In 2000, Newfoundlanders celebrated the arrival of the first Europeans on North American soil 1,000 years ago, gathering at L'Anse aux Meadows, now a UNESCO World Heritage Site. In honour of the anniversary we asked Barbara Harpur, owner of Harpur's Knitting Centre in St. John's, to design a sweater that incorporates both Nordic and Celtic traditions.

She responded with a handknit of instant and infinite appeal. Made with pure wool yarn from New Brunswick's Briggs and Little Woolen Mills, the straight, classic shaping of the sweater suits both men and women. The overall texture, created by simple knit and purl stitches, forms a traditional zigzag pattern echoed in the easy Fair Isle bands at the hems.

The yarn is available through mail order from Briggs & Little Woolen Mills. To order, visit www.briggsandlittle.com or call 1-800-561-9276.

Instructions (scroll to the bottom to see the size chart)
Download FRONT/BACK chart. (PDF format requires free Adobe Acrobat Reader).
Download SLEEVES chart. (PDF format requires free Adobe Acrobat Reader).

Loose fitting mock turtleneck pullover with 2-colour ribbing and Fair Isle bands at hems is worked in diamond-and-zigzag pattern throughout. Instructions are written for Small (S) size. Any changes for Medium (M), Large (L) or Extra Large (XL) are written in brackets. If there is only one set of figures, it applies to all sizes. Standard abbreviations are used. Recommended for knitters with some experience.

You need:
Briggs and Little Heritage 2-ply wool yarn
(113 g skeins) as follows:
Main Colour (MC), 7(7,8,8) skeins
Contrast Colour (CC), 1(1,1,1) skeins
Note: As shown in photos, Dark Grey (MC) and Light Grey (CC) were used for Charcoal sweater; Sheep's Grey (MC) and Bleached White (CC) for Driftwood sweater (above).
One pair of 4 mm needles
One pair of 5 mm needles OR whichever needles you require to produce the tension given below
Stitch holders, stitch markers and tapestry needle

Tension
18 sts and 24 rows = 10 cm/4 ins in
diamond-and-zigzag pattern using larger needles. Work to exact tension with
specified yarn to obtain satisfactory results.

TO SAVE TIME, TAKE TIME TO CHECK TENSION.

To make:
Back
(Download FRONT/BACK chart. (PDF format requires free Adobe Acrobat Reader.)
*With CC and smaller needles, cast on 103(109,115,121)sts. Join MC.
Row 1 (right side): Keeping yarn not in use on wrong side of work, [with CC, p1; with MC, k1] to last st, with CC, p1.
Row 2: Keeping yarn not in use on wrong side of work, [with CC, k1; with MC, p1] to last st, with CC, k1.
Rows 3 to 8: With CC and MC, work ribbing as established, ending with right side facing for next row.
Row 9: Change to larger needles; with MC, knit.
Row 10: With MC, purl, thus ending with right side facing for next row.
Rows 11 to 19: With MC and CC, work Chart in St st, thus ending with wrong side facing for next row. Fasten off CC.
Row 20: Purl.
Row 21: Knit.
Row 22: Purl.
Rows 23 to 34: Work Chart in diamond-and-zigzag pattern.

Rep rows 23 to 34* until work from beg measures 65(67.5,70,72.5) cm
/25-1/2(26-1/2,27-1/2,28-1/2) ins, ending with right side facing for next row.

To shape back neck:
Keeping continuity of pattern, work 42(44,46,48)sts. Turn. Cast off 3 sts at neck edge of next and foll alt row, thus ending with right side facing for next row; slip rem 36(38,40,42)sts onto st holder.

With right side facing, slip first 19(21,23,25)sts from needle onto st holder. Join MC to rem 42(44,46,48)sts. Keeping continuity of pattern, cast off 3 sts at neck edge of next and foll alt row. 36(38,40,42)sts now on needle. Work 1 row even, thus ending with right side facing for next row. Slip rem sts onto st holder.

Front
Work from * to * as given for Back until work from beg measures 57.5(58.5,61,63) cm/22-3/4(23,24,24-3/4) ins, ending with right side facing for next row.

