It always excites me to see a knitter take one of my designs, tweak it in some way, and come up with an entirely new version. When my friend Barbara decided to make Copperplate, she knew she wanted it to be longer, and a little more coat-like. Once she'd decided on the extra length, adding pockets seemed like the next logical step, so she asked if I'd write her some instructions to make these modifications. As soon as she described what she wanted, I knew it would be a winner. In fact, the Barb version just might be better than the original.
Design decisions
Pockets come in an enormous range of of styles. Vertical openings, horizontal openings, trimmed with ribbing or I-cord, they can be big and showy—a real design feature for a garment—or discreet, and nearly invisible.
Copperplate has a clean, tailored, look. The traveling rib pattern of the front bands, and the faux seams that define the side panels of the garment both create strong vertical lines that help to reinforce the vertical lines of the wearer's body. I knew that whatever pockets were added to the sweater needed to be the discreet variety that wouldn't disturb the lines of the design, so I decided on vertical pocket openings, set into Copperplate's faux seams.
Pockets that are knit into the body of a garment are probably the most common sort, but for pockets that are going to be used a lot—as they are sure to be with this style of cardigan—I'm partial to the kind with free-hanging linings. These allow the cardi fronts to hang smoothly and prevent the fronts from getting stretched out of shape as hands are repeatedly shoved into the pockets.
Although the cardigan is worked in Chickadee, Quince and Co's sport weight yarn, I wanted to keep bulk to a minimum, so I suggested knitting the linings in Quince's fingering-weight Finch. Working them a bit more densely also helps them to stand up to the hard use that's to come.
Pockets for all
When I saw Barb's finished, pockety Copperplate, I knew I had to have one exactly like it—and that I'd want to put these pockets in everything. This longer version has come with me to numerous teaching engagements, and has been a booth sample at shows, and everyone who's seen it has had the same question. 'Where is the pattern for these pockets???' I'm please to be able to share it with you all now.
Copperplate pockets lets you add sleek, tailored pockets to virtually any cardigan design. The pattern has one set of instructions written specifically to work with the Copperplate pattern, and it includes separate instructions for adding pockets to your favorite cardigan pattern—whether it is knit top-down, bottom-up, in one piece, or in pieces. Advice on pocket placement, choosing yarn, and adding pockets to non-stockinette designs is also included.
I'm looking forward to seeing a lot of pockets in the future!
Note: If you've previously purchased the individual Copperplate pattern or the Top Down ebook on Ravelry, you'll find the Copperplate-specific version of the pattern is already in your Ravelry library. If you purchased either of these through the Quince and Co website, you’ll get an email with a new download link. If you have any trouble, please email Quince.