Social Distancing Coat by Arenda Holladay

Social Distancing Coat

Knitting
May 2020
39 stitches and 47 rows = 4 inches
in Knots and Oughts Cable
US 2 - 2.75 mm
1800 - 2925 yards (1646 - 2675 m)
XS (S, M, L, 1X, 2X)
English

I proposed this design when I was scheduled for foot surgery. I wanted a project that would help me pass the time while icing and elevating my foot. I had planned on naming it My Left Foot (Surgery) after the Jim Sheridan 1989 film. After two weeks, just as I got the go-ahead to resume normal activity, my state went into lockdown due to COVID-19 so I changed the name. I don’t know that I could have finished the coat in time if it weren’t for social distancing. I used Redfish Dyeworks 3 Ply, as I wanted a coat which I could wear year round. It is very lightweight, even with the cabled design.

It is knit in one piece from the bottom up until the armhole shaping. Since the coat is wider at the bottom, decreases are worked at the sides of the cable panels until the bust measurement is reached.

If you look at the schematic for this coat, you will see that the fronts are wider than the back. My pet peeve with cardigans is that there are gaps at the button band when there isn’t enough ease in the front.

The sleeves are worked top down from the shoulders using the short row technique. One cable panel is worked in the center. The sleeve is shaped by placing the decreases at the sides of the panel where they are invisible rather than at the center of the underarm.