Julie Hoover For Purl Soho: Rigby
Sometimes a design is so effortlessly elegant that it feels discovered rather than devised, as though it had been conjured from thin air. Julie Hoover’s Rigby is such a garment, so dazzling in its simplicity we can’t believe we’ve been without it all this time.
Julie is an expert at thoughtful construction and subtle details, and for this piece she has us knit in the round from hem to underarms, then work flat up to the shoulder seams, finishing the edges with delicate rows of knits and purls for a versatile garment full of breezy sophistication.
Our go-to yarn for understated knits, the incredibly soft Simply Camel is one hundred percent undyed baby camel. This fingering weight yarn creates a gorgeous fabric with a beautiful drape and a desert glow… Both timely and timeless!
Designed for Purl Soho by Julie Hoover.
Share your progress and connect with the community by tagging your pics with #PurlSoho, #PurlSohoBusyHands, #PurlSohoRigby and #PurlSohoSimplyCamel. We can’t wait to see what you make!
Materials
- 4 (5, 5, 6) (6, 7, 8) (8, 9, 10) skeins of Purl Soho’s Simply Camel, 100% baby camel. Each skein is 164 yards/ 50 grams; approximately 620 (700, 785, 870) (970, 1060, 1160) (1265, 1385, 1505) yards required.
- US 5 (3.75 mm), 24- or 32-inch circular needles
- US 4 (3.5 mm), 24- or 32-inch circular needles
- US 3 (3.25 mm), 16-inch circular needles
- US 2 (3 mm), 16-inch circular needles
- Stitch markers, including one unique
- Stitch holders or scrap yarn
- A Rigby Pattern
GAUGE
22 stitches and 34 rows = 4 inches in stockinette stitch on largest needles
NOTE: Due to the elastic nature of the Simply Camel, we recommend allowing your gauge swatch to “relax” for 72 hours after washing and blocking to get the most accurate row gauge results.
SIZES
NOTE: For help deciding which size to knit, please visit our Understanding Ease + Selecting Your Size tutorial.
35 (38½, 42¼, 45¾) (49½, 53, 56¾) (60¼, 64, 67¾)
To fit actual chest circumference of 29–32 (32–35, 36–39, 39–42) (43–46, 47–50, 50–53) (54–57, 58–61, 61–64) inches, with approximately 3–6 inches of ease
- Finished Chest Circumference: 35 (38½, 42¼, 45¾) (49½, 53, 56¾) (60¼, 64, 67¾) inches
- Finished Hip Circumference: 33½ (37, 40¾, 44¼) (48, 51¾, 55¼) (59, 62½, 66¼) inches
- Finished Length from Shoulder to Bottom Edge: 22½ (23, 23½, 24) (25¼, 25¾, 26¼) (27¼, 28, 28¼) inches
Sample: The sweater pictured here is size 42¼, worn with 6 inches of ease.
PATTERN
The Rigby Pattern is available for purchase as a PDF download only.
If I’m substituting yarn for the Rigby pattern, do I use the gauge suggested for Simply Camel or the gauge suggested on the Rigby pattern? Is Simply Camel doubled for Rigby? I’m thinking of using Worsted Twist. Will it have a nice drape?
Hi Kathleen,
Thanks for writing in. You will need to match the gauge of this pattern (22 stitches and 34 rows = 4 inches in stockinette stitch on largest needles) in order to knit it to the correct dimensions! The pattern is written for one strand Simply Camel (a heavy fingering weight/light sportweight yarn), so Worsted Twist is unfortunately too thick for this design. If you’re looking to use Worsted Twist for a similar style garment, I’d recommend our Ribline Vest instead. Hope this helps!
All the best,
Lili
Hi,
Could you please recommend the best type of method to join the Simply Camel yarn. Thank you so very much.
Hi Melanie,
I’d be happy to help you with the best way to join a new ball of Simply Camel! I because of the fiber content, I wouldn’t recommend a wet-splice for this particular yarn, so the best way to join a new ball would be to leave a 3-4″ tail of the first ball and then join the new ball, making sure to allow for a 3-4″ tail at the beginning of the new yarn as well. Then, you can go back and weave in these two tails to close up the small hole made by the join! You can see this entire process broken down in our tutorials Adding a Ball of Yarn and Weaving in Your Ends, if you need some additional guidance!
