I based this pattern on the sweater that Crown Prince Harald wore when he and his family fled Norway during the Nazi invasion in 1940. It has a slightly longer ribbing and cuff and a slightly wider neck than are usual in today’s sweaters. Thus, you may wish to decrease the length of both the waist and wrist ribbing by 1 inch (2.5 cm) for each size.
Debbie Gremlitz, owner of Nordic Fiber Arts online yarn store, feels that Crown Prince Harald’s sweater could have been knitted with Rauma’s Strikkegarn, the same yarn that I call for here. The Rauma company was started in 1927 and was going strong in 1940. Its medium red #174, however, was introduced only within the past twenty years. The warmer folk red #124, which I call for here, is the shade seen in all the early patterns and appears closer to the scarlet of the Norwegian flag, which became the country’s official flag in 1821.
[PAYWALL]
Materials
- Rauma Strikkegarn, 100% Norwegian 3-ply wool yarn, DK weight, 115 yards (105.2 m)/50 gram (1.8 oz) ball, 4 (4, 5, 6) balls of #124 Bright Red (MC) and 2 (2, 3, 4) balls #101 Unbleached White (CC); www.nordicfiberarts.com
- Needles, circular, 16 inches (40 cm) and 24 inches (60 cm), and set of 4 or 5 double pointed, size 2½ (3 mm) for rib and buttons (wooden double pointed are best for buttons) and 16 inches (40 cm) and 24 inches (60 cm) size 4 (3.5 mm) circular for body or size needed to obtain gauge Note: 3 mm is not a standard US needle size; be careful when buying a US size 2½; US size 2 is 2.75 mm; when possible, shop for this needle using the millimeter size alone.
- Crochet hook, size D/3 (3.25 mm)
- Dimes, 4, to stuff buttons, or a small bit of batting
- Marker
- Stitch holders
- Tapestry needle
Finished size: 23 (25, 27¼, 30½) inches (58.4 [63.5, 69.2, 77.5] cm) chest circumference; sized for 2 (4, 6, 8) years
Gauge: 23 sts and 29 rnds = 4 inches (10.2 cm) in stranded patt on larger needle
Special Stitch
Twisted Rib
K through the back lp of each k st and p through the back lp of each p st.
See above and pieceworkmagazine.com/abbreviations for Abbreviations and Techniques.
Instructions
Notes: The sweater is worked in the round from the lower edge to the underarm, then the front and back are worked separately back and forth. The sleeves are worked flat from the rib to the shoulder with a set-in sleeve cap. The left shoulder top is worked with a short rib and closed with self-made buttons for the two smaller sizes. Add decorative buttons, if desired, for the two larger sizes. All rib is twisted stitch except rib at left shoulder. The chart is worked both in rounds and rows.
Sweater
Body
With MC and smaller cir needle, CO 124 (136, 144, 160) sts. Pm and join in the rnd, being careful not to twist sts. K 1 rnd. Work in k1, p1 twisted rib until piece measures 2½ (3, 3, 3) inches (6.3 [7.6, 7.6, 7.6] cm) from CO. K 1 rnd, inc 8 (8, 12, 16) sts evenly—132 (144, 156, 176) sts.
Main body,
Change to larger cir needle. Beg and ending as indicated for your size, work King Harald’s Sweater Chart, working 8-st patt rep 16½ (18, 19½, 22) times in each rnd. Cont in patt until piece measures 8½ (9½, 10, 13) inches (21.6 [24.1, 25.4, 33.0] cm) from CO.
Shape armholes,
Front,
Next Row (RS): BO 3 (4, 5, 7) sts, work 63 (68, 73, 81) sts in patt, place next 66 (72, 78, 88) sts on holder for back—63 (68, 73, 81) sts rem for front.
Next Row (WS): BO 3 (4, 5, 7) sts, work in patt to end—60 (64, 68, 74) sts rem.
BO 1 st at beg of next 8 rows—52 (56, 60, 66) sts rem. Work even in patt until armhole measures 3 (3½, 3¾, 4½) inches (7.6 [8.9, 9.5, 11.4] cm), ending with a WS row.
Left shoulder,
Next Row (RS): Work 16 (17, 19, 22) sts in patt, k2tog, place next 16 (18, 18, 18) sts on holder for neck, place foll 18 (19, 21, 24) sts on holder for right shoulder—17 (18, 20, 23) sts rem for left shoulder.
Dec Row (WS): P2tog, work to end—1 st dec’d.
Dec Row (RS): Work to last 2 sts, k2tog—1 st dec’d.
Rep last 2 rows 1 (2, 2, 2) more time(s), then work WS Dec Row 0 (0, 0, 1) time—13 (12, 14, 16) sts rem. Work even until armhole measures 4½ (5, 5½, 6½) inches (11.4 [12.7, 14.0, 16.5] cm), ending with a WS row.
Sizes 23 (25) inches (58.4 [63.5] cm) only,
Change to MC. K 1 row. Work 5 rows in k1, p1 rib.
All sizes,
With MC, BO all sts.
