Forest Henley
Named after the English town that is famous for the rowers who wear them, Henley shirts may have more to do with rivers than forests, but we think a banded collar and two-button placket works just about anywhere!
With its easy cropped length and cozy rolled edge collar, we imagine our Forest Henley upping the style game on mushroom forages, climbs to scenic outlooks, and traipses through fern-covered valleys. Its down-to-earth beauty will fit right in!
The construction is simple. You knit the front and back separately from the bottom up, sew them together, then pick up and knit the sleeves in the round from top down. Lots of thoughtful details keep the knitting interesting and the finished piece tailored to a tee!
Our Understory yarn is the perfect foil for such casual piece. Its earthy palette and traditional spin are cabin-toasty, while its baby alpaca, baby yak, and silk blend and gentle drape are going-places elegant.
We used the beautiful Sorrel Green color, a cool under-the-canopy kind of green. We love it but might need another in warm Autumn Moor or neutral Willow Bark… All so wonderfully woodsy!
UPDATE: NOW IN KNITTING YARN & MORNING
MARCH 2023
Because options are a knitter’s best friend, we’ve updated our Forest Henley pattern, now written for either our 100% merino Knitting Yarn or our cotton-yak Morning. The first, heathered and toasty for a super classic staple; the second, soft and breathable for a gorgeous three-season sweater… Whichever you choose, the down-to-earth beauty of this Forest Henley will make it one of your favorites!
Designed by Purl Soho designer, Laura Ferguson.
Share your progress + connect with the community by tagging your pics with #PurlSoho, #PurlSohoBusyHands, #PurlSohoForestHenley, and #PurlSohoUnderstory. We can’t wait to see what you make!
Materials
- 4 (4, 5, 5) (6, 6, 7, 7) skeins of Purl Soho’s Understory, 50% baby alpaca, 25% baby yak, 25% silk. Each skein is approximately 250 yards/100 grams; approximately 875 (980, 1090, 1190) (1315, 1435, 1575, 1665) yards required. We used the color Sorrel Green. (NOTE: We no longer offer Understory, but choose from one of our other light worsted/dk weight yarns.)
- US 5 (3.75 mm), 16-inch circular needles
- US 5, 24-inch circular needles
- Another US 5 or smaller, 16- or 20-inch circular needles
- A set of US 5 double pointed needles
- Stitch marker
- Stitch holders
- A quarter yard of smooth, thin scrap yarn
- Two 3/4-inch buttons. We used Purl Soho’s Large Round Buttons in Forest Green.
Gauge
20 stitches and 28 rows = 4 inches in stockinette stitch
Sizes
NOTE For help picking a size, please check out our Understanding Ease + Selecting Size Tutorial!
38 (42, 46, 50) (54, 58, 62, 66)
To fit actual chest circumference of approximately 32-34 (36-38, 40-42, 44-46) (48-50, 52-54, 56-68, 60-62) inches with 4-6 inches of ease
- Finished Chest Circumference: 38 (42, 46, 50) (54, 58, 62, 66) inches
- Finished Length From Shoulder To Bottom Edge: 20¼ (20½, 21½, 22) (23, 23½, 24½, 25) inches
- Finished Sleeve Length from Underarm: 17¼ (17¼, 17¼, 17¼) (17¼, 17¾, 18, 18¼) inches
- Sample: The sweater pictured here is size 38, worn with 3 inches of ease.
Pattern
The Forest Henley Pattern is available for purchase as a PDF download only.
Excellent design, as usual. Could a longer bust and sleeves serve to adapt it to a full pullover for a boy (i.e.: ME!)?
BW 🙂
Lucio
Hi Lucio,
Thanks for writing in! I think you can easily adjust the pattern to get a longer length throughout the body and sleeves!
All the best,
Gianna
Can the body be easily made longer? Cropped just doesn’t work for me. Thank you!
Hi Amy,
Thanks for reaching out! I believe you can easily adjust the pattern to get a longer length throughout the body!
All the best,
Gianna
Love this pattern! I recently had a baby, so I’ve been looking for a pattern for an oversized sweater that I can nurse in. Do you think I’d run into any major issues if I used a slightly bulkier yarn and sized up my needles, and made this longer? I’m a pretty experienced knitter but haven’t made myself any sweaters. And totally good with a slouchier, less structured fit.