Warmly,
Kelsey
Shape Sides: “continuing in stockinette, repeat SIRow on following (36th) round.” Does count begin as of beginning of stockinette rows or after doing the SIRow? Same for instruction in following paragraph: Should I begin counting rows (starting with row 1) or continue counting where left off before doing SIRow? Thanks!
Katherine
Hi Katherine,
Thanks for reaching out! For the Shape Sides section, you will be including that first row of stockinette stitch in your count, so including that row you will have exactly 36 rows total. For the following rounds where it says “Continuing in stockinette stitch, work 35 rounds even or until piece measures approximately 12 3⁄4 (12 3⁄4, 12 3⁄4, 12 3⁄4)”, the row count is less important than getting the correct length.
I hope this helps! Please let us know if you have any other questions.
All the best,
Carly
Pattern: Back>Shape Armholes
“Maintaining Slipped Selvage. . .repeat Armhole Decrease Row every right-side row. . .more times, then every 4th row. . .”
My question: every 4th row or every 4th right-side row?
Thanks!
Hi Katherine,
Thanks for reaching out! The decreases for this section will be repeated every 4th row (or every other right side row) 4 (4, 4, 4) (4, 4, 5)
(6, 8, 9) times, then every 8th row 1 time, then every 12th row 1 time.
Please let me know if you have any questions about this!
All the best,
Carly
Sorry, I still see two interpretations.
Every right-side row 4 times; then every 8th right-side row 1 time; then every 12th right-side row 1 time?
Or: every right-side row 4 times; then every 8th row counting both R & W sides 1 time; then every 12th row counting both R & W sides 1 time?
Thanks!
Hi Katherine,
I’d be happy to clarify! For this section, you will work the decrease row on each right-side row 2 (3, 5, 5) (8, 11, 11) more times. After that, you will knit 3 rows in stockinette stitch and then knit a decreased row on the 4th row, and repeat that 4 (4, 4, 4) (4, 4, 5) times.
Then you will knit 7 rows in stockinet stitch and on the 8th row work your decrease row one time. Finally, you will knit 11 rows of stockinette stitch and on the 12th row you will work a decrease row.
All the best,
Carly
I am at the point of seaming the shoulders, but unsure how to proceed. There front was bound off with 11 stitches, and the back was sloped and bound off with 3 stitches. How do I match these up?
Hi Kristina,
Thanks for your question! Because back panel was knit with a sloped bind off, you can use Kitchener stitch to graft together 11 stitches total, including stitches that were cast off in previous rows during the Shape Neck + Shoulder section of the back panel. This gives that seam a slight incline, making it more fitted to the contours of your shoulders!
I hope this helps!
All the best,
Carly
Hi, regarding the shoulder seaming, because the stitches were cast off, how can you use kitchener stitch? Isn’t that only for live stitches? Also, I am making a striped version. What would be the best way to handle the bind off so that it looks good. The sloping seems a little awkward with partial stripes in the back.
Thank you.
Hi Janice,
Thanks for reaching out. This pattern actually does not use Kitchener stitch! We recommend using this seaming technique. Hope this helps clarify things!
In answer to your other question, I’m not entirely sure without learning more about how you’re modifying the pattern. If you can send a photo of the stripes on the shoulders to customerservice@purlsoho.com, we can take a closer look!
All the best,
Lili
Hello–Can Quartz, which is described as a classic fingering weight yarn, be substituted for Simply Camel, which Lili describes above (4-18-22) as a heavy fingering weight/light sports weight yarn. Or would a sport weight like Season Alpaca be better substitution to make? Thank you.
Hi Judith,
Both Quartz and Season Alpaca can definitely be used for this pattern, but you’ll get a very different quality to the knit fabric depending on which you choose! Season Alpaca would be a more natural match to the gauge of the pattern (22 stitches and 34 rows = 4 inches of stockinette stitch), and this yarn will create a relatively dense fabric with less space between stitches. Quartz, on the other hand, will create a much looser fabric with more space between stitches at the same gauge. You could also hold Quartz double for a denser fabric though, and likely still be able to meet the gauge!
All the best,
Lili
Many thanks for your help, Lily. I appreciate Purl Soho not only for the lovely, virtually flawless yarns, but also for the expertise you so generously share with knitters.
You’re very welcome, Judith!
All the best,
Lili