To shape left neck:
Keeping continuity of pattern, work 45(47,50,53)sts. Turn. Cast off 2 sts at neck edge of next row once, then cast off 1 st at neck edge of next 7(7,8,9) foll alt rows. 36(38,40,42)sts now on needle. Work even until work from beg is same length as Back, ending with matching pattern row and right side facing for next row; slip rem sts onto st holder. Break yarn, leaving 1.5 m (59 ins) tail.

To shape right neck:
With right side facing, slip first 13(15,15,15)sts from needle onto st holder. Join MC to rem 45(47,50,53)sts. Cast off 2 sts at neck edge of next row once, then cast off 1 st at neck edge of next 7(7,8,9) foll alt rows. 36(38,40,42)sts now on needle. Work even until work from beg is same length as Back, ending with matching pattern row and right side facing for next row; slip rem sts onto st holder. Break yarn, leaving 1.5 m (59 ins) tail.

Sleeves
(Download SLEEVES chart. (PDF format requires free Adobe Acrobat Reader.)
With CC and smaller needles, cast on 43(43,49,49)sts. Join MC and work 8 rows of ribbing as given for Back.
Row 9: Change to larger needles; with MC, knit, inc 6 sts evenly across row. 49(49,55,55)sts now on needle.
Row 10: With MC, purl, thus ending with right side facing for next row.
Rows 11 to 19: With MC and CC, work Chart in St st, thus ending with wrong side facing for next row. Fasten off CC.
Row 20: Purl.
Row 21: Knit, inc 1 st at each end of needle. 51(51,57,57)sts now on needle.
Row 22: Purl.
Rows 23 to 34: Work Chart in diamond-and-zigzag pattern, inc 1 st at each end of needle on 3rd row once, then on every foll 4th row twice. 57(57,63,63)sts now on needle.

Keeping continuity of pattern, rep rows 23 to 34, inc 1 st at each end of needle on every 4th row as established 14(15,15,16) times more. 85(87,93,95)sts now on needle.

Keeping continuity of pattern, work even, rep rows 23 to 34 until work from beg measures 44(46,48,50) cm/17(18,19,19-3/4) ins, ending with right side facing for next row.

Cast off 9(9,10,10)sts at beg of next 8 rows. Cast off rem 13(15,13,15)sts.

To join left shoulder:
With right side facing and needle point ending up at shoulder edge: slip 36(38,40,42)sts of left back shoulder onto larger needle, then slip 36(38,40,42)sts of left front shoulder onto second larger needle. With right sides together and needles aligned, hold front against back in left hand. Beg at shoulder edge with smaller needle, use yarn tail to ktog first st from front and first st from back, [ktog 1 st from front and 1 st from back, cast off 1 st] to end of row. Fasten off.

Neckband
With right side facing, MC and smaller needles, pick up and knit 7 sts down right back neck, 19(21,23,25)sts across centre back, 7 sts up left back neck, 21(22,23,24)sts down left front neck, 13(15,15,15) across centre front and 21(22,23,24)sts up right front neck. 88(94,98,102)sts now on needle. Join CC and work 7 rows of ribbing as given for Back. Fasten off MC. Cast off loosely in ribbing. Fasten off; break yarn, leaving 50 cm (19-3/4 ins) tail.

To join right shoulder:
With right side facing and needle point ending up at neck edge: slip 36(38,40,42)sts of right back shoulder onto larger needle, then slip 36(38,40,42)sts of right front shoulder onto second larger needle. With right sides together and needles aligned, hold back against front in left hand. Beg at neck edge with smaller needle, use yarn tail to ktog first st from back and first st from front, [ktog 1 st from back and 1 st from front, cast off 1 st] to end of row. Fasten off.

To finish:
Sew neckband. Place markers 26(27,28.5,29) cm/10-1/4(10-1/2,11-1/4,11-1/2) ins down from shoulder seams on front and back; sew cast-off sleeve edges between markers. Sew side and sleeve seams. Pin to measurements; block. Do not press.

Size chart