Hutton Yarn Kit

HUTTON YARN KITS ARE NOW AVAILABLE TO ORDER IN A RANGE OF COLOURWAYS - FEATURED IN LAINE ISSUE 13

Hutton is a cozy, comforting slightly over-sized cardigan knitted in Barn, a plump DK weight yarn using a simple two-colour slip stitch pattern. Only one colour is worked on any one row but an all-over two-colour pattern results. The cardigan is knitted from the bottom up commencing with a deep 2x2 ribbed welt. The lower body is unshaped but is split at the sides to insert deep inset pockets for maximum snuggle. The body is divided at the underarm and fronts and back worked separately until they are joined at the shoulders using a visible three-needle cast off. Sleeves are picked up around the armhole and worked downwards to achieve the perfect length; the extended length of the shoulders mean the sleeves need to be shorter than you might think. The stitches for the collar and deep front bands are picked up and then the collar and bands are knitted in one piece with short rows worked to create a deeper shaped collar. A separate knitted belt is worked to tie around the waist.

Hutton is inspired by cardigans of this type which have appeared since the very beginning of the twentieth century in many forms, and frequently, gender neutral. Oversized and comfy, the length and shaping would change, the size of the collar would alter with the fashions, different surface patterns and textures would be used; but the basic structure remained the same. From its appearance in Edwardian times as one of the first 'casual' items of outerwear, it later contributed to the androgynous look of the 1920s. It then re-appeared in the late 1950s as a 'his and hers' wardrobe staple, now sometimes shaped at the waist, and made famous by both Elvis Presley and Marilyn Monroe. In the 1970s it emerged once again; longer, softer, more over-sized, re-invented by Ralph Lauren and appearing regularly in the TV show Starsky and Hutch, or worn by lithe models in perfume adverts. In the 1980s think mohair and intarsia, then in the 1990s it was adopted by grunge to look deliberately unkempt and now in the twenty-first century it remains as popular and universal as ever.