Shifting Tides Sweater (men)

**STORY** Five years ago, my spouse saw me working with delicate cashmere yarn and requested a cashmere hand-knit piece of his own for his birthday. I immediately sourced a luxurious DK-weight yarn (we selected the colors together), intending to use it as a 2021 birthday gift. Well, life happened... In December 2025, he got his gift, and now it is being released for all of the guys in the audience! This design posed a specific challenge: balancing my obsession with rich texture and interesting construction with my spouse's more conservative, masculine taste. I’ve designed this sweater specifically for the male form and proportions, ensuring a fit that feels intentional and a style that slots perfectly into any closet - unique and modern, yet calm and not too loud. The result is a "best of both worlds" knit. You’ll find plenty of intricate texture to keep you engaged through the yoke, but once that's complete, it’s smooth sailing with relaxing stockinette for the body and sleeves. **CONSTRUCTION** This saddle-shoulder, set-in sweater is worked top-down in the round, with no seams. Starting with a Slipped-stitch texture, using Intarsia in-the-round, the pattern shifts to a solid color to create the thick diagonal border, then to the sweater's final main color for plain Stockinette knitting. The top part of the sleeve shaping is worked as part of the sweater until the underarm, where they are separated from the body. Then the body is worked in Stockinette, finished with double-knit ribbing; the sleeves are worked in Stockinette with the same finish, and a double-knit collar completes the sweater. **VIDEO TUTORIALS** This pattern requires knitting Intarsia in the round, and it is not as complicated as it may sound! The pattern includes video tutorials to help you get through the learning phase of this technique. Once you get the hang of it, it gets so much easier. Because Intarsia requires your attention and learning, the top texture is a simple slipped-stitch pattern. It uses double wrapping of the stitch to create the diagonal line, maintaining an even height between the pattern and the stockinette knitting. This pattern also has video tutorials for all the steps, to give you confidence that you're doing it correctly. After the yoke part, it is TV stockinette knitting to the end. **FINISHED SIZES** This pattern is designed for a man's body shape, and therefore the sizes match the standard men's body measurements: Men’s 1 (2, 3, 4, 5) (6, 7, 8) Chest circumference: 39.5 (43, 47.25, 50.75, 55) (58.75, 63, 66.5)” / 100 (109, 120, 129, 140) (149, 160, 169)cm All measurements are for the finished garment and should include a positive ease in the range of 3-4.75” (8-12 cm) for the best fit. **YARN** This pattern is suitable for any DK yarn that meets a gauge of 22 sts and 32 rows over 10 cm. It can work with woolen-spun or worsted-spun yarn, any material, and any color combo! This was a special birthday gift, so I used the luxurious Jade sapphire, Mongolian cashmere 4 ply, 100% Mongolian Cashmere, 55gr/200 yd [183m] MC:#100 (Jade Sapphire) 6 (7, 8, 8, 9) (10, 10, 11) skeins; 1200 (1335, 1465, 1600, 1735) (1865, 2000, 2135) yds / 1100 (1220, 1340, 1465, 1585) (1705, 1830, 1950) m CC: #101 (Burned toast) - 2 (2, 2, 2, 2) (2, 2, 2) skeins; 280 (285, 315, 320, 335) (340, 360, 385) yds / 255 (260, 285, 295, 305) (310, 330, 350) m **NEEDLES & HOOKS** Main needles: Size US 5 (3.75 mm) circular needles, 32”- 40” (80-100 cm) cable. Ribbing needles: Size US 4 (3.5 mm) circular needles, 32”- 40” (80-100 cm) cable for body / 16” (40 cm) cable for neck. Adjust the needle size as necessary to achieve the correct gauge. **NOTIONS** St markers; waste yarn/st holder; tapestry needle, cable needle (optional). **GAUGE after blocking:** 22 sts and 32 rows = 4" (10 cm) in Stockinette St on main needle.