Funchal Moebius

Here is my Funchal-inspired design! Like the ‘dragons-tooth’ pavements I saw in Madeira (thanks for the info, knitlass), the Funchal Moebius uses a high-contrast OXO motif with strong diagonals. One side is dark-on-light:

and the other is light-on-dark.

The design begins life as a provisionally cast-on tube . . .

. . . which is knit continuously until it reaches the circumference of your shoulders. It is then blocked flat, twisted in the middle and grafted to form a continuous moebius strip. The result is a dramatic wrap that can be worn in several different ways, but which is surprisingly simple to knit.

The yarn is Renaissance Dyeing’s wonderful organic Poll Dorset 4 ply in shades ‘midi’ and ‘ecru’. This is one of my all-time favourite yarns in which to knit colourwork. Because it is slightly lustrous and worsted spun, it is very different from working with a Shetland – the yarn is very smooth, creating a fabric that is incredibly even (to the point of appearing woven) with a slight sheen and very little halo. The Poll Dorset that Andie dyes is grown, and spun close to where she lives in the Pyrennees. I love that every stage of its processing is totally visible. (You can see the sheep that grew it, together with their shepherd, and the spinner that spun the yarn over here on Andie’s blog.) Andie dyes naturally, and her colours are – naturally – amazing.

I am incredibly pleased with the way this design has turned out. It is simple, versatile, really fun to knit, and sure to be useful in the colder weather.

Want to see how you might wear it?

And yes — everything else I’m wearing is WOOL as well.

The pattern for the Funchal Moebius is now available here.