An Awesome Guide to Top-Down Raglan Design

If 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.

Looking for pullover and sweater patterns? Check these books out.

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The other day I saw a post from Pinterest about trends for summer and it said one of them was “cultivating whimsy.”

Well, I don’t know where Pinterest has been all this time, but we’ve been cultivating whimsy here at Craft Gossip for a long time. I love sharing projects that are a little different, things that make you smile when you see them, and will make you smile when you knit them and wear them or use them.

Such it is with the Tutti Frutti tee knitting pattern from Bea Creative Knits.

This cute little baby tee is worked top down in the round with contiguous shoulder construction to shape the sleeve caps. There are short rows for the neckline and folded hems with picot edging at the hemline, neckline and edges of the sleeves.

All of this would be great on its own, but then there’s the addition of a super cute fruit icon, which is added with duplicate stitch. There are a lot of options, including strawberry, banana, orange, cherries, watermelon, lemon, blueberries, kiwi, peach, dragon fruit, apple and pear, so it’s likely you can add on your favorite fruit.

It is offered in eight sizes, to fit a bust measurement ranging from 28-30 inches (71-76 cm) to 56-58 inches (142-147 cm). The design is meant to be worn with around 6.3 inches/16 cm of negative ease, but you can choose the fit you prefer. There’s also optional bust and waist shaping included in the pattern if you want to make it even curvier.

This is considered an advanced beginner or intermediate project because of all the skills involved, but it’s sure to be a lot of fun even if some of these techniques are new to you.

Grab a copy of the pattern for yourself form Bea Creative Knits on Etsy.

[Photo: Bea Creative Knits]

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