‘St. Elmo’s’ has the traditional aspects of a true fisherman Guernsey, knit in the round with an overlapping welt, false side seams, and underarm gussets with a few modern conveniences, as neck shaping and larger gauge. These sweaters are meant to be knit on the tight side for durability and better stitch pattern definition, and thus are not always very ‘soft’. Due to their unique construction, which allows for more ease of movement, these sweaters are not meant to be oversized – generally 2”- 4” of ease is all that is needed.
Cables were often found in Guernsey patterns. The cables in ‘St. Elmo’s’ represent undulating wave patterns while the zig-zag pattern represents lightning. The sweater is named after St. Elmo, the patron saint of sailors. A phenomenon sometimes seen during electrical storms at sea, known as St. Elmo’s fire, is visible as a spray of blue/white light, appearing as fire, from the masts of tall ships.

SKILLS USED: basics, knitting in the round, simple chart reading, picking up sts, simple cables, 3 needle bind off.

FINISHED MEASUREMENTS:
circumference: 34” (36” / 38” / 40” / 42” / 44” / 46” / 48” / 50” / 52”)
length: 21” (22” / 22.5” / 23.5” / 24” / 25” / 26” / 27” / 28” / 29”)

MATERIALS NEEDED: US #5 (3.75 mm) 16” and 32” circular and double pointed needles, US #7 (4.5 mm) 16” and 32” circular and double pointed needles or size needed to obtain gauge, cable needle, 1000 (1140 / 1250 / 1400 / 1500 / 1600 / 1740 / 1880 / 2020 / 2140) yards of solid worsted weight wool, round ring markers, 6 medium sized stitch holders.