by Kathy Calmejane

Anyone who's seen The Tudors (or has a basic grasp of English History) will probably understand how wary I as when my husband quoted Henry VIII as an inspiration. Thankfully, it wasn't in marital terms but for his taste in celtic decorations. An intricate knotwork pattern taken from a famous portrait of him (Henry Tudor, not my husband) was the inspiration for this design.

This sweater is designed to be challenging for the knitter and use lesser-known cable techniques. It is a classic raglan shape, with the left raglan seam left open and fastened with leather buckles. You can also make it as a regular raglan sweater if you prefer: just sew the seam up to the collar and leave out the buckles.

The yarn I chose (Pur Merinos Français from Bergere de France) is a gorgeous French merino with a beautifully matte finish, and it's ethically sourced too! It really lends itself perfectly to cables and textured stitches and comes in lots of yummy earthy colours.

SIZE
Men's S[M, L, 1X, 2X]
shown in size M with 0" ease

FINISHED MEASUREMENTS
Chest: 36[41, 42.5, 45.5, 51] inches
Length: 30[30.25, 30.75, 31.25, 31.5] inches

MATERIALS
Yarn
Bergère de France, Pur Merinos Français [100% merino wool; 131 yd/120 m per 50g skein]; color: Grege; 14[16, 17, 18, 20] skeins

Recommended needle size
[always use a needle size that gives you the gauge listed below -- every knitter's gauge is unique]
1 set(s) US #6/4mm straight needles
1 18-inch US #6/4mm circular needle

Notions
cable needle
5 stitch markers
4 stitch holders
yarn needle
6 snap fasteners
2 buckles
sewing thread in a matching shade and sewing needleYarn needle

GAUGE

PATTERN NOTES
[Knitty's list of standard abbreviations and techniques can be found here.]

The cable pattern can be tricky to get right first time, especially the unusual gtogp2 and m2b stitches, so I really recommend doing a fairly big swatch with one or several cable sections to get the hang of it before you start knitting.

gtogp2: graft together purl 2 (slip 2 sts to cn, hold to back, insert right ndl purlwise through st on cn and st on main ndl, p together and slip off ndl, repeat with remaining sts)

m2b: make 2 below (insert cn through left strand of the V of next 2 sts of row below, k2, then k2 from cn)

DIRECTIONS

Next row [RS]: Work in rib to m; [k2, p2, k2, p2, C2R, p2, k2, p2, k2, p2] 5 times; work in rib to end of row.

Work 1 WS row, keeping pattern correct.

Next row [RS]: Work Basketweave Pattern (Row 1) over 8[16, 20, 28, 36] sts, k2, p2, [work Cable Pattern (Row 5) once, p10, k4, p10] twice, work Cable Pattern (Row 5) once, p2, k2, work Basketweave Pattern (Row 5) over 8[16, 20, 28, 36] sts.

Work 1 WS row, keeping patt correct.

Next row [RS]: Work Basketweave Pattern (Row 3) over 8[16, 20, 28, 36] sts, k2, p2, [work Cable Pattern (Row 7) once, p10, C2R, p10] twice, work Cable Pattern (Row 7) once, p2, k2, work Basketweave Pattern (Row 7) over 8[16, 20, 28, 36] sts.

Work 1 WS row, keeping patt correct.

Next row [RS]: Work Basketweave Pattern (Row 5) over 8[16, 20, 28, 36] sts, k2, p2, work Cable Pattern (Row 9) once, p2, work Cable Pattern (Row 23) once, p2, work Cable Pattern (Row 9) once, p2, work Cable Pattern (Row 5) once, p2, work Cable Pattern (Row 9), p2, k2, work Basketweave Pattern (Row 9) over 8[16, 20, 28, 36] sts.

Work 1 WS row, keeping patt correct.

Cont working Cable and Basketweave patterns as set until work measures 19.5 inches or desired length.

Note: Please read ahead. Changes in cable patterning and armhole shaping happen at the same time.

Sizes M[L] only: BO 4[5] sts at the beg of next 2 rows, then BO 2[4] sts at the beg of next 2 rows.

Sizes XL[XXL] only: BO 5[6] sts at beg of next 2 rows, then BO 4 sts at beg of next 2 rows, BO 3 sts at beg of next 2 rows, BO 2 sts at beg of next 4[10] rows. 126[116, 118, 126, 126] sts.

At the same time, when the second and fourth repeats of the cable chart have been worked 8 times in full: Begin working from Neckline Chart over the 3 central chart motifs (central motif will be finished within this chart), AND, when the first and last repeats are finished in full, beg working these sts in Rev St st.

Raglan Shaping:
Decrease Row [RS]: K1, work Cable Right Pattern once, p2tog, work in est patt to last 9 sts, p2tog, work Cable Left Pattern once, k1. 2 sts dec’d

Work 1 WS row, keeping pattern correct.

Rep the last 2 rows 25[19, 21, 17, 18] more times. 74[76, 74, 90, 88] sts rem.

Sizes XL[XXL] only: Work Decrease Row.
Work 3 rows even.

Rep the last 4 rows 4[2] more times. 80[82] sts rem.

