Jun 5, 20203 min read

Matcha Latte

It's been a while since I released a new pattern. The pandemic lockdown made me take stock of my work schedule and I decided to slow things down a bit by focusing my energy on designs I'm really enthusiastic about. Here's one that's been in the works all spring and eagerly awaited: Matcha Latte.

The first inklings of this design can be traced back to two year ago. In the summer of 2018 at the Jyväskylä Knit Fest I hemmed and hawed about buying a sweater quantity of Kässäkerho Pom Pom Suoma Single in a spring green colorway. I waffled on the decision so long someone else had snatched all of it! Wah wah.

It wasn't meant to be, I thought. But the idea of a lightweight spring green cardigan stayed at the back of my head and the design idea for Matcha Latte began to take shape. Fast forward to last year's Knit Fest. The very first morning the marketplace was open I made a beeline to the Kässäkerho Pom Pom booth and secured my sweater quantity!

Kässäkerho Pom Pom Suoma Single in 'Kevät'

Matcha Latte is a fingering-weight cardigan with a fern-like lace motif on the yoke. The name of course comes from a spiced milky tea beverage the color of pea soup. Or like my cardigan here.

The cardigan is worked from the top down starting with the neckline. The yoke is worked as a hybrid between circular yoke and raglan construction. Most of the increases for the yoke are hidden within the lace pattern. After the lace portion there's a short raglan increase section. And just before separating the sleeves from the body, short-row shaping is used to improve fir and to add length to the back yoke. I'll detail this technique and why it's done in next week's blog post.

I really love the organic look of the lace pattern. It can look a little chaotic at first but there is a pattern and rhythm to it. Chaotic can also be a good thing: if you mess up, no one's going to notice! Both written and charted instructions are provided for the lace pattern.

The same pattern is also used in the small lace detail on the sleeves just before the long ribbed cuffs. My hands are perpetually cold so I wanted to make the sleeves quite long. But I realize not everyone might! After test knitter feedback I made a last-minute sizing adjustments to the pattern. In the final pattern the sleeves are about an inch shorter and not quite as snug as in the photos. (I still like my sleeves looong and skinny.)

The body of the cardigan is semi cropped, a little shorter than I usually like to wear and to design. But that just makes the cardigan an ideal companion with skirts or over a dress. The hem is done in a long, 4" stretch of twisted ribbing — as are the sleeve cuffs.

I love the look of twisted ribbing but, boy, is it a pain to work in flat knitting. If you're horrified at the thought of purling through the back loop, I'll let you know a much-requested pullover version of this design is already in the works! And I have just the perfect color in mind — in the same yarn, of course.

Matcha Latte comes in 9 sizes to fit bust sizes 75–155 cm / 30–62" with suggested ease of approx. 5–10 cm / 2–4". To knit the cardigan you need about 950–1950 m / 1000–2100 yd of fingering-weight yarn, depending on your size.

The pattern is now up on Ravelry and on LoveCrafts. You can also get a free copy of the pattern with a €40 purchase of Kässäkerho Pom Pom Suoma Single! Don’t forget to mention the pattern name, your Ravelry name and email address at checkout. This offer is valid for the entire month of June 2020. Working on the cardigan? Share your photos on Instagram with the hashtags #matchalattecardigan and #talviknits.