A Top 5 Knit! Pomona Jacket by Anny Blatt

Earlier this year, I wrote about how I rediscovered Anny Blatt yarns. Well, 'unearthed' is really a better word, because I wasn't aware that these little luxuries from France still existed! Not only that -- I learned that the North American distributor was one of my local yarn stores. WHAT?? Seriously, I live in a tiny corner of the 'United States' that I like to refer as Canada. Virtually, Canada. How lucky!

Back when I visited Essentially Felt, my eyes and paws were glued to the pattern book Couture Collection No. 225. I looked like a nut. I kept flipping page by page to the end, turning it over and starting again. Was it 5 times, or 6? It had been YEARS since I had seen a book for which I would gladly knit 14 out of 20 designs. That's 70%, people. 70%!! (You can see my very favorites here.)

There was one design that grabbed me above all others, the Pomona Jacket. I bought the yarn then and there, creating my own new colorway with everyone in the store.

Before you say, "I want one too!", I have to tell (and maybe warn?) you about why it's one of my Top 5 knits ever. IT'S AN INTARSIA BEAST! That's why I say "warn", because I know that not everyone loves intarsia as much as I do. Not only will you have dozens of bobbins dangling from your work, but you will be using a combination of fluffy angora (Angora Super), slippery nylon ribbon yarn (Victoria) AND a little sparkly novelty yarn (Muguet) thrown into the mix!

HAVE NO FEAR: Here are my 5 Tips for Better Intarsia

It's true craziness -- but I tell you, nothing will captivate you more than a project like this. Also -- nothing simple can ever give you something as beautiful as this.

I ended up choosing the smallest size (Anny Blatt yarns are a highly worthy, but significant, investment). At some point I started sweating because the armhole was looking ridiculously small... oh no! It turned out that I had read the pattern completely wrong.

I traditionally to sew up the body and shoulders AND knit the collar before ever starting the sleeves. It's a trick I use to to make finishing more approachable, knowing that there is not much to do after the sleeves are seamed.

Whoops! I completely missed that the sleeve is a saddle sleeve, and that the sparkly Navajo-like motif was part of the armhole! That was good news for fit, but bad news for frogging. Ugh, no project seems to escapes major undoing in MY house! I fiddled and managed to only redo the collar and painstakingly re-weave in quite a few verrry short ends. It all worked out.

I want to take a moment to talk about one of the most important yarns in the Anny Blatt collection, Victoria. You may turn up your nose at a 100% nylon ribbon yarn, but this yarn has been manufactured by Anny Blatt for decades for a reason! The yarn dyes to perfection -- in any color you can dream of -- and it has a silkiness, weight and shine that you simply cannot get from other yarns. Believe me, I've scoured YarnSub, Ravelry, eBay and Google looking for substitutions for this yarn. I've even bought some contenders! None are quite right because this yarn is truly unique.

There are three colors of Victoria used in this cardigan.

PRO TIP: I highly recommend treating the ends of this ribbon yarn to avoid unraveling the strand. Personally, I used a quick on/off flame from a lighter. Yes, I looked totally daft lighting my ends, and alarmed many a barman, librarian and diner! Surprisingly, Victoria doesn't smell at all when you singe it.

HOWEVER, if you get some angora hairs at the same time, it will! ASK ME HOW I KNOW 👃

An alternative is to use Fray-Check or another sewing solution that binds fabric edges.

Can you see that gorgeous ang-aura? Anny Blatt angora is said to be the highest quality angora you'll find. Obviously, it sheds, all angora will. I did find that this angora behaved much better than other ones I had used, though, so I was very pleased that it lived up to its reputation.

Those of you who love angora, close your eyes, but I decided to shave it down on the sleeves! The center of the 3-piece sleeve is a rectangle using the sparkly novelty yarn Muguet. I had spent all this energy knitting the little cables and sparkly chevrons only to not see them AT ALL because of all of that angora fuzz!! SNIP SNIP

Never be shy to make your knitting look the way YOU want it to.

Can you believe that I finished this jacket in 3 months? I can't. I have a lot of projects going at any given time, so this timeline means major knitting addiction. It also helped that I was invited to teach at the upcoming Anny Blatt Knitter's Holiday on Oct. 26-29 in Cape Elizabeth, Maine! We'll be making a different design from the Couture Collection No. 225 called the Harvey Jacket. This is the type of Chanel-style design you'll find in every season of Anny Blatt.

Registration is still open, so please join us!

My goal is to wear an Anny Blatt pattern for each day of the retreat. 😅Pomona Jacket? Check! Next? Sherman:

And then, if I'm lucky (and knit 36 hours a day) I will have the gorgeous Wilson.

If you want to see these beauties in the flesh, I'll see you in October! If you are too far away, no matter, check out this look book of the newest patterns from Anny Blatt book No. 226.

These are my faves:

If you'd like either pattern book, contact Essentially Felt by e-mail or phone. And in case you're wondering, all of these photos were taken in Little Shemogue, New Brunswick (thank you, Sandy!)

See my Pomona Jacket on Ravelry

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