This sweater, in Cascade’s Dolce (alpaca, wool, and silk, great stuff!) was inspired by a design in which someone had attempted cabling on the horizontal.   It somehow didn’t seem to me to work very well; it just wasn’t as bold as cabling ought to be, or so it seemed to me. 

I have seen only one photograph of a sweater that used the technique I tried, which involves making a long cable strip for the hem, and short ones for the sleeve cuffs, picked up from their long edges for working in the round, and were worked up.

That photograph I saw was of a beautiful but blocky gentleman’s sweater that worked this way, but I wanted something dressier and more feminine, with becoming shaping..  The A-shape of this one becomes many figures, but requires that you measure carefully and work out your increases and decreases thoughtfully, including those at the neckline.  The high, snug armhole, and the equally high, close-fitting neckline and collar give it an elongated line that is never out of fashion.  It isn’t your father’s cabled sweater, that’s for sure.  It fits me perfectly, better than it does Millie the Mannequin, who nominal size is the same, but who has smaller shoulders and a bigger bust than I do.

I present this so that you can have the luxury of perfect fit, if you’re willing to do a little work with the calculator on your computer.  Please send pictures, so I can see how it looks on a variety of figure types.  There’s a worksheet, and a good chart, too.