Essential Knit Sweaters: Patterns for Every Sweater You Ever Wanted to Wear Every Day

PREFACE

This book provides an abundance of pullovers and cardigans featuring various construction types. Here, besides traditional seamed designs, raglan constructions, and circular yokes, you will also find contemporary construction methods that allow for a variety of fit options and, above all, get by without having to seam individual parts. For the projects in this book, a limited color palette was used: white, black, and shades of gray. This way, all designs can be used as a canvas and painted with your own color preferences. All garments have been graded for sizes XS–XXL to represent a variety of body shapes. After all, this book is for you wonderful women out there!

To enable every one of you to learn new construction methods step-by-step and expand your overall knowledge of knitting, every chapter contains patterns rated for difficulty levels easy, intermediate, and advanced. This way, knitters of all skill sets can find projects to suit them most. Additionally, this book features a variety of different sleeve options, body shapes, neckline solutions, and cuff variations, which are to some extent also interchangeable with each other, allowing you to choose your own combinations. These different options are described in the section Possible Combinations on page 42.

I hope you have as much fun knitting all the different designs in this book as I had when designing them and writing this book—in this respect: Have fun knitting!

Yours truly,

Frauke

KNITTING BASICS

LET’S GET STARTED

CASTING ON STITCHES

LONG-TAIL CAST-ON

To start a knitted piece, the required number of stitches must be cast on. In this book, for this purpose, the long-tail cast-on technique is used throughout. This cast-on is easy to work and looks pretty. Care should be taken to work it neither too tightly nor too loosely. Those who tend to cast on very tightly should work this part with needles one or two sizes larger than called for in the pattern. On the other hand, those who cast on rather loosely should use one or two needle sizes smaller for the cast-on than called for in the pattern.

1

First, a beginning slipknot is formed. The yarn tail should be at least three times longer than the planned width of the cast-on row. If uncertain, it is preferable to keep the beginning tail a little longer. It has no doubt happened to every knitter at some time or another that the cast-on row had to be unraveled and redone because the tail had turned out to be too short.

2

To cast on further stitches, lead the end of the yarn connected to the skein from the palm around the outside of the index finger, forming a loop. For better control of the yarn, loop it around the index finger a second time to secure. Now, wrap the long yarn tail around the thumb from back to front, creating another loop. Use the middle finger and the other fingers to help secure the yarn and to control the formed loops. Now, insert the needle from bottom to top into the thumb loop, and pull the front strand of the index finger loop toward you through the thumb loop.

3

Remove the thumb from the loop, and use it to pull the stitches tight on the needle.

Repeat Steps 2 and 3 until the required number of stitches listed in the instructions has been cast on.

BACKWARDS-LOOP CAST-ON

Casting on stitches using the backwards-loop cast-on method is the easiest of all cast-on techniques. However, it does not produce a neat and flexible edge but looks rather shapeless. For this reason, this technique is only applied when stitches can’t be cast on any other way; for instance, to cast on new underarm stitches to create positive ease for additional mobility around the arms. For this purpose, the technique is ideally suited since only a small measure of fabric must be bridged. Additional stitches are then worked into the cast-on stitches in the following round.

First, just as with the long-tail cast-on, a beginning slip-knot is formed. After this, the needle bearing the slipknot is transferred to the right hand.

Again, as for the previous method, the working yarn, emerging from the palm, is led around the outside of the index finger, forming a loop. Then the loop is lifted with the needle, creating a stitch. This step is repeated until the required number of stitches has been cast on.

TIP

Besides the two methods for casting on stitches described in this book, there are a number of other options. The provisional cast-on, for instance, will create a nearly invisible transition when stitches are to be picked up later from the cast-on edge. The Italian tubular cast-on works especially well for ribbing patterns. I recommend watching a few YouTube videos explaining different cast-on methods, a wide variety of which are available.

BASIC STITCHES

KNIT STITCH

To work a knit stitch, begin with the working yarn behind the knitted piece. Insert the right needle from front to back into the next stitch on the left needle and, using the tip of the right needle, pull the working yarn through to the front. Let the stitch into which you have just inserted the needle slip off the left needle. The newly formed stitch is now sitting on the right needle. The right leg of the stitch sits in front of the needle, and the left leg sits sits behind the needle.

