Dream of Spring with this Allover Colorwork Sweater Knitting Pattern

A little bit of colorwork, whether it’s stripes, slip stitches, working with a multicolored yarn, stranded knitting, intarsia or any other method, adds a lot more interest and fun to a knitting project.

When it’s allover colorwork, that’s even better. And these bold stranded colorwork flowers just look like so much fun and have me thinking of spring (which really is just around the corner for us in the Northern Hemisphere, right?).

The Alyssum Sweater by Tomomi Yoshimoto uses DK weight yarn (or you can try worsted weight if you can get gauge with it) and features a field of white flowers, though of course you can stitch them in any color you want. White is easy because just about any color looks great with white, from pastels to bright colors, even gray and black.

This sweater is actually a heavier weight version of her Drawing sweater (also available on Ravelry), which uses sport weight yarn and the colorwork isn’t quite over the whole pattern. It also has raglan shaping, while the Alyssum has a circular yoke design. It sounds like Drawing is a little more difficult to get started, because some of the colorwork is worked flat and it starts with short rows, but once you get past the beginning part it sounds like it gets easier.

The Alyssum has all the colorwork done in the round, so that makes it a little easier. But either way this sweater is a beauty and looks like it would be a fun challenge to knit.

Back to Alyssum, it’s available in five sizes, ranging from a chest measurement of 52.5 inches to 68.25 inches. The smallest size is listed as M-L, but it doesn’t indicate how much positive ease is meant to be included, so you can pick the size that you’re most comfortable with.

You can find both patterns on Ravelry.

[Photo: Tomomi Yoshimoto.]

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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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