Hi EB,
Thanks for reaching out! If you are comfortable adjusting the gauge of the pattern I don’t think it would cause too many problems sizing up needles and using a bulkier yarn. It should also be fairly easy to lengthen the pattern. As for size I would recommend following the pattern for one of the sizes a few up from what you measure in at to get that slouchier over sized look!
Please let us know how this turns out and feel free to reach out with any more questions going forward!
All the best,
Gianna
So nice, but why so short? Are there instructions in the pattern for lengthening?
Hi Holly,
Thanks for reaching out! This pattern doesn’t currently have instructions to lengthen it, but thank you for expressing your interest and I will be sure to pass this along! I believe it would be fairly easy to adjust the length and add in more rows to the body of the sweater!
All the best,
Gianna
Yes, it does look pretty straightforward. Looking forward to casting on this wonderful sweater! Thanks!
Lovely pattern. Just started working it. Is the hem supposed to roll significantly? Can this be adjusted if I block it once finished?
Thank you!
Sarah
Hi Sarah,
Thanks for reaching out! Yes the hem will curl a bit! You can adjust this quite a bit with blocking once you have finished!
All the best,
Gianna
Would this patten work well with cashmere merino silk dk? The contents are 75% extra fine merino, 20% silk, and 5% cashmere.
Hi Keely,
Thanks for reaching out! I am sure that work be fine! I do recommend working up a gauge swatch to insure that the gauge with that yarn is consistent with the pattern before you begin!
All the best,
Gianna
Hello! Would you recommend blocking each piece before grafting it together? Or wait until the sweater is complete to block.
Thank you,
Sarah
Hi Sarah,
Thanks for reaching out! For this pattern I recommend blocking the finished sweater once it is complete!
All the best,
Gianna
Loving this knit so far! I have a question about the front shoulder shaping sections after I finish the neckline and armhole decreases. When I am first starting the short rows, it says to purl to last 6 stitches and make a double stitch. Then after a knit row it says to repeat. Does this mean I pick up the double stitch when I repeat the row? Hope that makes sense, thanks!!
Hi Sam,
Thanks for reaching out! Since you are working short rows for this section you will be making a new double stitch at the end of each row for this section!
I hope this helps, happy knitting!
Gianna
Sorry still a little confused. So if I repeat the row where I purl to the last 6 stitches, I would be purling the previous row’s double stitch (the 7th stitch from the end) and then making the next double stitch? I feel like I must be misunderstanding the instructions but can’t figure it out!
Hi Sam,
No worries, I am happy to help! For rows 1 you are purling to last 6 (6, 7, 7) (8, 8, 9, 9) stitches and then making a double stitch, when you make the double stitch you are turning the work. One you turn the work you are then morning to row 2 where you knit to last 6 (6, 7, 7) (8, 8, 9, 9) stitches, make double stitch. Turn the work and then continue on to row 3 where you purl to 6 (6, 7, 7) (8, 8, 9, 9) stitches before double stitch, and then make double stitch and continue on to the rest of the rows making the double stitch x amount of stitches prior to the last double stitch.
After you complete rows 1-6 and repeating Short Rows 5 and 6 one more time you will then purl to end of row, working the double stitches as single stitches. So to clarify for rows 1-6 you aren’t going to be working the double stitches because you work the short row before getting to the last double stitch, working closer and closer to the center of your fabric and then will work across all of the double stitches in the final row of the section. Our Short Rows: German Short Rows tutorial explains this technique in more detail and is an excellent resource to use!
I hope this helps!
Gianna
Hi – I have the same question as Gianna’s (above). I think your answer describes the instructions for the BACK shoulder shaping. Gianna’s question (and mine) is about the FRONT shoulder shaping. The instructions are different and I think we’re both wondering whether that’s an error in the pattern.
Here’s the language to compare. The BACK shoulder shaping starts this way:
Short Row 1 (wrong side): Purl to last 6 (6, 7, 7) (8, 8, 9, 9) stitches, make double stitch (see Special
Instructions).
