New work is now on its way, into the hands of knitters. Two different collections will be out this November, one published by Laine and the second published by amirisu. I miss writing longer blog posts, where I chat about the original design inspiration and share in-progress shots. These projects take a long time to organize and knit. I like being able to create a little spot for all that work, frozen in time on the web.
So let’s dive in to Trio, a double seed stitch cardigan that is a part of Laine Magazine’s Issue 31, Lingering. Out today! This particular project has been in to works for just over a year now. The original submission was sent off in September of 2025, knitted over the holidays and then shipped to Laine in January at the beginning of this year. This was all so it could be photographed in the historic and snowy setting of Porvoo, a city about an hour east of Helsinki.
Images from Pinterest.
This past year while working, I’ve tried to be more consistent at taking in-progress shots of new designs. Normally, I can easily knit a whole sweater and send it off before realizing I might have only one or two photos of the month long knitting process. I’ll be sharing some of the ‘behind the scenes’ and final shots of my new design Trio in this post.
Let’s start off with a few shots from Laine’s mood-board. Each submission I send in, I always include a few images that I was drawn to for inspiration. My idea for this issue came from patchwork, quilt jackets and fleece vests. A cropped jacket, with lots of texture to create a faux shearing type fabric, started to form from the pictures above.
Images from Pinterest.
This second set of pictures above, were also from the original mood-board. I loved the curved hem on the pants. The combination of blue and orange eventually lead to colour choice for yarns. My original swatch was quite safe compared to the colours I settled on. Beige, soft pink mohair and dark burgundy for the i-cord trim made up my first swatch for the submission, I will post the picture below.
Sketch of Trio.
Since I wanted lots of texture in this one, I ended up using a simple double seed stitch. The stitch pattern, plus three yarns held together in the body, started to give me that faux shearling look I wanted. The core of the body uses a worsted-weigh yarn with two different colours of silk mohair. The i-cord trim around the pockets is to mimic the bias binding used to hem quilt edges. For the i-cord trim and 2x2 ribbing, two strands of 4ply are held together with one strand of silk mohair.
Sketch of Trio.
Original swatch for submission.
Choosing the right yarns felt like a big decision for this one since I was working with multiply weights and different colours. Normally, I would try to stay under the umbrella of one brand but for this particular design, it didn’t happen that way. I knew I would get great base yarns from Rosa Pomar’s line, Retrosaira. However, I knew they did not produce a lace-weight silk mohair. I started looking at other options from their website, pretending I was browsing their full shelves of yarn at their Lisbon location. I eventually came across Rosários 4, another Portuguese brand, with a silk mohair. Checkmate. If I couldn’t keep it all under one brand, then I would choose yarns from one country, Portugal.
Aurora for the silk mohair and Beiroa for the Aran weight.
Pictured above is Beiroa, a worsted-weight Portugese wool, with the two colours of Aurora silk mohair from Rosários 4. Three yarns held together, make up the body and sleeves of the jacket. Picking mohairs was a bit of a gamble, the highlighter orange is very bright on screen and in-person. However, when combined with the others it becomes more muted, I ended up loving the finished result. Not pictured is the third yarn I used, Mondim, a 4-ply Portuguese wool. I’ve used this one many, many time for personal projects and other designs. I love the colour range it comes in and felt I would have a few great options to choose from when picking a colour for the hem to compliment the body.
The final decision was Beiroa in the colour 675 (grey), Mondim in the colour 105 (navy) and Aurora in the colours 41 (blue) and 62 (orange).
Final colours combined..
The right front, left front and back hems before joining together.
Let’s get into Trio, step-by-step. The hem is knit is three separate pieces before being joined together. Working short rows and decreases together, help create the curved edges at the bottom. The pockets also use this method. Picture below, Trio really starts to take off once the two fronts and back are all worked at once. When the armholes are reached, the fronts and back are then worked separately again. There is some simple shaping at the armholes and at the shoulders. The shoulders are joined together with the Three-Needle Bind Off.
Dividing the body after the armholes.
Picking up for the sleeves.
After the body is completed, the sleeves are picked up and worked in the rounds, all while working in the double seed stitch texture. To finish the body, cuffs are worked in 2x2 ribbing, same for the button bands, picked up along the front. The collar is then picked up around the neck opening and also worked in the ribbing.
Cuffs and button band are on.
Pockets on the blocking mats.
The pockets are knit separately. Above, you can see the pockets on blocking mats. I recommend pre-blocking the body and the pockets before sewing them on. This will help smooth out the fabric and get the pockets in the right place. Less chances the placement will change after blocking. This also helps determine the length of the i-cord trim. I kept the i-cord on the double-pointed-needle while sewing it down around the pocket. I did this incase I had too much or not enough. By keeping the double-pointed-needle there, I could easily knit a bit more or unravel the extra and cast off for the prefect length.
Stitching the pocket in place.
Adding the i-cord trim around the pocket.
Pocket completed.
To complete Trio, buttons are sewn on. Can we have a moment for the buttons? I do think I could have gotten something better to match. The marbling on the buttons match the texture and colour of the Mondim and Aurora knit together. If you’re in Helsinki, my favourite place to check first for buttons is Punainen Lanka, a small haberdashery shop upstairs in the Hakaniemi Market Hall.
The last note on Trio is about the name. I have my tech-editor, Amelia, for helping me with that choice. She though Trio would be a fitting name for the “trio” of yarns used, Beiroa, Mondim and Aurora. After more thought, I learned that trio also translates in Portuguese to “a group of three”, so it’s a small nod to the Portuguese brands used in this design. Plus many thanks for the Rosa Pomar and the team at Retrosaria for sending all the yarn support for this project. Highly recommend visiting the shop in-person if you have the chance to explore Lisbon. Can’t wait for my next visit.
Now traveling from Lisbon to snowy Porvoo. It’s no wonder, why the team at Laine wanted to have a winter photoshoot here. The classic, red wooden building along the Porvoonjoki, the river, can be seen in the background. My first visit to Porvoo was nearly ten years ago, in December 2016. There was less snow but lots of great gingerbread cats. I had to dig deep in the archives to find these gems.
Porvoo, 2016.
Gingerbread cats of Porvoo.
Now, I’ll leave you with the professional photos. Feel free to check out Trio online by visiting its Ravelry page. There you will see a few projects, uploaded by my test knitters. I had a great group for this one and their projects will give you lots of colour inspiration for your own Trio. Colour combinations could be endless for this one.
Stillgrowingknits’s Trio on Ravelry.
Photography by Laine Magazine.
Photography by Laine Magazine.
Photography by Laine Magazine.
Photography: Riikka Kantinkoski (@riikka_kantinkoski)
Styling: Ida Bergfors (@idabergfors)
Hair and make-up: Essi Kylmänen (@essikylmanen)
Model: Marie Y / As You Are Agency (@asyouareagency)
Yarn support: Restrosaria (@retrosariarosapomar)
Photography by Laine Magazine.
As always, happy knitting.