Rota + Rotad Cardigan Duo
They decide the fate of men in war,
they ride on horseback and carry a spear.
Let this cardigan always remind you
how strong you are.
It’s time for Rota and Rotad Cardigan Duo! Rota was my first ever design idea but my second published pattern. This was very much needed in my wardrobe and I didn’t find any cardigans that were short enough! So I designed one ;) It’s a very thin cardigan as well, knitted in one of my favorite yarns - Rauma finull. In the most gorgeous color!
And as I wanted a thicker one as well, and many of my followers asked for it as well, I decided to make a thicker one. So it’s the same cardigan but with different gauge.
The name “Rota” comes from norse mythology and is one of the valkyries. They are truly terrifying creatures in myth and they represent strength and power. I wanted that to influence anyone who knitted this cardigan. To really rely on their on strength and their own power. “Rotad” is a play on the words as it means “to be grounded” in swedish, but also is very similar to “Rota” (which means “to det down roots” also).
The yarn is one of my favorites all time. It’s Rauma finull in the colorway 4121, orange melert. It’s one of the colors I’m always drawn to. It’s dyed on grey wool and that makes the yarn so full of life. When I was working in the yarn shop I always loved to organize the shelf with finull as they have so many colors! The rainbow effect was amazing!
This cardigan is very simple in it’s construction. It’s a raglan cardigan with short rows in the back. Then the body and sleeves are seperated and you work the body first and the sleeves after that. You pick up stitches for the buttonbands and then you steek it (Rota is knitted back and forth but can also be steeked).
Rota has a gauge of 24 st in 4 inches/10 cm on 3.0 mm needles. So it’s a thin, lovely cardigan. Rotad has a 18 st gauge on 4.0 mm and is a bit more suitable for colder weather.
This pattern was a bit tricky for me to start with. I actually knitted sample one (the rust one) without taking any notes, as I didn’t think I would start writing patterns. But then it got very much attention in the shop but also online, so I wanted to give it a try. But to learn how to grade patterns while also figuring out how to explain how to knit a cardigan with buttonbands and steek and everything was a bit much. So I started with Yggdrasil instead. And then I knitted another Rota Cardigan in a different yarn (Isager tweed) and wrote the pattern at the same time. This was a lot easier!
When I released this pattern I got truly overwhelmed with praise and love for it and that made me so happy and eager to continue with designing :)
This is not that hard of a pattern, but has a few things that might be tricky actually. I’m currently creating an online course in how to knit your first cardigan and this is the pattern I’m basing it on! It’s launching in the fall, so if you want to learn how to knit/knit your first cardigan - keep your eyes peeled! It’s coming!
Thank you for reading this post!
Have a woolly day, and happy knitting!
Love, Anna.