I made a garment, entirely with yarn (The Easy Wrap Jacket, also available here), and wore it a lot. But I thought … What If I made it in a combination of knitting + fabric? I wouldn’t have to buy yarn for—and knit—that large back piece (18” x 50”) but could replace it with fabric!

Seemed like a great idea! And it was! I was thrilled with the result. And even though I loved how easy and wearable and cool it was, and was excited to show it off, I decided not to publish it before offering it as the project for a trip with Craft Cruises through the Panama canal (hence the name). Twenty one cruisers made it, with lovely combinations and fabulous results!

For a while, I have been playing with fabric plus knitting. In every case, I’ve limited myself to a rectangle of fabric. Sometimes the knitting is shaped: sometimes not. In this case, both fabric and knitting are un-shaped. The garment is incredibly simple to produce but certainly does not look so!

This piece is the first pattern I have published in which the knitting is worked from the fabric (rather than just sewn to it). I am not sure one method is easier than the other, but this method—knitting off the fabric—is certainly fun! There are lots of photos within the pattern to show you how this is done.

For this project, you need the following:
18” x 46 (50, 54)“ of medium weight fabric.
450 (500, 550) yds of Aran weight yarn.