Created with Ella Gordon (ellalc)

This yoke is designed to be made following the general method by which hundreds of thousands of hybrid machined and hand-knitted yokes have been produced in Shetland over the past half century, and indeed are still being produced today. The cardigan is named after the lane where it all began, in Ella’s knitting room at Cockatoo Brae, in Lerwick, Shetland. Ella prepared the body and sleeves on her machine, and I hand-knitted the yoke. The shades we have chosen are reminiscent of the 1970s, a decade when yokes were being produced in the homes of many Shetlanders for a buoyant commercial market, and when the advent of North Sea Oil also changed the face of Shetland knitting.

You can knit the body and sleeves of this cardigan either by hand or machine. If working with a machine, you will knit the body and sleeves in flat pieces and then cast on steek stitches at the centre front before hand knitting the yoke in the round. If working by hand, simply follow the standard instructions. Short rows are worked before the yoke pattern to allow the front neck to dip slightly. Feel free to add rows / rounds between the waist and bust shaping if you would prefer a longer garment. The neckline of this cardigan is wider and lower than the general Shetland standard

Sizing
Bust with overlapped front bands: 33¼ (35½, 37¼, 39½, 41¼, 43½, 45¼, 47½, 49¼, 51½)
Worn with a relaxed fit with 2in positive ease. For a neater fit, knit select a size with 1in positive ease or less from your bust measurement

Yarn
Jamieson and Smith 2ply Jumper Weight (100% Real Shetland Wool; 115m / 125yds per 25g ball)
Note: to assist machine knitters, MC quantity is given in yards and CC is given in balls.
MC (FC58): 1000 (1100, 1150, 1200, 1250, 1350, 1450, 1550, 1600, 1750) yards
CC1 (202): 2 balls all sizes
CC2 (91) 1 ball all sizes
CC3 (125): 1 ball all sizes
CC4 (FC11): 1 ball all sizes
CC5 (65): 1 ball all sizes
CC6L (FC 41): 1 ball all sizes

Needles and notions
100cm / 40in gauge-size circular needle for yoke
40cm / 16in below-gauge-size circular needle for neck rib
Waste yarn
Tapestry needle
Stitch markers of two different types, x and y
10-12 x 1.25cm / ½in buttons
Tape or ribbon for finishing steek edges (optional)