PURL STITCH

To work a purl stitch, begin with the working yarn in front of the knitted piece. Insert the right needle from right to left behind the right leg of the next stitch on the left needle (the right leg is in front of the needle). Now, lead the working yarn from the top around the right needle and, using the right needle, pull this loop back through the stitch. Let the stitch into which you have just inserted the needle slip off the left needle. The right leg of the stitch sits in front of the needle, and the left leg sits behind the needle.

KNITTING THROUGH THE BACK LOOP

To knit a stitch through the back loop, begin with the working yarn behind the knitted piece. Insert the right needle into the back of the next stitch on the left needle and, using the tip of the right needle, pull the working yarn through to the front. Let the stitch into which you have just inserted the needle slip off the left needle. The newly formed stitch is twisted at its base and is now sitting on the right needle. The right leg of the stitch sits behind the needle, and the left leg sits in front of the needle.

PURLING THROUGH THE BACK LOOP

To purl a stitch through the back loop, begin with the working yarn in front of the knitted piece. Insert the right needle from back to front into the next stitch on the left needle and, using the tip of the right needle, pull the working yarn through to the front. Let the stitch into which you have just inserted the needle slip off the left needle. The newly formed stitch is twisted at its base and is now sitting on the right needle. The right leg of the stitch sits behind the needle, and the left leg sits in front of the needle.

SLIPPED STITCHES

Slipped stiches can be worked with the working yarn either in front of or behind the knitted piece, according to the instructions. Insert the right needle from right to left behind the right leg of the next stitch on the left needle (the right leg is in front of the needle) as if to purl. Now, let the stitch slip off the left needle so that it is now sitting on the right needle. Depending on the pattern, the working yarn is now either placed behind or in front of the work, or a yarn over is formed; which one applies will be stated in the instructions. The stitch is now mounted on the right needle the same way it had been sitting on the left needle.

YARN OVER

Yarn overs are worked for different reasons, but each yarn over creates a new stitch and results in a small hole in the knitting. The holes can be used for decorative purposes. Reasons to work a yarn over can be to increase the overall stitch count, to create buttonholes, or to work lace patterns. In the latter two cases, for each stitch increased by working a yarn over, a corresponding stitch must be decreased.

To make a yarn over, the working yarn is simply wrapped from front to back over the right needle. After this, the stitch pattern is continued according to the instructions, working either in knit (figure 1) or purl stitches (figure 2).

KNITTING IN TURNED ROWS

When knitting in back-and-forth rows with the turning technique, work off all stitches to the end of the left needle, then turn work so that the needle previously held in the right hand is passed to the left hand, and the needle previously held in the left hand is passed to the right hand. The first and last stitches of the row, the selvedge stitches, form the edges of the knitted piece. Depending on the pattern, these first and last stitches can be worked differently to produce different looking edges. An edge composed of only knit stitches in right-side as well as in wrong-side rows will sport little knots. Such a knotted selvedge is especially useful when stitches are to be picked up from this edge later.

When working short rows, work is turned too. Short rows can also be inserted when the knitted piece is worked in the round. Short rows serve to shape particular areas and require special turning stitches.

TURNING STITCHES (GERMAN SHORT ROWS)

Turning stitches are worked in short row sections, which serve to shape particular areas by working more or fewer rows or rounds in these sections than in other parts of the whole piece. This allows one, for instance, to shape the neckline, work sleeve tapering, and to shape the sleeve cap and other areas. Short rows can also be worked to adjust for the properties of different stitch patterns worked together in the same piece.

In this book, for all patterns using short-row shaping, the German short row method with double stitches as turning stitches is used as it produces nearly invisible transitions in almost all stitch patterns and does not create unwanted holes.

1

Place the working yarn behind the knitted fabric, turn work, and slip 1 stitch as if to purl.

2

Move the working yarn from front to back over the right needle—this creates the turning stitch, which looks doubled up with two legs sitting on the needle. Both legs together will be worked and counted as one stitch later.

