Bands of Colorwork Add Direction to This Sweater

Adding colorwork to a sweater is a great way to change the look and make simple stockinette look more interesting. You can easily make different looking sweaters from the same pattern by adding or removing colorwork or changing its placement.

With the Directional Pullover from Aimee Sher, you can change the placement and size of the colorwork bands or remove them altogether. Work the pattern all the way down the sleeves, or leave it off the sleeves and just have it on the body.

The sweater is worked from the top down in one piece, with a modified drop shoulder a V-neck design. The sleeves are worked striaght and gathered near the wrist for a balloon effect.

Optional bust darts are available, and the sizing is such that the front is wider than the back on most sizes to accommodate the bust. It was designed with 8.75 inches or 20.5 cm of positive ease.

There are 11 sizes available, meant to fit actual bust sizes ranging from 30 to 66 inches, or 76 to 167.5 cm.

It calls for a lofty worsted weight yarn and the pattern notes include some suggestions for yarn substitution if you don’t have access to the Hinterland yarn used in the sample.

There are also a few different projects on the pattern page on Ravelry so you can see how different kinds and colors of yarn look in the pattern. There are also lots of variations in these projects including one with short sleeves, long sleeves without the colorwork, longer and shorter panels of colorwork, and no colorwork at all. There’s even one worked with two strands of sock yarn held together for a fun marled look.

The project is designed to be like a snuggly sweatshirt that you’ll want to wear when you need a bit of warmth and comfort.

You can find the pattern on Ravelry.

[Photo: Aimee Sher]

Knit Your First Sweater with Easy Raglan Patterns

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Blankets are a great blank slate project that you can change up in a million different ways. From color to stitch pattern to size, the possibilities are almost endless.

Jared Flood, the designer behind Brooklyn Tweed, was inspired by a log cabin quilt his mother made in 1995 to re-create that design in knitting, which led to more blankets and ultimate Brooklyn Tweed’s Knit and Crochet Blankets, which includes 25 patterns from an array of designers using different skills and techniques to make cozy, pretty blankets.

The patterns are divided into three aesthetic themes: traditions, minimalism and colorplay. The patterns are rated on a scale of one to five, with one being the easiest, and there aren’t any pieces rated five. Two blankets are rated one, 14 are two, eight are three and one is four.

In addition, three of the 25 patterns are crocheted, but they either use single crochet or granny stitch, so they are pretty easy even if you don’t do a lot of crochet. You can see all the patterns on Ravelry.

Some of my favorites include Rattan by Rastus Hsu, a chunky blanket worked in knits and purls with simple crossing stitches to make a raised woven look; Homewood by Seth Richardson, covers in dramatic, loopy cables; Ainur Berkimbayeva’s Tessellate, one of the beginner projects that doesn’t really look beginner but is totally worked in knit and purl stitches; Warp + Weft by Aist? Butkevi?ien?, which is mostly knits and purls but makes a fun woven look fabric that blew my mind a little bit; and the same designer’s Canyonland, a multicolored blanket with wavy stripes.

The patterns tell you how to resize them for different dimensions and include information on pattern repeats where it is possible to make a totally custom size.

Many different techniques are included here such as cables, lace, shadow knitting, intarsia and other colorwork techniques, as well as modular knitting and lots of sewing pieces together. The patterns are all presented with charts, but there are line by line written instructions available on the Brooklyn Tweed website if you need them.

The book ends with a deep dive into log cabin knitting, telling the story of the quilt Jared’s mom made and how he made it in knitting, as well as the multitude of variations you can make if you want your own log cabin style design.

The back of the book includes a little written information about some of the special techniques needed, but there are no photos.

This is a lovely book full of inspiration for knitting and crochet blankets for any skill level. If you like to make blankets as gifts or aspire to have a handmade blanket in every room of the house, these designs would be a great place to start.

About the book: 192 pages, paperback, 25 patterns. Published 2024 by Abrams Books, suggested retail price $24.99.

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