ALL SIZES: Stop working Cable Left and Cable Right patterns and work the sts rem in this section in St St.

Decrease Row 2 [RS]: K2tog, work in patt to last 2 sts, ssk.
Work 3 rows even.
Rep the last 4 rows 4[5, 4, 3, 4] more times. 64[64, 64, 72, 72] sts rem.
**Place all sts on holder.

FRONT
Work as for BACK up to **.
Work 8 more rows even in patt without decreases, then place sts on a st holder.

Next RS row: [K2, p2] 7[7, 8, 8, 8] times, C2R, [p2, k2] 7[7, 8, 8, 8] times.

Next WS row: [P2, k2] 7[7, 8, 8, 8] times, p4, [k2, p2] 7[7, 8, 8, 8] times.

Next RS row: Work Basketweave Pattern (Row 1) over 16[16, 20, 20, 20] sts, k2, p2, Work Cable Chart (Row 3) once, p2, k2, work Basketweave Pattern (Row 5) over 16[16, 20, 20, 20] sts.

Work 1 WS row, keeping patt correct.

Increase Row [RS]: K1, M1, work in patt to last st, M1, k1.

Work 3 rows even.

Repeat the last 4 rows 38[40, 38, 41, 43] more times. 138[142, 146, 152, 156] sts.

Sleeve armhole shaping:
BO 6[6, 7, 8, 7] sts at beg of next 2 rows, keeping patt correct. 126[130, 132, 136, 142] sts.

Sizes S[M, L] only: BO 4 sts at beg of next 2 rows, BO 2 sts at beg of next 12[12, 16] rows.

Size XL[XXL] only: BO 5 sts at beg of next 2 rows, BO 2 sts at beg of next 18[20] rows. 94[98, 92, 90, 92] sts.

***
Sleeve raglan shaping:
Decrease Row [RS]: K1, work Cable Right Pattern, p2tog, p2, work in est patt to last 11 sts, p2, p2tog, work Cable Left Pattern, k1.
Work 1 WS row even.
Repeat the last 2 rows 24[24, 23, 22, 23] more times. 44[48, 44, 44, 44] sts.
Stop working Cable Left and Cable Right patterns.

At the same time when 8 full repeats of Cable Pattern have been worked, work these sts following Sleeve Neckline Chart.

Decrease Row 2 [RS]: K2tog, work in patt to last 2 sts, ssk.
Work 3 rows even.
Repeat the last 4 rows 3[5, 3, 3, 3] more times. 36 sts rem.

Work even until raglan measures 8.5[8.5, 9, 9.5, 9.75] inches from armhole BO.

Next WS row: Work until 10 sts rem, w&t. Work to end of RS row in patt.
Next WS row: Work until 18 sts rem, w&t. Work to end of RS row in patt.
Next WS row: Work until 28 sts rem, w&t. Work to end of RS row in patt.
Leave all sts on st holder.

LEFT SLEEVE
Work as for RIGHT SLEEVE up to ***
Next WS row: CO 8 sts.
Continue as for Right Sleeve, maintaining the new 8 sts in Garter St until raglan measures 8.5[8.5, 9, 9.5, 9.75] inches from armhole BO.

Next RS row: work until 10 sts rem, w&t. Work to end of WS row in patt.
Next RS row: work until 18 sts rem, w&t. Work to end of WS row in patt.
Next RS row: work until 28 sts rem, w&t. Work to end of WS row in patt.
Leave all sts on st holder.

FINISHING
COLLAR
Block all 4 sections to measurements on chart. Stitch Right Sleeve raglan seams using mattress stitch to Back and Front. Stitch Left Sleeve raglan seam to BACK.

Stitch Left Sleeve raglan to Front, up to 0.5 inch after beg of tab, securing end well.
Pick up all held sts. 200[200, 200, 216, 216] sts

Next Row [RS]: K2tog, work in patt to last 2 sts, k2tog. 198[198, 198, 214, 214] sts.
Work keeping cable patt correct until collar measures 4” from top of raglan seams.
Bind off loosely following rib pattern.

Sew sleeve and side seams using mattress stitch.
Secure and weave in all ends.

Space 6 snap fasteners evenly along Left Front edge and on tab created on Sleeve opposite and sew in place. This ensures a neat closing of the front opening.

Sew 2 buckles in place. If possible, use a live model to determine best place and spacing for him! If not possible, one buckle at base of collar and one just below collarbone is a good combination.

Kathy Calmejane is a knitter, designer, writer, crafter and a few other things (some of which involve working in an office for hours instead of knitting -- for shame!). She was born and grew up in England, and has now lived in France for 23 years (with a few years in Ireland in the middle). She seems to have gone native and married a Frenchman, but still has a profound love of Cheddar, pickle and pork pies that no amount of wine and camembert can remove.

Kathy is a proud geek, and loves to indulge in nerdy knitting, including science fiction and cartoon inspired designs. She was recently featured in The Killing Handbook by Emma Kennedy with several knitting patterns inspired by the Danish thriller series The Killing (Forbrydelsen).

Her collection of knitting patterns can be found at tiggstogs.com.