will be an optional extra, and that instructions for a more conventional kangaroo-style plain pouch pocket will be included. My prototype is made in (yes, you guessed it) my favourite Bowmont Braf , but I reckon it would work equally well in any robust 4 ply. Even though the gauge is fine, the top-down seamless stockinette makes for a relatively quick knit. In fact, the only thing that is time consuming is the finishing — and I reckon that is worth doing well. I’m now receiving some welcome and expert assistance test knitting a rather different prototype version, which I hope will give some sense of the different ways in which this hoodie might be knit. I am also pleased with the name (suggested by Tom and, um, Keith Richards) which evokes the cheesy 70s feel I was aiming for in the design. And I can already testify that it is good at what it was designed for– summer walking.

Well, I’ll get off my cloud for now – but I thought I’d let you know that a pattern is coming soonish, that the sweater will be available in 9 sizes to fit any chest from 24 to 44 inches with ease, and that I’m taking my time in order to get things just right.

Name: (Get off my) Cloud
Pattern: by me. Tis imminent.
Yarn: Bowmont Braf (or similar 4 ply / light sport weight that knits at 6.5 st to the inch).
Ravelled here.

PS I want to thank everyone for your allotment congrats. The elusive key has finally arrived. We are very excited. More soon.