Shawl Collared jacket

This jacket is made from an old jumper that I knitted in alpaca about 15 years ago. The jumper had grown a lot more than I have and even with the sleeves rolled back several times I couldn’t wear it comfortably so I unpicked and unravelled it. It was hard going because the pattern was very complex and it was upsetting to undo all that work.
The original jumper was white but had got some stains on it so I dyed the alpaca with safflower and then with logwood. I found some of the leftover white wool and some red and added a couple of slipstitch patterns to the original stocking stitch design to disguise any unevenness in the dyeing.
The slipstitch patterns are from Barbara Walker’s Treasury of Knitting Patterns. The red and white is Stripe and Spot pattern and the one on the body is called Little Birds.
The finished jacket is very warm and comfortable to wear and has stayed the right size so far.
The pattern can be found in Christina Probert’s Knitting in Vogue. It dates from 1961.