Navelli

Navelli Summer Sweater by Caitlin Hunter

What is Being Made

Navelli is a relaxed, lightweight summer sweater designed as part of Caitlin Hunter's "Knitaly" series of knitting designs. Named after an ancient Italian town renowned for crocuses and saffron cultivation, this top represents the third installment in the collection, following the patterns Tegna and Marettimo. The sweater is engineered for warm-weather wear with a comfortable, easy-fitting silhouette suitable for layering or wearing alone during summer months.

Construction Techniques

Navelli employs a strategic combination of knitting techniques to achieve both visual interest and structural integrity. The garment is knit in the round from the bottom up, a method that creates seamless fabric and allows for efficient construction of the body. The front and back pieces are separated at the armholes and then worked flat to accommodate shaping at the shoulders. This transition from circular to flat knitting is a hallmark of modern top-down and bottom-up sweater design.

Short row shaping is incorporated at the shoulders, a technique that creates custom shoulder angles without increasing or decreasing stitches dramatically. This method allows the sweater to fit more precisely across the upper body and back. Additionally, the sleeves feature a distinctive folded construction with a tiny peek of contrast color visible at the fold, adding both visual detail and subtle structural definition to the sleeve cap area.

Colorwork and Design Details

The sweater incorporates colorwork at the body hem, introducing pattern and visual depth to the lower edge of the garment. This colorwork section is worked using a main color and contrasting colors, creating a decorative band that anchors the design. The contrast color peeking from the folded sleeves provides a coordinated accent that ties the overall aesthetic together while serving a functional purpose in defining the sleeve structure.

Stitches and Stitch Techniques

While specific stitch abbreviations are not detailed in the pattern overview, the construction method indicates the use of fundamental knitting stitches worked in stockinette stitch or similar smooth fabrics typical of lightweight summer sweaters. The colorwork sections employ stranded colorwork techniques (also called Fair Isle or jacquard knitting), where multiple yarn colors are carried across the row to create the patterned design at the hem. Short row shaping utilizes wrap-and-turn or similar techniques to create gradual shaping without visible decreases.

Yarn and Materials

Navelli is designed to be knit in 4-ply yarn weight, specifically using Cosy Posy Yarn Co. Cloud, a 100% superwash Merino fiber. This yarn is supplied at 400 yards per 100 grams, making it ideal for lightweight, breathable summer garments. The superwash treatment ensures easy care and durability for a frequently-worn top.

The pattern calls for three colors of yarn:

• Main Color (MC): Honeycomb (gold) – the primary yarn for the majority of the sweater
• Contrast Color 1 (CC1): Maple (brown) – used in colorwork and sleeve accents
• Contrast Color 2 (CC2): Rose Quartz (pale pink) – provides additional color variation in the design

Yarn yardage requirements vary by size. For the main color, yardages range from 504 yards in the smallest size to 1,015 yards in the largest size. Contrast Color 1 requires between 221 and 445 yards depending on size, while Contrast Color 2 requires 108 to 192 yards. These estimates may vary based on individual gauge, modifications to the pattern, or substitutions with different yarn types.

Skill Level

Navelli is rated as an intermediate difficulty pattern, making it suitable for knitters with foundational skills who are ready to tackle more complex construction methods. The combination of circular and flat knitting, colorwork integration, and short row shaping requires comfort with multiple techniques but remains accessible to experienced beginner-to-intermediate knitters.