A Super Simple Sweater for Any Time of Year

One of my favorite ways to use a lot of yarn quickly is to hold two strands of yarn (or more!) together as I knit. This is a great way to give a project a marled look, and it’s not any more difficult than working with a single strand of yarn.

The Kenwood Sweater from Two of Wands for Lion Brand Yarn uses two strands of worsted weight yarn held together for a sweater that’s warm and cozy. But because it’s worked on large needles, it has a bit of airiness to it that makes it nice for cool summer nights on the beach or in buildings with too much air conditioning.

The sweater calls for Color Theory yarn, which was developed by Two of Wands in 18 harmonious colors, so you can choose any two colors you like and they’re sure to look great together.

Of course if you want to make it a stash buster you can use any two worsted weight yarns from your stash. You can even change colors as you run out of yarn for a faded effect. (I did that with this sweater tunic design, and I love the way it turned out.)

This version is worked flat in pieces from the bottom up and features a modified drop shoulder design and crew neck.

The pattern has eight sizes ranging in chest measurement from 37 to 66 inches, or 94 to 167.5 cm, and is intended to be worn with about 7 inches/17.75 cm of positive ease, though you can alter that as you like. I love the cozy, boxy look of this one with the positive gauge, and it would be a perfect first sweater pattern if you’re looking for something quick, easy and fun to start with.

You can download this pattern for free from Lion Brand, or purchase a kit direct from them with all the supplies you need.

[Photo: Lion Brand Yarn]

Next Pattern:

Many times when I write these posts I will say something like “you can use any yarn you want” or “this would be a great stash-busting project.” That’s just how my mind works. And my stash, too, since I probably have sweater quantity of two or three yarns at most, but tons of singles and odd balls and leftovers.

Blankets are generally a really good way to use up those bits, but in this case, I think you’re going to want to plan it out a bit better.

Looking at photos of the Color Study Blanket from Purl Soho, it looks like it’s made with two yarns held together, and that block in the center is worked with one of each color from the adjoining sides to make a mixed up color.

But that’s not actually how it’s done. This is three separate colors (four, really, with the neutrals in the corners) chosen form a yarn with an expansive palette so they play off each other. The project calls for a worsted weight superwash wool, which is a great choice for a blanket that’s both warm and washable.

This pattern was originally designed by Laura Ferguson and was updated by Hiromi Glover. It is worked in one piece in garter stitch intarsia, which is a great way to learn the intarsia technique if you don’t already know it. It comes in crib or throw sizes.

Despite the introduction to this post, I am going to go ahead and say that, yes, of course you could do this blanket with scraps or odd balls or even just choose five colors that don’t blend together so easily. But I really do love the look of the color play, and I think it would be worth your time to find colors that play well together to get a similar effect.

This pattern is available for free from Purl Soho.

[Photo: Purl Soho]

Next Pattern:

Have you read?