J&J Seaton Cream Pairs Pullover - Vintage Rowan Botany, Silkstones, Light Tweed

Description

Jessi and Jamie Seaton Pairs Sweater in Cream - Vintage Rowan Botany, Grainy Silks, Silkstones, and Kaffe Fassett Light Tweed
Another vintage design from the husband and wife team, Jamie and Jessi Seaton.  The Seatons collaborated with Rowan for nearly a decade, contributing patterns to many of their early magazines, then sadly left the knitting business to run a very successful store in London - Toast.   Their style was distinctive, complex motif intarsia patterns typically knit in fine yarns and wonderfully deep colors. At one point in time they employed hundreds of hand knitters throughout the United Kingdom to make up their wonderful designs, destined to sell in high end New York department stores for thousands of dollars.  Their landmark book,
Sweaters from the Seaton Collection,
was published in 1989 and was an instant success.  "Pairs" comes from that book.  Jessi described the sweater as follows "Of all my designs this is probably my most enduring favorite.  The design is adapted from nineteenth-century Danish wedding tapestries.  these were specially woven to be used as double seat covers in the wedding carriage and would subsequently only be brought out on the most special occasions.  Being wedding gifts, all the motifs come in pairs:  two birds, a man and a woman, twinned flowers and so on.  I lover their quirky beauty, full of the detail that comes from familiarity with the things depicted but coming nowhere near a realistic photographic representation.  The sweater has a neat, elegant style that looks equally good dressed up or down, for evening or daytime."    Pairs was kitted by Rowan in the early 1990's.  It was extremely popular and you can see why.  This relaxed fitting polo neck jumper can be knit in any of four sizes with a finished chest/bust measurement from 40 to 46 inches.  Knit in long discontinued Rowan botany, Grainy Silk, Kaffe Fassett Light Tweed, and Silkstones, Pairs is truly a classic from hand-knitting history.   As with most of the Seaton's work the pullover is knit in motif intarsia where the background color is carried across the row, but each design motif is knit from a separate mini-hank or bobbin of yarn. Suitable for experienced knitters comfortable with this type of intarsia. The design features inset drop shoulder sleeves, a placket polo neck collar, simple shaping, and ribbed edges.  Our kit is an original Rowan kit and contains all the vintage yarns you need to complete the project in the shades Jamie and Jessi used for the book.  The box was a little tattered around the edges, so we've repackaged the kit in a heavy duty bag. Rowan botany was a wonderfully soft 100% virgin wool yarn which came in 25 gram hanks as well as cones.  100% wool light tweed was a staple in Kaffe and Seaton designs for many years and came in 25 gram hanks and cones.  Grainy silks and Silkstones were a wonderful blend of 52% mulberry silk and fine botany wool and came in 50 gram hanks.  As all of these yarns are now sadly discontinued, this may be a one in a lifetime chance to knit the design in the shades the Seatons used.  The design calls for a tension of 31 stitches and 42 rows to 4 inches (10 cm) on US 2 (2.75 mm) needles.
Technique:
Motif Intarsia
Difficulty:
Experienced
Rarity:
All the vintage rowan yarns in this kit have been long discontinued.  The kit represents a rare opportunity for you to create this design in the colors the Seatons specified.
Kit Contents:
In total the kit contains a pattern including over sized charts, shade card, and the following shades of vintage Rowan yarns:  Botany in Cream (1), Ginger (26), Red (45), Rich Royal (634), Light Olive (405), Pale Mauve-Pink (438), Lilac (611), and Turquoise (90): Kaffe Fassett Light Tweed in Bamboo (218), Champagne (202), and Forest (219); Grainy Silks in Seaweed (803); and Silkstones in Olive Grey (827).  As this was an original Rowan yarn pack, dye lots match when multiple balls are required.  There was a button for the neckline in the kit, but it has gone missing so you will have to choose your own.
As with all of our RareRowan kits, this pack has been carefully stored in a non-smoking home, and these vintage yarns and fabric will arrive to you in pristine condition. We stock our kits in two locations and ship only on weekends from Katy Texas. If you need a fast turnaround on shipping, please inquire before purchase so we can make a firm commitment on a ship date.
Your total satisfaction is important to us. If your are displeased in any way, please let us know so we can correct the situation.