Amikihia Knits - Kopani Sweater

Kōpani - To cover, shut in, enclose (te reo Māori). Kōpani is about being quietly in the enclosed places.

Kōpani is a seamless top down sweater with set in sleeves. The back shoulders and neck are cast on and shaped with short rows. The back yoke is worked down with armhole shaping before being placed on waste yarn. The fronts are picked up from the back shoulders and worked down with a little v in the centre front to form the neckline and armhole shaping. The front and back yokes are joined, the body worked down straight and then a twisted rib hem to finish. The sleeves are picked up and short rows are worked to form the sleeve cap before either short sleeves or long-bishop sleeves are worked. An I-cord or twisted rib finishes the cuff and I-cord creates the neckband and ties for the bodice.

Kōpani has a companion cardigan called Marake (to be open, exposed). Both have a set-in sleeve construction of the same dimensions and all five sleeve options (two here and three in the companion pattern) fit either bodice. Mix and match your look with these two patterns, maybe it will be light summery colours with short sleeves or dark and moody with long sleeves. Whether you are feeling expansive and open or nurturing and enclosed, these two garments will accompany you through every season of life.

Needles and Notions
US 3 / 3.25 mm circular needles 32” / 80 cm long and for small circumference knitting.
Adjust needle size as needed to obtain correct gauge.
US 2 / 2.75 mm circular needles for small circumference knitting and 32” / 80 cm long
2 x US 2 / 2.75 mm double pointed needles
Stitch markers – both circular and removable, tapestry needle and waste yarn

Fitting recommendations
Kōpani is intended to be worn with 1 – 3” / 2.5 – 7.5 cm of ease around the bust and 2- 4” / 5 – 10 cm ease in the upper arm. To work out which size to knit, take your actual bust measurement then knit the next size up from this, which will then give you the recommended ease. For example, if your actual bust circumference is 38” / 96.5 cm you would knit the 40” / 102 cm size garment which would give you 2” / 5 cm of ease in the bust and 3” / 7.5 cm in the upper arm.

Skills
knit and purl, cast on and bind off
increasing and decreasing
picking up stitches
German short rows
i-cord
applied i-cord
provisional cast on
Kitchener stitch
twisted rib

Yarn recommendations
This sample of Kōpani is knit in a super-wash fingering weight 100% merino yarn. It is recommended a similar type of yarn is used.