The time has come to reveal my new designs, made in collaboration with Hillesvåg Ullvarefabrikk, in their divine pelt wool yarn Tinde and Sølje. The Norwegian pattern and yarn kit will be launched at Fagstrikk Messa/Knits Trade Fair in April 2019. First out is my second dress design (with a cowl) this time knitted in the thicker Tinde in Natural Grey. Aibell – Named after the Celtic Goddess of Munster who had a magical harp in her possession is this ballon shaped dress where the shaping is done by the cables. The a-line created by the cables is mirrored on the body. The fronthas Right cables beginning at hip one at a time, while the back has Left cables. A cowl make a high cabled collar or a belt. Wear it loose hanging down, slightly pulled up or as a tunic with the rib turned.

The sample is knitted by my turbo sample knitter, Grete Jenssen, who did a brilliant job as always. The cables shape the upper part and are introduced one by one. I wanted the a-line  to cross the body, so the back and front are not identical. I had planned to insert elastic into the bottom of the rib, but found out that I did not need to, thanks to the lovely bouncy yarn.

We have had few sunny days lately, but found a day without rain to photograph these garments on our front terrace. Michael worked quickly to photograph me in minus 5 degrees celsius/23 degrees Fahrenheit. I discovered after trying it on that you can easily wear it with the bottom rib pulled up a litte or all the way up and turned as a tunic with trousers. Due to the cold, I am wearing trousers under the dress in all these photos. Above you see the rib pulled slightly up.

The dress is knitted in pieces and seamed. The cables shape the dress, by adding one cable at a time. Add elastic to the bottom if you prefer to wear it higher up. Adjust the length in the stocking stitch area, depending on how you prefer to wear it. The cowl can easily be adjusted to your preferred circumference by adding cable repeats or purl stitches.

With the rib at the waist and folded in, making the bottom part double. Perfect for the cold weather here. I am wearing the dress in size Small, with a 92 cm/36.25″ bust circumference, but grading it from XS to 2XL. The finished bust circumference is from 86 to 122 cm/33.75 to 48″. The cowl is one size but can easily be adjusted to your preferred length. In fact, Hair & Makeup Artist Sissel Fylling suggested to wear the cowl as a belt and that worked well on the model Em. While I would need a slightly longer cowl – it is knitted sideways – to make it fit around my waist.

Here is the tunic style from the back, without the cowl. The dress is knitted using 3 mm/US 3 needle for the rib and 3.5 mm/US 4 for the rest. The gauge is 21 stitches and 30 rows in stocking stitch measures 10 cm/4″ square.

I did consider giving the dress a Henley neck but in the end I made a crew neck, with square corners.

This was the clear favourite according to my team at the photoshoot, hence I have decided to have this dress test knit first out of the four new Hillesvåg designs. The last photo shows the cable introduction in detail. The English pattern will be test knitted in my Ravelry group before its release, beginning 11th February. You can find more pattern details on the project page on Ravelry: Aibell. I look forward to showing you the other three new designs and how this dress looked on the gorgeous model Em.