More lovely Elizabeth Zimmermann jumpers

I have been waiting patiently for one of my friends Giorgia to finish her sweater as she strongly encouraged me to do the Knit a long. And “Ta Da!” her jumper is finished. It is such a beautiful one, isn’t it? Giorgia chose a nice deep plum merino yarn from Colourmart and spent quite a lot of time thinking about what colours to use for the yoke. We met up, with Sew2Pro, for a lunch, to consider it! In the end she went with pink! It’s beautifully knitted with perfect tension and I love it!

Elizabeth Zimmerman yoke jumper
Giorgia in her EZ jumper

The other person I have been waiting patiently for is Maggie. Things were very tough for her as her husband was very poorly during the knitting. I was so sorry when she told me he had passed away and she was knitting through her grief. On her blog she has written a very moving post about Bob. Maggie nevertheless has produced a really splendid jersey and she looks wonderful in it. I love the little touch of red on the sleeves, don’t you? It is so vibrant.

 

Maggie is very tall and she shaped her jersey by having more stitches for the hip, which she then reduced down by around 40 stitches for the bust. This worked well and she neatly reduced the body tube every few rows in the side seam position. Although she was worried the sleeves might be a bit wide at the cuffs, using the Zimmermann per centage system, I think they worked out fine.  Also I have taken issue with EZ on the yoke depth, which she suggests should be 25% of the bodice circumference. I felt that 20% was enough but Maggie was happy with the longer yoke. So if you have a shaped body, or are rather tall, or even a man (!) this sweater works fine, but you may need to adapt it a little.

Now what about this one? Glorious, isn’t it? This is Helen. She made this jersey back in September, and wrote it up on her own blog. She is a great knitter and I find her blog very inspirational. The red and orange look super against the grey, don’t they? Also just using two, adjacent, shades works brilliantly and makes a very elegant sweater, beautifully paired with a nice pair of jeans. Bravo Helen.

The next one is Felicia’s. You may remember she had already done a lovely plain cream one.  This time she introduced colour, inspired by the Who and Quadrophenia. I especially like the sleeves and the rolled neck finish. Nice, eh?

Zimmermann yoke sweater
Felicia EZ plus the Who

Next up is Kerry who has produce not one but two EZ sweaters.

Brilliant!  I love her colourwork. Intricate but subtle. She has used the same motif on both the jerseys and it is interesting how the contrast on the black and white makes the motif advance. The drape of the white over the jersey is much more marked. The grey on red is more subtle but also very special. I know the red one went from Australia to the UK and Italy with Kerry and she knitted it up in transit. Kerry has managed to get a very good fit and the white on black looks so fresh (especially in her November garden). Well done Kerry. i was hoping to meet up with her, but another time Kerry?

I will just mention my own version, which I know I have featured before. I used the same pattern for this cardigan – my first cardigan.

EZ yoke sweater made into a cardigan
EZ yoke sweater made into a cardigan

I am in love with this pattern. It is so adaptable, simple but flexible, fits all sorts of shapes and provides endless fun with colour and pattern. Do let me know if you have one in progress (I have lots of posts to help you through it), and I will feature it. I have another one on the go myself actually….

 

 

 

20 Responses

  1. Giorgia

    thanks for the mention Kate! These jumpers are all wonderful 🙂 I particularly like Helen’s choice of colour. It’s so fresh and stylish!

    I am now quickly working on fingerless mittens, then to finish off a cute little boat neck jumper, and then I want to plunge in the other EZ jumper you have also made. I desperately need something handsome to wear around the house in this freezing winter.

    • fabrickated

      My goodness it is cold at the moment Giorgia. I am wearing three layers of Uniqlo down jackets and look like Michelin woman. Are you thinking of the New Zealand sweater? If so maybe I will do another knit along, but maybe next year!

      • Giorgia

        I am! I have got an amazing bargain from colourmart and got my hands on about 600gr of a splendid burgundy merino wool. I want to make a tunic length jumper with generous sleeves ad a half turtle neck. Again, I am thinking hardcore snuggling. No colourwork, but I would like to play a little with garter stitch and ribbing for interesting textures.

        I have also seen a great jumper on a friend that I am considering replicating, but it’s entirely made in ribbing and I am not sure I can cope with that amount of 1knit/1purl!

  2. Hila

    These are beautiful and inspirational knits Kate. I did get the Elizabeth Zimmerman book from the library about 2 years ago but somehow didnt get round to trying a sweater though I enjoyed her engaging writing style. I think I will get it again and give it a proper go. I was wondering if you have any thoughts on knitting needles? When I started knitting I bought myself some cheap bamboo needles which have sufficed until now. I am thinking of getting new ones.