If instructions state to continue in knit, knit stitches can be worked right away. For purl stitches, the working yarn must first be moved to the front of the work between the needles.

KNITTING IN THE ROUND

Knitting in the round makes it possible to seamlessly work the body and sleeves of sweaters and cardigans in one piece, as well as add collars. To be able to spot the beginning of the round, a stitch marker is placed between the last stitch of the old round and the first stitch of the new one. This marker is often called the beginning-of-the-round marker (abbreviated BOR).

Depending on how many stitches need to be worked, the appropriate cable length of the circular needles needs to be chosen. If the cable length is too short, there is not enough space to accommodate all the stitches, and the stitches will be crowded. If the cable length is too long, it is not possible to readily join the stitches into the round. However, the cable length can be shortened by using the Magic Loop method. This simply means that part of the cable will be pulled out between the stitches in any spot in the round, creating a loop on which no stitches sit (hence the term Magic Loop). This makes it possible to use circular needles with a cable length that is longer than needed. However, this is only recommended at the beginning of a knitted piece, such as at the neckline, where more stitches will soon be increased, because in the long run it is tedious and time-consuming to pull out the cord again and again between the stitches.

For sleeves, it works best to use a set of double-pointed needles, distributing the stitches evenly between four needles and using a fifth needle to work off the stitches on the other needles one after another. If, however—for instance when working with thicker yarn weights—a DPN set in the appropriate size is not available, the earlier described Magic Loop method can be employed. Nowadays, special circular needles with extra short tips and cords for knitting sleeves are also available. The best way to find out which method suits you best is to try out different techniques for yourself.

When joining into the round, it is important to make sure that the stitches are not twisted. Otherwise, a Möbius band would be created, which cannot be turned into a pullover. For beginners, it is therefore recommended to first work two rows in pattern before joining into the round, especially with large stitch counts. This way, it is much easier to spot whether the row has been accidentally twisted or not. The small remaining gap can be closed later using the beginning tail.

TIP

When a stranded colorwork pattern is to be worked (such as in Roncita), a couple tricks will improve the product. First, it is important to keep the working yarn at an even tension. It should neither be too tight, drawing in the knitted fabric so it distorts the fit and the pattern in a bad way, nor too loose, again affecting the fit and the pattern and making the fabric curl. Before attempting a larger knitted project in this technique, it is useful to practice it with smaller projects, such as a hat.

Additionally, it is recommended to always cross the strands in the same direction when changing colors. This way, the same color will always be located on top and the other one always beneath it. This makes the pattern much more consistent.

DECREASES

RIGHT-LEANING KNIT DECREASE (K2TOG)

This is the easiest one of all decreases. It looks as if it is leaning to the right, which is why it is used on the left edges of knitted pieces. It is worked by simply knitting two stitches together.

1

The working yarn is located behind the work. Insert the right needle from front to back first into the first and second stitches on the left needle.

2

Now, use the right needle to pull the working yarn to the front of work through both stitches at the same time.

3

Let the two stitches into which you just inserted the needle slip off the left needle.

LEFT-LEANING KNIT DECREASE (SSK)

This decrease looks as if it is leaning to the left and is therefore worked on the right edges of knitted pieces. It is abbreviated as ssk for "slip, slip, knit."

A

Two stitches are slipped knitwise and then knit together as follows: Insert the right needle into the next stitch as if to knit and slip this stitch to the right needle, then slip the following stitch to the right needle the same way. Return the two stitches to the left needle one after the other, so that they are mounted on the needle with the other leg in front, as shown in the illustration. Now, knit both stitches together through the back loop.

RIGHT-LEANING PURL DECREASE (P2TOG)

B

Insert the right needle from right to left behind the right leg of the next stitch on the left needle (the right leg is in front of the needle) and into the stitch after that one. Now, wind the working yarn, which is in front of the work, from top to bottom around the right needle. Using the right needle, lead this loop back again through both stitches at the same time. Let the two stitches into which you just inserted the needle slip off the left needle. In this type of decrease, two stitches are purled together. The decrease appears to be leaning to the right and is used to shape the left edge of