Last week Brooklyn Tweed releasedYokes, a collection of five pullovers and two cowls inspired by yoke sweaters of the North Atlantic. Traditionally, yoke sweaters have patterning that surrounds the neck and shoulders, and simple stockinette for the body and sleeves. They can be worked from the bottom up or from the top down, but always seamlessly.
Schulzin BT Shelter and Townesin BT Loft
For Yokes, BT’s designers used this basic construction as a starting point. Michele Wang moved the color work to the middle of the sweater in Schulz, a bold and colorful nod to the creator of the Peanuts cartoon. With Townes, Julie Hoover shifted the color work – a subtle gradient – to the bottom of the body and sleeves.
Atlas in BT Shelter and Frostpeak in BT Loft
Jared Flood’s Atlas and Veronik Avery’s Frostpeak use more traditional stranded knitting on the yoke, which gives us an opportunity to have some fun picking colors from Brooklyn Tweed’s broad palette. Although there’s nothing wrong with relying on the designers’ good taste and using the recommended shades.
For those that favor cables over color work, there’s Norah Gaughan’s Tundra (shown at top; knit with BT Quarry) with large leaves growing from a cozy turtleneck.
Morse in BT Shelter and Pyry in BT Shelter
And if you’re intrigued by yokes, but don’t want to knit a sweater, Wang’s Morse and Gaughan’s Pyry give you a chance to explore color work and cables in two beautiful cowls.
As with every Brooklyn Tweed collection, even a smaller one like Yokes, there is an abundance of inspiration. Whichever you pick, you’ll get hours of knitting enjoyment with well-written patterns and beautiful yarns.