Amy Herzog is genius, did you know that? When Stitchy and I  were planning the sci-fiber chapter of Knitting it Old School, we ganged up on Amy and told her that she needed to design our Barberella / Planet of the Apes / Matrix-y sweater in the style of the future past. She resisted at first, but it’s almost impossible to say no to us. (We’re so charming!) Plus it was mostly just math, and Amy loves math. Thus was born the Apocalypta sweater.

The yarn is Berroco Seduce, which is a Rayon, linen, silk and nylon blend. It’s so slinky, it’s amazing. I don’t quite know how to describe it, because when you’re knitting it it’s soft enough, but your gauge will feel super super loose. When you get it wet to block it, it firms up and gets very wirelike, but is still pliable. The beauty though, is when it dries. The stitches all smooth out and it softens and blooms slightly so that you just want to pet it or run it through your fingers. It’s pretty cool.

I knit my version of Apocalypta as an XXL for the bottom prior to the waist shaping and then knit the top bit as an XL. I knit it with zero ease, but I gotta tell you, I wish I’d made it smaller.

It fits nicely when you first put it on, but within the hour the yarn will soften more and the whole thing grows. Like, grows a LOT. And not in length like you would expect. For kicks I tried on the medium sample original and it fits perfectly on my arms and chest. The sleeves are a bit short on that version, and it stops mid-belly on me, but it goes to show how the side to side stretch with the loose stitches can really alter the shape.

I love it though, and I’ve worn it to a whack of book signings. Paired with jeans and kickass boots? It’s a sexy feeling top.

If you see me at a trunk show, I’ll make you try it on. Once you have it on, you won’t want to take it off. Beware. It’s the fastest way to accidentally buy a sweaters worth of Seduce.

It’s a really quick knit though and if you make it with heaps of negative ease and add a little length? It will be absolutely perfect and you’ll love it too.

All the details are here on Ravelry.