The cardigan is, in knitwear speak, ten-ply. Preposterously thick is what this means, with its great weight apparent the moment it is beheld. Moreover, the collar — that great pythonic collar there — is a double layer of knit, which logically makes it twenty-ply, and akin thus to wearing an incredibly thick scarf.
The density of the shawl cardigan, comparable to heavy seafaring gear, does not come at the expense of comfort. See, it is made with superfine lambswool — 1/14 Nm, to be exact — and is cosy and comfortable to an incomparable extent. If one were prone to superlatives, it could be called sumptuous.
The cardigan is assembled by hand-linking — i.e. body and sleeve, or sleeve and cuff, are not stitched together. Instead, the tiny knitted loops of each section are joined, with a needle, by hand. Painfully slow work, as you might imagine, but the only way to achieve a soft and seamless finish.
It is hand-framed — i.e. made by a single knitter, who controls the quality and tension of the stitch on an old and hand-operated contraption, rather than a whizzing and thumping, entirely automated and utterly soulless behemoth. It brings an intangible, warm, and human quality to the knit.
The cardigan can make another boast in the world of luxury-grade knitwear bingo: it is fully fashioned. That is to say, the sleeve and body are individually shaped and engineered — just like a tailored jacket, say — to achieve the best shape. This is not ordinary; it demands knitting expertise of black-belt standard.
The construction of the cardigan is unusual. The sleeve and upper back are a single panel, and join the lower body with a horizontal seam across the back but a traditional inset seam at the front. It fits like a one-piece raglan sleeve, with a soft, smooth shoulder following unimpeded the lines of the wearer.
The cardigan has a front of five horn buttons, which are middling in size, dark in colour, and matte in finish. Because each button is a thing of nature — rather than an ersatz replica — they are all unique, differing to lesser and greater degrees from one to the next in colour and shade and markings and so on.
There are three shades of yarn at play here — two dark browns along with good old black. The yarn is knitted into a tuck-stitch, which has a layered, textured appearance. It is dense, on the one hand, but springy and breathable on the other. And just look at it — marvellously textured, the tuck.
