The Lorica of St. Patrick, also known as The Breastplate of St. Patrick, or The Deer’s Cry, is a prayer of protection written by the fierce Saint himself. The 5th century prayer is part of the Liber Hymnorum manuscripts that are kept in Dublin, Ireland. The manuscripts give an account of how St. Patrick and his monks sang this prayer of protection as they traveled. Enemies who meant to ambush them looked upon the singing travelers and saw them instead as a herd of wild deer.

Normally, waist shaping is reserved for women’s garments. However, increasingly menswear also becomes body conscious, and many men have a chest that is broader than their waist. Done with positive ease, the shaping merely becomes a removal of bulk at the waistline.

Worked seamlessly in the round from the bottom up, with cabling adapted and inspired from Barbara Walker’s Third Treasury of Knitting Patterns, this men’s sweater has slight waist shaping, beginning more narrowly and opening up to the full chest size. The upper body is also worked seamlessly, using decreases to create a set-in sleeve and shoulder strap.

The pattern is also written with the option of omitting the waist shaping for those who prefer a traditional sweater shape.