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

Next Pattern:

Knitters are always looking for ways to continue to knit and to wear their knits even when it’s hot outside, so there are tots of great T0shirt knitting patterns to choose from. I love knitting short-sleeved shirts because they feel so much faster than sweaters, and you can wear them on top of dresses or even longer-sleeved items when it gets cooler.

There are lots of different styles of knit tops, from the basic to the more detailed. On the more basic side are things like the Perfect T-Shirt from Originally Lovely, a basic raglan tee with nine sizes and worked in worsted weight yarn; Paper Bloom by Yvonne Hugo (free on Ravelry), available in six sizes and worked with cotton and silk yarn for extra coolness; or Iris H’s Amelia Top, also on Ravelry, a slim fit, DK weight top with nine size.

Jazz it up with a bit of lace like on the Athens Lace Hem top by Sarah Hatton (Ravelry). This otherwise simple project has a bit of lace at the bottom, which is an easy way to make a project more interesting without a ton of work. This one uses fingering weight yarn and comes in nine sizes.

Another simple embellishment is to emphasize the lines of your top with different stitches. The Spring Lines top uses twisted ribbing at the center front and V-neck and along the raglan lines to give it a slimmer fit and more interest. This design from Turquoise Toque Designs has 11 size options and is available on Ravelry.

Silfurberg by Joji Locatelli uses both of these elements, with lace panels at the center front and back and purl ridges throughout to make it a little more fun to knit and to wear. The pattern uses fingering weight yarn and comes in 10 sizes. Learn more on Ravelry.

Keep it simple or add puffed sleeves (and/or long sleeves) to the slim fit Knitty Committee top by Lily Kate France. This one has two length options, waist shaping and optional bust darts to fulfill all your curvy top dreams, and it comes in nine sizes. You’ll find it on Ravelry.

Take it even more romantic with the Daphne Top from Friday Knits, which has puffed sleeves and applied I-cord to emphasize the bust and sweetheart neckline. It comes in eight sizes and uses DK weight yarn.

Or add some sweet flowers with the Gigio pattern from Emilie Luis. This pretty pattern found on Ravelry has cable panels running up the front with the option for adding sweet embroidered flowers. You can also add decorative buttons if you like. It comes in 11 sizes and calls for sport weight yarn.

Next Pattern:

Have you read?