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.]

As we get into the part of the year with a lot of food-forward holidays, it might be time to start thinking about knitting some new things for your table. While a few of these are more fall/Thanksgiving focused, just changing up the colors would make others work for Christmas, or keep it neutral and use them all year long.

What got me started thinking about this was the lovely and simple Fresh Bread Dishtowel, a free pattern from Purl Soho. Worked in a lovely cotton and linen blend, the towel is mostly stockinette stitch with a bit of texture on the borders.

You could use this same kind of pattern to make anything from placemats to a table runner, but let’s look at some specific patterns for those kinds of projects as well.

The easy moss stitch table runner from Glass Bird Knits is beginner friendly can can easily be modified to fit your table (or, again, to make placemats instead of or in addition to a runner). This version is worked in macrame cord, but you could also use bulky yarn.

Emielle Design has a garter stitch runner pattern that’s made with braided cotton cord for a lot of texture without a lot of work. But be sure to take a lot of breaks when knitting with cord because it can be rough on your hands!

I also love the diamond pattern on the Hamilton Table Runner from Wyndlestraw Designs. It calls for a DK weight cotton and linen blend yarn and comes in three sizes with different widths and lengths. The pattern has both written and charted instructions.

Amy Marie’s Table Pumpkins (on Ravelry) is a fun mosaic knitting pattern that would be great to use as a table runner through the fall and for Thanksgiving. It uses a worsted weight cotton yarn in two colors, and you can make it as long as you like for your table.

The no cable knit placemats from Yarn Culture Studio have a fun faux cable look that would be great for the table through the fall and winter.

Or here’s another pattern from Wyndlestraw Designs, this time for an easy knit and purl stitch placemat pattern that looks different but still good on both sides. It calls for worsted weight cotton and comes in two sizes for placemats, but also has instructions for coasters, a hot pad and a table pad all using the same stitch.

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