The Scottish Ale II sweater is based on a previous design of mine, Scottish Ale. Scottish Ale is a man’s sweater that was originally made for a friend, who had been asking for years for me to make a dense cable sweater that he could wear outside instead of wearing a coat. I eventually designed and made the Scottish Ale sweater for him. It has been a favorite pattern of many, and of course works well for a woman or a man. However, since it was designed to be warm and dense, it is just that!

The Scottish Ale II is knit with worsted-weight yarn and knit on larger needles than the original. It is tunic length, so it requires more drape. It is also shaped to be wider at the hips than at the bust. Not all women need that extra room at the hips, but many of us do. If you don’t, then you can use the bust numbers for your cast-on numbers, and you can eliminate the shaping.

Scottish Ale II is worked in pieces from the bottom up. It has a saddle on the shoulder and has drop sleeves. The center cable pattern is now a traveling cable rather than closed circles, while the other cables are exactly how they are in the original sweater.

Skill Level
Intermediate

Sizes
S (M, L, XL, 2XL, 3XL)

Finished Dimensions
Chest 34 (38, 42, 46, 50, 54) in/86.5 (96.5, 106.5, 117, 127, 137) cm

Length 33 in/84 cm

Materials
7 (8, 8, 9, 10, 10) skeins Cascade Yarns Cascade 220, 100% Peruvian Highland Wool, 100 g/3.5 oz, 220 yds/200 m
Actual yards/meters 1390 (1525, 1670, 1870, 2025, 2150) yards/1271 (1395, 1528, 1710, 1852, 1965) meters
Size 8 US/5 mm 24-in/60 cm circular needle or size needed to obtain gauge.
Size 8 US/5 mm 16-in/40 circular needle
Cable needle
Stitch markers
Tapestry needle

Gauge
19 stitches and 25.5 rows = 4 in/10 cm in Moss stitch.