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An Awesome Guide to Top-Down Raglan Design

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raglan schematicIf you’re at all interested in designing your own top-down sweaters, you need to read, follow, reread and absorb Kristen TenDyke’s amazing blog post all about how she designs top-down raglans. She uses Excel to help her with math, which is substantial, but logical. Thus the suggestion about rereading this piece, maybe a few times.

It’s a great resource for anyone looking to understand the process and mechanics behind designing a top-down raglan sweater. Kristen breaks down the steps in a clear and easy-to-understand way, including helpful tips and tricks along the way. From determining gauge and stitch counts, to shaping the neckline and calculating increases, her post covers it all.

Another great aspect of this post is the use of Excel to help with the math. Not everyone is comfortable with math and calculations, but Kristen’s use of Excel makes it accessible and easy to understand. The included pattern is also a great way to put the information into practice and see the math in action.

Overall, Kristen’s blog post is a must-read for anyone looking to design their own top-down raglan sweaters. It’s a comprehensive guide that will help demystify the process and give you the confidence to create your own unique designs.

There’s a simple raglan sweater pattern included in the post so you can sit with that and go through all the math if it helps you to see what’s happening.

This is so smart and helpful for anyone who wants to make up their own patterns for this knitting staple. Thanks for sharing, Kristen!

Have you ever written your own pattern for a sweater or another garment? I’d love to read about it.

[Photo via Kristen TenDyke.]

Looking for knitting patterns for knitted Cardigans? Check out these Knitting patterns we found on Etsy.

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Add a Little Lace to Your Knitting Patterns

If you’re new to lace knitting or just aren’t sure how to incorporate the technique into garments, check out these tops and sweaters that use lace as a decorative element.

The easiest lace out there is eyelets, and you can practice them plenty with this eyelet covered sweater from Knitcro Addict. It uses light/DK weight yarn and is worked in four pieces knit flat. It’s intended to be a little cropped and a little oversized, and includes sizes XS to XXL in the pattern.

If you’re in parts of the world where it’s getting colder as you read this, the Nora sweater from Bummbul might be a good choice. This is actually a great one for learning lace because it’s worked in super bulky yarn, which makes it easier to see what you’re doing and makes the lace super graphic. This one just comes in one size, with a 42 inch (106) cm bust, but that could fit a variety of people depending on how much ease you like.

Minimi Knit Design has a cute allover lace cardigan worked in one piece from the bottom up. It’s worked in lace weight mohair held double, which maybe isn’t the best for those new to lace (because it can be hard to rip out) but it sure is pretty. Sizes range to fit from 30 to 66 inches/76 to 168 cm bust measurements.

If you’d rather not have lace all over your sweater, you can knit the Lumi sweater from Originally Lovely, which has a chevron lace pattern on the yoke and is otherwise worked in reverse stockinette stitch. (It’s worked inside out so you don’t have to purl every stitch.) The pattern has 9 sizes from XS to 5XL and uses worsted weight yarn.

Or try the super romantic sookie blouse from Trust the mojo (available on Ravelry). This sweet top is started working flat from the bottom up and has a V-neck and I-cord edgings. The sleeves are worked separately in the round, and the pieces are all joined together to work in one piece to finish off the top. It comes in eight sizes and is available in English and French.

You can also pair lacy sleeves with an otherwise plain top, like on the Starflower Wrap from Annelise Driscoll Gingrow. This intermediate pattern makes a wrap sweater with generous lacy sleeves and a double wrap belt. The pattern has nine sizes, from XS to 5XL, and is available for free from Hobbi.