Go Bold with the Goran Sweater Knitting Pattern

One of my goals for 2024 (yet to be started on, I should mention, but there’s still time!) is to knit a sweater with a lot of detailed colorwork. I haven’t yet decided if a colorwork yoke is “enough” to fulfill this goal or if it really needs to be colorwork all over. (Probably the second one, because that’s something I’ve never done before and I really want to try it.)

If you’re new to colorwork on garments, designs like that can be pretty intimidating. I mean, I’m still a little intimidated and I’ve been knitting for decades.

But the good news is there are a lot of sweaters and other garments — and projects in general — that allow you to play with color without having to pay attention to so many details.

The Goran sweater from Justyna Lorkowska is a great example of this.

The bold zigzag colorwork on the yoke and body of this sweater is relatively easy to accomplish, because most of it is just stripes, with a little bit of stranded colorwork needed to make the zigzags when the colors change. This pattern does use a chart for the colorwork, but it’s also a repeating pattern around the body so once you get the hang of it, it should be pretty easy.

The sweater is worked from the top down in four colors of worsted weight yarn. You could also work both of the wide stripes in the same color and just use three colors if you prefer.

Short rows are used to shape the back neck, and the sweater has a circular yoke design. It’s meant to be roomy, with 8-16 inches, or 20 to 40 cm, of positive ease.

Sizes range from bust measurements of 40.5 to 73.25 inches or 101 to 183 centimeters.

You can learn more and grab a copy of the pattern on Ravelry.

[Photo: Harmonia Zdj??]

A Perfect Sweater to Knit if You’re New to Knitting Sweaters

Vintage Men’s Sweaters To Knit And Crochet

Getting ready for back to school makes me think about pencil crafts, so let’s take a look at some pencil themed knitting patterns!

I recently made a pencil on a circular knitting machine, and it was a fun, quick, easy project that uses little bits of leftover yarn (and if you don’t have yellow you can make it a colored pencil using whatever color’s your favorite). And if you want to make a bigger version check out this pattern from Orange Olive Road on Etsy.

If you want to knit a pencil pillow by hand, check out Sketchy, available on Ravelry from Shana S. Cohen. This one uses worsted weight yarn and has two size options and the choice to make a pencil with an eraser or a colored pencil.

Pencil scarves seem to be the most popular kind of pencil knitting pattern, and there are lot of cute ones. This one from Cosy Craft UK mostly uses garter stitch, with some welts to add texture and what looks like an I-cord edging. It calls for DK weight yarn.

If you want to go all garter stitch try this version from Emsley Co Creations, which uses five colors of DK weight yarn and just a little shaping to make the point of the pencil.

There’s also this fun, mostly stockinette so it looks like it curls a bit, pencil pattern that looks like it’s worked in chunky yarn from Little Knits Studio. This one uses just a little garter stitch and easy shaping for the point.

If you don’t want a pencil scarf, how about some pencil socks? The No. 2 Pencil Socks from The Yarn Enabler are available from Ravelry and use five colors of sock yarn. They feature wide ribs to mimic the texture of a pencil and have options to be worked from the top down or the toe up.

Needs Sharpening by Alexander Walker is a free pattern on Ravelry that uses five colors of sock yarn to make a sort of shortie sock. The little bit of black at the tips of the toes inspired the name. These, too, can be worked in either direction and are available in three sizes.

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