DIY: Knit Limerick Henley by Mary Anne Benedetto

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I knit the Limerick Henley by Mary Anne Benedetto for Ryan. I knit him a cardigan a couple years ago and it didn’t fit too well (I never even put it on the blog). So I’ve been wanting to knit him another sweater and he finally agreed. The Limerick Henley is a raglan-sleeved pullover with a ribbed collar and buttonband. What makes it interesting is that it has three stitch patterns on both the front and back.

The Limerick Henley is an intermediate level pattern. It is knit flat and then seamed, and it includes many different stitch patterns. The main stitch pattern is Diamond Jubilee, which has two k3togs and one YO in one stitch! Then there’s a bit of ribbing and then mistake rib.

The Interweave Knits magazine states that varying textures and tailored lines make this pullover pleasing to the eye and interesting for the knitter.

I chose Louet Gems Worsted, a 100% machine-washable merino yarn that lies between DK and worsted weight yarn. It’s a lovely round yarn with a rich green colour, as well as being smooth and soft. Unfortunately the yarn has been discontinued. However, I was lucky enough to have a sweater quantity in my stash from a few years ago.

I knit the 44″ chest size for Ryan, who has a 40″ chest. To ensure a better fit than his previous garment, I even swatched! I tried 2.5 mm needles but found that it was too tight. So then I bumped my needles up to 3.0 mm for the main body, and 2.75 mm needles for the ribbing. The resulting sweater is quite form-fitting but not too tight. It is like a dress sweater! Unfortunately the pattern only comes in 5 sizes, from a chest size of 36.5″ to 53.”

You knit the sweater bottom up and in pieces. Once seamed, you then knit the collar and then the buttonband. I seamed the sweater using mattress stitch, which creates a neat seam on the inside of the work but an invisible seam on the right side.

The instructions have you do a tubular cast on for the sleeves and bottom hem. This was the first time I actually was able to do it! It started with a crochet chain provisional cast on, using the tutorial by Tin Can Knits. After knitting and purling, you then do a couple rows of double knitting. I think that learning double knitting in the Frida Headband really helped me understand the tubular cast on. Then you rearrange the knits and purls into a 2×2 rib, and knit the ribbing.

After you seam the sweater, you pick up stitches around the neck to knit the ribbed neckband. Lastly, you knit the buttonband. The neckband and buttonband are finished with a tubular cast off. I’ve done a tubular sewn cast off before, but the technique here was a bit different. The designer has you do a couple rows of double knit rib, then you slide the knit and purls onto different needles. Lastly, you graft them together! New and different but it makes a beautiful finish.

Get the pattern for the Limerick Henley by Mary Anne Benedetto from the Interweave Knits Winter 2017 magazine here.