    • fabrickated

      Hello Hila! I use Addi circulars simply because that is what came up on Amazon. They are metal but seem very smooth. I am very satisfied with them and have yet to try bamboo, wood or plastic!

      • Helen

        Out of all the needles that I have I find the Addi ones the best. I’m tempted to buy the set of interchangeable as it would be better value in the long run.

    • Giorgia

      Hi Hila! I have not tried the Addi, I have used for a solid couple of years now the wooden Kint-pro symphonie interchangeable ones. They are very pretty ( which I admit, influences my purchases when I buy long-term!) and I love wooden needles as they are so quiet and warm to the touch.

      It’s very much a personal preference I have to say though. My mom is a wonderful knitter and not only she doesn’t like wooden needles, but she wouldn’t touch circular needles with a stick. I am entirely the opposite… I guess it very much depends on what you are after.

      I do recommend interchangeable needles though, they are much better value in the long term if you are a regular knitter.

  3. Rathmore

    The beautiful motif on Kerry’s sweaters can be found on Ravelry.com. It has 23 rows in the chart and is called “Rusty” by Birna Guojonsdottir. It is a free pattern and can be plugged into any pullover or cardigan.

  4. Kerry

    Such lovely jumpers! Kate, thanks for the mention, I am such a shrinking Violet that I got a surprise/shock (even though I had been warned!) to see myself AND my EZ jumpers. I really enjoyed the notion that others were knitting along and that is what got me started in the first place and helped me to knit in the evenings in (very) hot Italy. I used a light grey as contrast in the red jumper, having consulted my husband but I thought it was too subtle on a red jumper, so I made the black one firstly to help consolidate my learning but also to experiment with a brighter contrast. I think it’s very successful and I like having a choice of colours to wear and a pattern that I adore. Speaking of the pattern, Rathmore is correct, I did use Gudjonsdottir’s version of an Icelandic pattern. From the beginning of the EZKAL I knew I wanted an Icelandic pattern as I have a deep love for Iceland, it’s history and people, and we have dear friends who live there, and this pattern was it. I love it so much. Gudjonsdottir says of the pattern: ‘The pattern I picked for this garment is from the book Ornaments and Patterns found in Iceland. It contains a collection of traditional textile patterns from Icelandic manuscripts from as early as 1700.’

    I am currently knitting another EZ jumper, this one is for my husband and I will be using that grey colour that he liked so much, for the yoke, and I will be using a more recognisable Icelandic pattern for it. This jumper may take some time as there is a lot more of him than me, and it’s currently 37C here and way too hot to knit!

    Kate, thanks so much for the opportunity to join the KAL and I look forward to the next one! And next time I’m in the UK I hope I’m able to meet up with you too!

    • fabrickated

      What a lovely response, and I do understand those that don’t wish to be plastered all over the internet, but personally I hate pictures with the head sliced off!! Your modest pose where at least we can appreciate your beautiful natural hair is very pleasing.

      The notes on your motif are helpful – thank you!

      Personally I have struggled with knitting for men (well I am only on my second man’s garment). I am so at home with my own shape I can knit or sew for it instinctively. Also I know just how I like to wear clothes in terms of ease, horizontal lines etc. With my husband I think I have got it all wrong.

      Thank you for making this experience so much fun Kerry and sharing your knowledge, learning and cute photographs.

  5. Michelle

    What a wonderful selection of jumpers. I love how each knitter has personalised their creations (that’s the beauty of this method), and such lovely colour combinations, too. It’s so inspiring to see everyone’s work.
    Having finished my first EZ jumper, I felt encouraged to tackle another incorporating one or two thoughts I’d had during the process. I tried a bit of waist shaping, and worked the extra ‘short rows’ in the yoke back rather than the neckband (I think Felicia suggested that originally, and what a great solution it is, thanks!). I’m so pleased with both my EZ jumpers and I think there will be more. Not just yet, though, I slipped on black ice yesterday and dislocated my elbow. Ouch! No more knitting or sewing for me for a while.

  6. Helen

    Thanks for the write up Kate!
    It is inspiring to see your other readers creations. So may different variations and colours.
    I’m nearly at the end of my second jumper where I have tried to give the yoke more of a fairisle look.
    A year ago I wouldn’t have thought to do colour work so thank you very much for getting me started.

  7. felicia

    Thanks for the mention Kate. I have to say I am ashamed that I let such a horrible picture stand. I love the sweater with its stripes. I thought I was inspired by the other Kate Davies. (the who? quadrophonia?) Lol. Anyway, I’m making good progress on my next one and really like having a knitting project on the go.

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