Another Vintage kit from the earliest days of Kaffe's collaboration with Rowan yarns, "Outlined Star Coat" was first published in the landmark book, Glorious Knits, in 1985. The pattern was given in the book, but Kaffe didn't mention the specific yarns he used. There was such an outcry from knitters who wanted to recreate these designs that Rowan published a pamphlet for shop owners in the UK describing either the exact yarns used or very close equivalents in the case when the garments were not knit entirely from Rowan yarns. Using our copy of the "key" we've assembled all the original Rowan yarns you need to recreate this coat exactly as it was knit. The colorway is a wonderful combination of bright tweedy shades on a rich base of dark stripes. Kaffe said it reminded him of early American patchwork quilts, but his inspiration was actuallly Caucasian carpets with their rich muted tone. The coat has a sophisticated folk look that was shamelessly copied by ready to wear houses and other yarn companies after the design was first published. Outline star is one of Kaffe's easiest designs to knit since it is done in chunky yarns in the faire isle technique. Although it is a large garment, the chunky yarns mean it will make up quickly. The coat is knit all in one piece from hem to hem and features simple shaping, integrated sleeves, pockets, and narrow ribbed edgings. It is suitable for intermediate knitters or anyone comfortable with three color in a row faire isle. To simplify the knitting you could always duplicate stitch the star outline colors and only carry two colors in a row. The design comes in one size to fit bust/chest from 36 to 44 inches with a finished measurement of 51 inches. The coat has been modeled on both men and women and is suitable for both. Although the pattern doesn't tell you which colors to use in each row, it is easy enough to approximate studying the photograph from the book. We'd be happy to give you our approximation of the row by row color changes. The coat is knit from three vintage rowan yarns - Chunky Cotton Chenille, Chunky Tweed, and Lightweight DK. The Chunky Tweed and LDK were 100% wool and came in 100 gram hanks and 25 gram hanks respectively. The Chunky Chenilles were at that time 100% cotton and came in 100 gram hanks. All of these yarns are long discontinued, and finding them to create this kit can be very difficult. The pattern calls for a tension of 15 stitches and 16 rows to 4 inches (10 cm) on US 10.5 (6.5 mm) needles.

Technique:Three color in a row Faire Isle
Difficulty:Easy/Intermediate
Rarity:Each of these yarns has been discontinued, some for decades. The kit represents a rare opportunity for you to knit one of Kaffe's most classic designs in the original colors he specified.

Kit Contents:
In total the kit contains the following shades and quantities:

1 Tudor Brown Chunky Tweed (712)
1 Indian Red Chunky Tweed (711)
1 Green Waters Chunky Tweed (707)
1 Warm Orange Chunky Tweed (710)
2 Crimson Pink Chunky Tweed (701)
1 China Blue Chunky Tweed (702)
2 Grey Blue Chunky Tweed (704)
2 Blue Lovat Chunky Tweed (705)
1 Teak Chunky Chenille (351)
1 French Mustard Chunky Chenille (363)
1 Aubergine Chunky Chenille (356)
1 Forest Green Chunky Chenille (362)
1 Bluebell Chunky Chenille (359)
1 Fern Chunky Chenille (364)
1 Lavender Chunky Chenille (357)
1 Cloud Blue Chunky Chenille (360)
8 Black LDK (62) - used double
4 Brown LDK (80) - used double