Parallel Perkins Cove Sweaters

It feels like summer already with 80 degree days in Denver. Amber and I are ready for it, though, with our brand new Perkins Cove sweaters. This pattern was recently released in the Sparrow Sans collection from Quince to promote their 100% linen yarn, Sparrow. Every pattern in this collection is so dreamy and we want to knit them all and frolic on the beach in our sophisticated linen wardrobe. Each pattern is shown in the undyed color of Sparrow - Sans. Amber and I both fell in love with everything about these patterns and had to make our sweaters in the same natural linen color. In order to change it up so we didn't have the exact same sweater, we knit the garment in two different yarns.

Jaime's Sparrow Perkins Cove 

Pattern: Perkins Cove by Pam Allen
Yarn: Sparrow in Sans, 5 skeins
Size made: 31 1/4"
Alterations: I had gauge issues with this so I made the smallest size and also cut out 12 stitches from the lower body by only casting on 4 armhole stitches on each side

 

I chose to use Sparrow for my Perkins Cove. This Italian-made, super-fine linen yarn is softer than you might expect for 100% linen. I don't often knit with linen and I had a hard time getting the proper gauge for this pattern. The sweater is knit top-down and I almost finished the body of the sweater before I realized my size 34" was going to be way too big. I ripped the whole thing out and started over. Even on much smaller needles, I could only get 19 stitches to 4" instead of the recommended 22. I did the math and decided to knit the smallest size. This worked great and when I came to the armholes I wanted to shave another couple inches off so I only cast on 4 stitches instead of 12 on each side for the armhole. The linen yarn does grow as you work with it so aggressively blocking your gauge swatch is a good way to test what your gauge will be in a finished garment.

I love knitting and wearing summer sweaters. The linen is naturally wicking and anti-bacterial and the open stitch pattern means I'll never get too hot wearing this even on the hottest summer day. The yarn drapes beautifully for this loose top. I can't wait to start the Saco Stripes next - a cute, striped tank from the Sparrow Sans collection!

Amber's Breeze Perkin's Cove 

 -amber

Pattern: Perkin's Cove by Pam Allen
Yarn: Anzula Breeze in color Clay- just 1 skein!
Size made: 34"
Alterations: short sleeves instead of long

I was smitten with this summery tee as soon as I saw the pattern. I love the natural color of the linen yarn and the elongated stitch stripe pattern. I didn't want to make the same exact tee as Jaime. When she cast on in Sans, I decided to see what other of our pretty yarns would work up similarly. I thought, what a great way to see the different fabric you would get from different yarns. I settled on Anzula Breeze, a beautiful silk linen lace weight in the hand-dyed color Clay, a bone color with subtle lavender undertones.

Anzula Breeze has a crazy amount of yardage - 755 yards in a single, adorable yarn cake. It took less than one ball for me to finish my short sleeved Perkin's Tee! What?! Check out how much I had left over in the photo below. There was certainly enough left for me to make the sleeves longer, but I liked the look of more of a T-shirt, so I cast off with about 20 grams left from my single skein of Breeze. Awesome sauce!

The silk/linen blend gives my Breeze tee a more drapey hand than the 100% linen of the Sparrow, which has a crisp look and feel. Either would be perfect to create a dreamy summer garment!