Linda Marveng

Knit wear designer and author

Interweave Knits Winter 2016 with my Inverness Sweater

Posted on November 4, 2015 by Linda Marveng

I am so proud to have been selected to have a design in the Classics Issue – Interweave Knits Winter 2016. My design is the Inverness Sweater – which introduces the A light in winter chapter – a classic Aran, has a becoming A-line shape. Twisted rib stitching introduces twisted long cables that are divided by ray-of-honey and moss-stitch side panels. I am delighted with the large selection of photos Harper Point Photography has taken of it, and want to show them all. Above is the cover of the magazine, now available digitally and in a few weeks time in print. My design was also chosen by editor (and a designer herself) Meghan Babin as her favorite project to my astonishment and utter delight, see the Knitting Daily newsletter here: cable-month-kick-off-interweave-knits-winter-2016.

Marveng Inverness 4

Interweave Knits/ Harper Point Photography

I found the submission call on the Interweave website for the Classics Issue intriguing. Read their description, and you will understand why: “Though we typically ask for designs that follow several different themes, in this issue we are trying something new. For the Winter issue, we want to see traditional, iconic sweaters. That is the theme. Give us your best Arans, Fair Isle pullovers, ganseys, Nordic ski sweaters, Icelandic yokes, Bohus yokes, and more. Show us rich texture and colorwork in traditional shapes: drop shoulders, underarm gussets, unshaped bodies, steeks, picked-up sleeves, circular knitting. What subtle details can you introduce to make the looks modern without totally redesigning the archetype?”.

Interweave Knits/ Harper Point Photography

Interweave Knits/ Harper Point Photography

Those were my key words and set me to work. I decided on a popular a-line shape and a modified drop shoulder and a round neck with a double neck band. The twisted cable is one of many favorites and set me off. I choose a rib with the same twisted stitches, a border dividing the different patterns including the moss stitch panels in the side. A number of swatches later I was delighted with my combination of the dividing borders, twisted cables and ray of honey as the center panel. The design was born and a sketch with suggestions for sizes plus yarn, gauge plus needles as well as construction notes was submitted.

Interweave Knits/ Harper Point Photography

Interweave Knits/ Harper Point Photography

This pullover is worked from the bottom and up with modified drop shoulder. The body and sleeves are worked in the round up to the armhole, then flat to final bind off. There is one cable on each side of the center Ray of Honey panel on the body but only one centered cable without the Ray of Honey panel on each sleeve. The decreases are worked in each side of the body for the a-line shape. The neckband is double in a Twisted Rib and also worked in the round.

Interweave Knits/ Harper Point Photography

Interweave Knits/ Harper Point Photography

The previous editor, Lisa Shroyer, e-mailed me with the wonderful news that my design was accepted and suggested using Plymouth Yarn Galway Worsted. I had no objections to that at all and was keen to try out this yarn, new to me. Like me, Lisa suggested the shade natural, keeping it classic.

Interweave Knits/ Harper Point Photography

Interweave Knits/ Harper Point Photography

I choose to knit it using a 4 mm/US 6 to obtain a tight gauge and maximum stitch definition, even though a lot of knitters would choose a larger size with the Aran/Worsted yarn. During knitting, I must admit I wished I had opted for a larger needle but then I did love the result when it was finished. As usual I could have made the sleeves longer but then I have no standard sized arms but extra long ones, just as the model in the photographs.

Interweave Knits/ Harper Point Photography

Interweave Knits/ Harper Point Photography

Above is yet another photograph of the front, with a slightly different backdrop. I love the neutral backgrounds they have chosen which make the cables on the sweater stand out even more. When you see the large selection of photos they have chosen you understand how difficult it is to choose only a few out of so many excellent photographs you usually have after a photo shoot.

Interweave Knits/ Harper Point Photography

Interweave Knits/ Harper Point Photography

Here are the last two landscape format photos. The one above creating interesting lines as a contrast to the ones on the sweater.

Interweave Knits/ Harper Point Photography

Interweave Knits/ Harper Point Photography

A close up shows the neckline and the different stitch patterns clearly. I do also think this sensual look draws you in, and capture the essence of the sweater so well. Now, I am looking forward to seeing a few knitters make their own version of my Inverness Sweater from Interweave Knits Winter 2016.

Interweave Knits Fall 2015 – With My Design

Posted on July 29, 2015 by Linda Marveng

I am so thrilled that my design was accepted by Interweave Knits, and now it is live in the digital edition for Fall 2015. The printed issue will follow shortly, and I cannot wait to get my hands on a copy from my local newsagent: Narvesen. I suggested using Brooklyn Tweed Loft for my Coachella Sweater but editor Lisa Shroyer already had a design in BT and suggested Jamieson’s Shetland Spindrift instead. My Yellow Gold Pullover was born. Here is the introduction to it: “In the classic yet unusual Yellow Gold Pullover, bold chain-link cables are framed by welts. Worked from the bottom up in pieces with set-in sleeves, this fingering-weight sweater is lofty and rich in a heathered wool from Scotland. Linda Marveng.”

Interweave/Harper Point Photography

copyright: Interweave/Harper Point Photography

I am delighted with the photography by Harper Point Photography and loved the fact that they covered all the angles and took a detailed photograph of the neckline. The project team at Interweave impressed me with their attention to detail from day one to publishing. My design is in the Over and Yonder section with a total of 5 designs. The straight sweater is worked from the bottom and up in parts and then sewn together. The cables are gathered before the neck bind off to keep their volume.

Interweave/Harper Point Photography

copyright: Interweave/Harper Point Photography

The pullover is knitted in Jamieson’s Shetland Spindrift, a pure wool with 105 m/87 yards on 25 g skeins using a 3.25 mm/US 3. The yarn is distributed in the USA & Canada by Simply Shetland and can also be ordered directly from Jamieson’s of Shetland. The pullover is available in 6 sizes with a finished bust circumference of: 88 (95, 100, 110, 122, 132) cm /34.5 (37.5, 39.5, 43.5, 48, 52)”. Pullover shown measures 95 cm/37.5″, modeled with 9 cm/3.5″ positive ease. The cables are the same I used for my Saga Jacket, since I discovered that I wanted to continue working with them. They are made in three parts and require a second cable needle to work.

copyright: Interweave/Harper Point Photography

copyright: Interweave/Harper Point Photography

I decided to make a sporty pullover. A welt pattern was chosen as the background stitch pattern, ribbed bands with a tuck between the rib and the cable section, as a divider, both at the bottom of body and sleeves as well as at the neck. The sleeves can easily be worked in the round, but I found it quicker to work them flat with both on my needles at the same time.

copyright: Interweave/Harper Point Photography

copyright: Interweave/Harper Point Photography

At the end of my pattern, I am presented: “Linda Marveng is a Norwegian who loves to design feminine garments with the added texture that cables and lace knitting give. She studied art history and worked first for architecture firms in London, then for Rowan Yarns as a design consultant. She continues to design, proofread knitting books and magazines, translate patterns, and offer workshops.”