Creating Texture with Slipped Stitches: Ariel from Rowan Mag 60

I'm never quite happy if i don't have a men's pattern in my WIP basket. They're just less stressful. Why? Well, men are rectangles! 😂 You don't have to worry about waist shaping and the heft of a man's chest/arms always fills up a sweater nicely. It's so weird, but when I try on my husband's knit sweaters, they just don't look good on me -- even if they're close to my bust size.

I usually depend on Rowan for my men's patterns. There aren't many every season, but they still have more than most other companies. Poor men, always abandoned in the knit world!

To slim the pickin's even more, my husband is not a fan of cables (so cross out all the aran cardigans and fisherman sweaters) or in-your-face colorwork (cross out anything with intarsia and most fair-isle). We were excited to spy Ariel by Carlo Volpi in Rowan Magazine 60 because it seemed to check off all the boxes:

The different color bands were an interesting take on stripes AND there'd be enough change that I could have fun knitting it. There was also a ton of texture to it, because the multi-color bands were made using slipped stitches and even slipped moss stitches.

Also, it was made with my favoritest yarn, Rowan Kid Classic.

I usually balk at using the same colors as in a magazine -- but I was tempted because this color combo was denim-tastic. Novelty won out in the end with Khaki Sage mixed with the same Smoke shade of the original.

My man has a good eye, too. The first thing he said when he saw the picture was, "shouldn't the dark gray bands on the sleeves be at the wrists?" I agreed, it was way too dark on top, so we switched it up!

Kid Classic is such a great yarn, affordable and very warm. This sweater was all he needed to wear for the brisk breezes of the Bay of Fundy in New Brunswick, Canada. (Thus my Ravelry project name, Rays of Fundy 😆). I didn't realize when I moved to Bar Harbor, Maine that we were closer to the city of St. John, New Brunswick than to Portland, Maine! We like to go up to Spa Chance Harbour for some Nordic spa action. You get really hot in a sauna, hot tub or steam room and then jump into the coldest water body you can find.

The ocean is not for the weak of heart -- especially if it's low tide! For those of you who don't know, the Bay of Fundy has the word's highest tides. I remember going to the spa for the first time when it happened to be high tide (I didn't know) and I said in fright, "ok, for the first round of hot/cold I'll go into the pond and then later when I have the guts I'll go into the ocean." HAHAHAHA, by the time I found those guts, I would have had to run half a kilometer through the cold wind, over slippery sea boulders and carpets of seaweed just to get my toes wet!

Anyway, the sweater fits great -- if you choose the right size! Oddly, the chest size and schematic are 4 whole inches different, so please be vigilant.

"Ariel" is actually the second Carlo Volpi men's sweater I've made. The first one, Vidal, also had a really cool take on stripes:

I'll definitely keep an eye out for any new men's Carlo Volpi patterns, you should, too!

See my Rays of Fundy on Ravelry

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