Short Row 2 (right side): Knit to last 6 (6, 7, 7) (8, 8, 9, 9) stitches, make double stitch.
Short Row 3: Purl to 6 (6, 7, 7) (8, 8, 9, 9) stitches before double stitch, make double stitch.
Short Row 4: Knit to 6 (6, 7, 7) (8, 8, 9, 9) stitches before double stitch, make double stitch.
Short Row 5: Purl to 5 (6, 6, 7) (7, 8, 8, 8) stitches before double stitch, make double stitch.
Short Row 6: Knit to 5 (6, 6, 7) (7, 8, 8, 8) stitches before double stitch, make double stitch.
In other words, the double stitch moves inward about an inch on alternating rows on each side.
Here are the instructions for the LEFT FRONT:
Row 1 (wrong side): Slip 2 wyif, purl to last 6 (6, 7, 7) (8, 8, 9, 9) stitches, make double stitch.
Row 2 (right side): Knit to end of row.
Rows 3 and 4: Repeat Rows 1 and 2.
Row 5: Slip 2 wyif, purl to 5 (6, 6, 7) (7, 8, 8, 8) stitches before double stitch, make double stitch.
Row 6: Knit to end of row.
Following these instructions as written would (I think) result in the Row 3 double stitch being more or less directly above the Row 1 double stitch, rather than closer to the center as it is with the instructions for the back.
I hope this makes sense. Thanks in advance for your help.
Hi Shelly,
Thanks for reaching out! The instructions are correct as written! For the back, the shaping works over the entire set of stitches and work to add shape for the shoulder blades. For the front you will only be working over a smaller section of stitches since the left and right are separate from each other! The short rows for the front are centered in the same area since you are adding the shaping to that particular section. This makes the shaping much different from the back where you are adding shaping to a much larger section!
I hope this clears things up!
Warmly,
Gianna
Hi Gianna,
I just finished row 7 under “Shape Sleeve”. My question involves the next paragraph: Continuing in stockinette stitch with 2 slipped stitches at center underarm as established, repeat Decrease Roundevery…”
Does “as established” mean I will repeat rows 4 & 5 until I need to do the decrease row/s?
In other words, I do not slip 2 stitches every row, right?
Thank you,
Mary
Hi Mary,
Thanks for reaching out! Yes, that is correct! You will work in the established pattern, as you did in Rounds 4 and 5 (slipping the 2 stitches every other row) until it is time to repeat the decreasing round!
I hope this clears things up, happy knitting!
Gianna
Thank you!
Mary
Hi – it is hard to tell the colors online. What button color do you recommend if I go with the ripe plum for the yarn?
Hi Lisa,
To pair with the Ripe Plum color of Understory, I’d recommend going with the Burgundy Buttons!
Warmly,
Kelsey
I read the replies to the questions about the shaping for the front shoulders, both here and on Ravelry, but was still having trouble. If I thought of the double stitch as forming a unit with the number of stitches that precedes it, the short rows take more stitches than are available: 6 sts + dbl st; 6 sts + dbl st; 5 sts + dbl st; 5 sts + dbl st = 26 sts. So I did 5 sts then dbl st twice, then 4 sts then dbl st twice: 5 sts + dbl st; 5 sts + dbl st; 4 sts + dbl st; 4 sts + dbl st = 22 sts, the number of stitches for the shoulders. This worked out nicely.
Also, is there any reason why the shoulders should not be joined using the 3-needle bind off? I can do the Kitchener stitch but prefer a more stable shoulder seam. But maybe there’s a reason for grafting that I’m not thinking of.
Many thanks for a lovely pattern.
Hi Fronia,
I am so glad to hear that you found a system that helped you understand the German Short Rows in this pattern! I’m sure others will find your account of it very useful. And you can absolutely use a three-needle bind off to join the shoulders! That will definitely create a more stable seam there.
All the best,
Lili
The Forest Henley is so elegant. Would it be easy to convert into a cardigan?
Hi Robyn,
Thanks for writing in! This pattern is constructed to be a pullover and it would be a bit tricky to convert the pattern to a cardigan. I do think this would make a lovely cardigan, thanks for expressing your interest! I will pass this idea along to the rest of the team!
Happy knitting!
Gianna