J&J Seaton Embroidery Cardigan in Vintage Rowan Wools

Description

Another vintage design from the husband and wife team, Jamie and Jessi Seaton.  The Seatons collaborated with Rowan for nearly a decade, contributing patterns to many of their early magazines, then sadly left the knitting business to run a very successful store in London - Toast.   Their style was distinctive, complex motif intarsia patterns typically knit in fine yarns and wonderfully deep colors. At one point in time they employed hundreds of hand knitters throughout the United Kingdom to make up their wonderful designs, destined to sell in high end New York department stores like Henri Bendel for thousands of dollars.  Their landmark book,
Sweaters from the Seaton Collection,
was published in 1989 and was an instant success.  The Embroidery Cardigan comes from that book.  Shown in a yellow colorway under the name "Sicily" in the book, the black colorway was only available either as an Ehrman kit or from the Seatons themselves.
Jessi described the design as follows "I particularly like this short, neat cardigan for the way pattern and shape and colour work so well together to produce a garment that, though quite understated and simple, is very wearable, elegant and flattering.  The patterns were inspired by examples of seventeenth-century embroidery from Southern Italy and Sicily."  This version was extremely popular seller and you can see why. The wonderful  combination of geometric patterns with floral motifs on the black background are still as classic today as they were in the late 1980's when the design was first published.  This relaxed fitting cardigan can be knit in any of three sized to fit 36, 38, or 40 inch chest/bust.  Knit in long discontinued Rowan botany, Grainy Silks and Silkstones the Embroidery Cardigan is truly a classic from handknitting history.   As with most of the Seaton's work the cardigan is knit in motif intarsia where the background color is carried across the row, but each design motif is knit from a separate mini-hank or bobbin of yarn. Suitable for experienced knitters comfortable with this type of intarsia. The cardigan features inset drop shoulder sleeves, a crew neck collar, simple shaping, and ribbed edges.  Our kit is an original Ehrman pack and contains all the vintage Rowan yarns you need to complete the project in the shades Jamie and Jessi used.   Rowan botany was a wonderfully soft 100% virgin wool yarn which came in 25 gram hanks as well as cones.  Grainy Silks and Silkstone,  once available in 50 gram hanks or cones, was 52% botany wool blended with 48% mulberry silk.  As all of these yarns are long discontinued this may be a one in a lifetime chance to knit the design in the shades the Seatons used.  The design calls for a tension of 31 stitches and 41 rows to 4 inches (10 cm) on US 2 (2.75mm) needles..
Technique:
Motif Intarsia
Difficulty:
Experienced
Rarity:
All the vintage rowan yarns in this kit have been long discontinued.  The kit represents a rare opportunity for you to create this design in the colors the Seatons specified.
Kit Contents:
In total the kit contains the following shades vintage Rowan yarns in quantities sufficient to create the largest size:
Botany in Black (62), Iris (501), Sea Green (91), and Light Olive (405).  Grainy Silks in Seaweed (803) and Heather (806).  Silkstones in Dried Rose (825), Mulberry (836), Teal (828), Blue Mist (832), Orchid (831), Chilli (826), and Eau de nil (835).  Where multiple balls or skeins are specified, the kit contains matching dye lots.  A pattern also and buttons are included.
As with all of our RareRowan kits, this pack has been carefully stored in a non-smoking home, and these vintage yarns and fabric will arrive to you in pristine condition. We stock our kits in two locations and ship daily from Austin, but only on weekends from Katy. If you need a fast turnaround on shipping, please inquire before purchase so we can make a firm committment on a ship date.
Your total satisfaction is important to us. If your are displeased in any way, please let us know so we can correct the situation.
Please note for international bidders we cannot be responsible for import duties and customs chars as we have no control over these fees. If you have any questions please contact your local postal service or customs office to understand any potential charges. We will not under any circumstances falsify customs declarations and asking us to do so is a violation of eBay policy.