William is from the wonderful book ’Stranded knits’. I have wanted to make it for looooooong and finally got around to making this beauty.

The designer was inspired by an old William Morris Wallpaper, when designing the cute rabbits.

I got gauge on 3,75 mm needles, but finding 40” too big (and 38 “ too small), I knit it on 3,5 mm needles. The fair isle and neck ribbing was done on 3,25 mm needles.

I wanted to do a provisional cast on, to make sure that the neck line ribbing had that perfect fit. Not too loose, not too tight. I forgot that this is a bad idea in ribbing, so in the end I undid the ribbing and knitted it again. (I had to cut it … ribbing does not unravel from the bottom end, unlike stockinette …)

My perfect fit was obtained with a ribbing knit on 3,25 mm needles and a loose cast off. I did 10 rows ribbing rather than the 8 rows of the pattern. This maintains the boat shape, but just covers the bra straps. The design is genius!

Cuffs and bottom were made on 3,5 mm needles.

The row counts in my case did not fit … possibly because of smaller needles. It is important, when making the sweater, to take your own measurements and make sure that the waist in in the right place, etc.. The genius aspect of top-down knitting is, that the sweater can be tried on along the way, for that perfect fit and the perfect length on cuffs and sleeves.

The neckline is most genius … I have not seen it before. It is higher on both the shoulders and neck … very flattering. If I do it again, I will knit the neck ribbing on 3,25 mm needles, 10 rows, after a loose cast on. Alternatively, I would do a provisional cast-on and start BELOW the ribbing. I would then pick up the stiches and knit the ribbing later … this way it is possible to make the neck looser or tighter for the best individual fit.

’Rowan Tweed’ is a delight. I rinsed it in cold water after finishing, pressed it between two towels, and let it dry over night. I suggest giving Rowan tweed and fine tweed that treatment, since the yarn really unfolds / blooms wonderfully. It softens so much too. How much it blooms if you compare the finished pictures to the unfinished ones … amazing.

Concerning the sizing, I added a couple of cm to the sleeves, but I also reduced a couple of cm on the body, as I might wear this with a skirt.

I noticed that the sizing actually fit a tall person (like me) but is bigger than most Rowan designs (too small for me). If you are petite, I would make extra sure to try it on as you knit and adapt it according to your own meassurements.