Right shoulder,
With RS facing, attach yarns to right shoulder sts.
Dec Row (RS): Ssk, work to end—1 st dec’d.
Dec Row (WS): Work to last 2 sts, ssp—1 st dec’d.
Rep last 2 rows 1 (2, 2, 3) more time(s), then work RS Dec Row 1 (1, 1, 0) time(s)—13 (12, 14, 16) sts rem. Work even until armhole measures 4½ (5, 5½, 6½) inches (11.4 [12.7, 14.0, 16.5] cm), ending with a WS row. With MC, BO all sts.
Back,
With RS facing, attach yarns to back sts. BO 3 (4, 5, 7) sts at beg of next 2 rows—60 (64, 68, 74) sts rem. BO 1 st at beg of next 8 rows—52 (56, 60, 66) sts rem. Work even until armhole measures 4½ (5, 5½, 6½) inches (11.4 [12.7, 14.0, 16.5] cm), ending with a WS row.
Next Row (RS): With MC, BO 13 (12, 14, 16) sts, k26 (32, 32, 34) and place these sts on holder for neck, BO 13 (12, 14, 16) sts.
Sleeves
With MC and smaller cir needle, CO 34 (40, 44, 48) sts. Do not join. P 1 row. Work in k1, p1 twisted rib until piece measures 2½ (3, 3, 3) inches (6.3 [7.6, 7.6, 7.6] cm) from CO, ending with a RS row.
Next Row (WS): P across, inc 4 (8, 8, 8) sts evenly—38 (48, 52, 56) sts.
Change to larger needle.
Next Row (RS): Beg and ending as indicated for your size, work Row 1 of chart over all sts.
Work 5 (5, 7, 7) more rows even.
Inc Row (RS): K1, M1, work in patt to last st, M1, k1—2 sts inc’d.
Rep Inc Row every 6th (8th, 8th, 8th) row 5 (5, 6, 7) more times, working new sts into patt—50 (60, 66, 72) sts. Work even until piece measures 8½ (11, 12, 15) inches (21.6 [27.9, 30.5, 38.1] cm) from CO, ending with a WS row.
Shape cap,
Cont in patt, BO 3 (4, 5, 7) sts at beg of next 2 rows—44 (52, 56, 58) sts rem.
Dec Row (RS): Ssk, work to last 2 sts, k2tog—2 sts dec’d.
Dec Row (WS): P2tog, work to last 2 sts, ssp—2 sts dec’d.
Rep last 2 rows 7 (8, 8, 9) more times, then work RS Dec Row 0 (0, 1, 0) time(s)—12 (16, 18, 18) sts rem. BO 0 (0, 0, 2) sts at beg of next 0 (0, 0, 4) rows—12 (16, 18, 10) sts rem. Work 1 (0, 0, 1) row(s) even. BO all sts.
Finishing
Sew right shoulder seam for two smaller sizes and both shoulder seams for two larger sizes. Sew sleeve seams, then sew in sleeves, overlapping back left shoulder over front left shoulder rib before seaming for two smaller sizes.
Collar
With MC, smaller 16-inch (40-cm) cir needle, and RS facing, pick up and k 5 sts along selvedge edge of neck rib for 2 smaller sizes only, 12 (12, 13, 14) sts along left neck edge, k16 (18, 18, 18) from front neck holder, pick up and k 12 (12, 13, 14) sts along right neck edge, and k26 (32, 32, 34) from back neck holder—71 (79, 76, 80) sts total. Working back and forth for 2 smaller sizes and in the rnd for 2 larger sizes, work in k1, p1 twisted rib for 8 rows/rnds. With larger needle and working back and forth for 2 smaller sizes and in the rnd for 2 larger sizes, cont twisted rib for 8 more rows. With WS facing, loosely BO all sts kwise.
Button loops,
For smaller two sizes, attach MC at top corner of collar above back left shoulder. Crocheting into side collar sts, 1 sc, ch 8, sk 1 row, 1 sc in next 3 rows, ch 8, sk 1 row, sc to where collar meets body, ch 8, sk 1 st, sc in next 4 sts, ch 8, sk 1 st, 1 sc in each st to shoulder edge or as needed to suit placement of buttons and gauge. Fasten off. Weave in loose ends and block.
Self-faced button (make 4),
Note: Insert either a dime or batting when able and close button around stuffing.
With MC and smaller dpn, CO 3 sts. Pm and join in the rnd, being careful not to twist sts.
Rnd 1: [K1f&b] 3 times—6 sts.
Rnd 2: [K1f&b, k1] 3 times—9 sts.
Rnd 3: [K1f&b, k2] 3 times—12 sts.
Rnd 4: [K1f&b, k3] 3 times—15 sts.
Rnd 5: [Ssk, k1, k2tog] 3 times—9 sts rem.
Rnd 6: [Sl 1 kwise, k2tog, psso] 3 times—3 sts rem.
Pull thread through rem 3 sts, leaving a long tail with which to sew button onto sweater. Sew buttons to collar and sweater front opposite button loops.
This project was published in the January/February 2015 issue of PieceWork.
