Contains:
- Knitting pattern for simple, short-sleeved sweater with garter stitch detail and innovative construction
- Schematics and in-progress photos included
- Suitable for intermediate knitters
Materials you need at home:
- Approximately 630, (725, 820, 930, 1045) m of fingering weight yarn: 200, (240, 280, 335, 390) m of bodice color and 430, (485, 540, 595, 655) m of body color. Sample was knit in Madelinetosh Tosh Merino Light (superwash merino single ply), but sweater also works up nicely in cotton or linen yarns
- 3.5 mm/US 4 needles, or size needed to obtain gauge. You will need approximately-sized circulars or DPNs for the neck trim and body
- A second circular or a stitch holder to hold stitches while working the front and back of the bodice separately
- Stitch markers
- Tapestry needle for weaving in ends
A breezy, slightly cropped tee knit in fingering weight yarn. The sleeve caps and bodice are knit side to side in garter stitch. The body is then picked up and knit in stockinette. Front decreases under the bust keep it from being too roomy in front and a longer curved back gives you a bit more coverage where you need it. The body is finished off with a double-knit hem.
The sideways-knit garter bodice is the ideal place to use a pretty skein of variegated yarn.
For best results, use a yarn with some drape so that the body gathers are not stiff. Superwash wool, silk blends, linen and linen blends should all work well. When in doubt, swatch! Be sure to wash and block your swatch to see how the fabric will behave.
Skills: long-tail and backwards-loop cast-ons, simple short rows (no picking up wraps required!), increasing, decreasing, picking up stitches, double-knitting (technique given)
Sizes to fit (bust measurements, in cm): 71-81, (81-91.5, 91.5-101.5, 101.5-112, 112-122)
Gauge: blocked garter (stretched): 22 stitches and 36 rows to 10 cm; blocked stockinette: 25 stitches and 32 rows to 10 cm
Note: Though conversions to the metric system have been made on this page for your convenience, the pattern itself uses American measurements.
Laura Aylor
If ‘knitting designer’ had been one of the job choices for those aptitude tests they give you in high school, I wouldn’t have spent so many years trying to decide what I wanted to be when I grew up. My best subject in high school was math; my best classes in college were logic, drawing, and a commercial art class. After careers in computer programming/analysis and child-rearing, knit design snuck up on me, but I think it’s the perfect use of my odd skill set! I love every step of the process, from figuring out how to actually make what I’ve envisioned to putting the finishing touches on a pattern, not to mention all the knitting that comes in between!
I also love reading and hiking and spending time on Brier Island in Nova Scotia every summer.