DIY: Yellow Riddari by Védís Jónsdóttir

We may earn money or products from the companies mentioned in this post.

I started this yellow Riddari in January…2021! I was on maternity leave and thought I had a month to finish it. Jokes on me because Kenji came 12 days early, just as I was going to join the arms and knit the yoke! After more than a year, it’s finally finished. This yellow Riddari is available for purchase in our Etsy shop.

Yellow Riddari by Védís Jónsdóttir

It was just too bulky to knit while Kenji was on my lap! Thankfully he started tolerating naps in his crib so after several months, I was finally able to join the arms to the body in May 2021. However, it took me ages to get around to knitting the yoke because I wasn’t able to decide on colours! 

Yellow Riddari by Védís Jónsdóttir

I’ve knit other sweaters from the Knitting with Icelandic Wool book. The Ár Trésins Pullover by Jóhanna Hjaltadóttir was for myself. However, the Kross Pullover and the Bláklukka Pullover, both by Védís Jónsdóttir, were for our Etsy shop. They’re both still available!

Yellow Riddari by Védís Jónsdóttir

I knit the XXL size using 3.25 and 3.75 mm needles. Unfortunately this pattern is not size inclusive, as the XXL fits me with just a 45″ bust.

Body and sleeves are worked in the round from lower edge to underarms, then joined to work yoke in the round. Depending on how you like your sweaters to fit, it could fit as a small or medium loosely and comfortably. However, if you like your sweaters more fitted, it would act as a large.

Yellow Riddari by Védís Jónsdóttir

Choosing colours for this Riddari was fun but time-consuming for me. I knew I wanted this rich, golden yellow to be the main colour. I had a sweater quantity of Briggs and Little Heritage, a Canadian yarn company, in my new favourite colour. However, as the yoke has so many colours, I had to be careful to make sure that adjacent colours had differing values to create good contrast. All in all, I think I succeeded!

Then, knitting the actual yoke seemed like a whole other project. Because of my colour choice, a couple of the rounds contained three colours. One round even had four colours! That round took me ages to knit, but I think it was well worth it. I think I took a long time to knit this yoke because I didn’t want to manage all this yarn with a baby underfoot! To manage that, I had to wait until he would reliably nap and sleep to work on this Riddari.

Yellow Riddari by Védís Jónsdóttir

I added some short rows to the back of the sweater so it would sit more comfortably. Many of the Icelandic sweater patterns I’ve read do not contain this shaping, making the sweater reversible front and back. However, I find it more comfortable to add, and they’re pretty easy to insert. I added several rows of short row shaping after adding the arms but before knitting the yoke. The raises the back of the sweater so the front neckline dips down a bit.

Yellow Riddari by Védís Jónsdóttir

In total, I used five colours. The main yellow, plus white, red, light blue, and dark blue. All the yarn apart from the white is from Briggs and Little. The white yarn, from Revolution Wool Company, was leftover from the Treelight Pullover. All the yarn is from local Canadian and milled here in Canada. The wool was woolen spun, meaning that the resulting sweater is light but very warm. All the colours were from my stash, and I would love to knit another Riddari with a different colour scheme.

Yellow Riddari by Védís Jónsdóttir
Yellow Riddari by Védís Jónsdóttir

The pattern is available from the book Knitting with Icelandic Wool. However, the colourwork chart for the yoke has an error in it. The colourwork repeat is only 8 stitches, not 9. To save yourself from heartache, read the comments on the Riddari Ravelry page! Furthermore, if you knit this from the pdf pattern, be aware that there is an error in the sleeve instructions. I don’t know why the author hasn’t issued errata for this pattern, because it’s so popular, but be wary!

If you would like a sweater for yourself or a loved one, check out our Etsy shop. We also take custom knitting and crochet orders! Please get in touch if you want something special custom-made.

Yellow Riddari by Védís Jónsdóttir
Meinhilde's Signature, Kiku Corner

9 Replies to “DIY: Yellow Riddari by Védís Jónsdóttir”

  1. Gorgeous color work. I love it!

    1. Thank you so much!

  2. This is gorgeous! I love the pattern and the color scheme is sublime!

  3. So pretty! I’ve never been able to sit patiently and knit long enough to complete such a complicated project 🙂

  4. I am drawn to a deep yellow/mustard color. Your sweater is just wonderful and looks perfect for spring.
    Thanks for sharing at the FWF link party!
    Rachelle

    1. Thank you so much!

  5. Hi! Thank you for this post. I have a question: do you cut off unused yarn in white and red (from the beginning of the sweater) or do you carry the yarn up the side…? I do not have much experience with colourwork yet and I cannot find the answer anywhere… 🙂

    1. Hi Martha,
      For this sweater, you would cut the white and red yarn from the beginning (at the hem). Otherwise you would have a long length of white and red yarn coming up the inside of the sweater that may possibly snag on an arm when someone puts it on. Plus, you’d have three balls of yarn to maneuver! If you were to use the white and red yarn in a few rows (like in the yoke), then I wouldn’t cut it, just carry it up a few rows. I think if the gap between coloours is more than 5 cm or so (depending on the yarn), it would be easier to cut the yarn and then weave in the extra ends. Hope this helps!

Leave a Reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.