How to Alter a Sweater Knitting Pattern to Make a Tunic

Like most years, this year I am trying to use more of my yarn stash, including odd balls and random bits left over from other projects. I also have a goal to knit or crochet at least one sweater every month to help with the goal.

My January sweater, I decided, was going to be a mix of blue and green yarns, in simple Stockinette stitch. I had tried to use some of these yarns together in a project a couple of years ago and I didn’t like how it turned out, so I had a bunch of yarn collected already to use.

Before the initial attempt at the blue and green sweater I had made a top-down raglan using red, orange and yellow yarn, so I thought I would try to replicate something like that. But I also didn’t really want to “design” a sweater for this purpose, so I started thinking about simple Stockinette stitch patterns I could use.

I was reminded of the Nutmeg sweater by Jenifer Stark (which is a free pattern on Ravelry), which I had knit years ago as one of my first ever sweaters. It’s worked in bulky yarn, but I figured if I combined a worsted weight with something lighter I could get pretty close to gauge.

Because it’s a top-down pattern I just started knitting, assuming I could adjust my stitch count on the fly if I needed to if my gauge was off. For once it turned out to be spot on.

But as I kept knitting, realizing I had a lot more yarn than I would need for a single sweater, I decided I wanted to knit a tunic (or sweater dress, even) instead. So I started increasing somewhat arbitrarily (and trying it on frequently) to ensure it would fit over my hips.

It turned out great and I decided to write out how to do it in case you don’t want to randomly increase and hope for the best. You can read all about how to alter a sweater knitting pattern into a tunic over at Our Daily Craft.

Have you ever done this? I’d love to hear how it turned out!

Next Pattern:

The other day I saw a post from Pinterest about trends for summer and it said one of them was “cultivating whimsy.”

Well, I don’t know where Pinterest has been all this time, but we’ve been cultivating whimsy here at Craft Gossip for a long time. I love sharing projects that are a little different, things that make you smile when you see them, and will make you smile when you knit them and wear them or use them.

Such it is with the Tutti Frutti tee knitting pattern from Bea Creative Knits.

This cute little baby tee is worked top down in the round with contiguous shoulder construction to shape the sleeve caps. There are short rows for the neckline and folded hems with picot edging at the hemline, neckline and edges of the sleeves.

All of this would be great on its own, but then there’s the addition of a super cute fruit icon, which is added with duplicate stitch. There are a lot of options, including strawberry, banana, orange, cherries, watermelon, lemon, blueberries, kiwi, peach, dragon fruit, apple and pear, so it’s likely you can add on your favorite fruit.

It is offered in eight sizes, to fit a bust measurement ranging from 28-30 inches (71-76 cm) to 56-58 inches (142-147 cm). The design is meant to be worn with around 6.3 inches/16 cm of negative ease, but you can choose the fit you prefer. There’s also optional bust and waist shaping included in the pattern if you want to make it even curvier.

This is considered an advanced beginner or intermediate project because of all the skills involved, but it’s sure to be a lot of fun even if some of these techniques are new to you.

Grab a copy of the pattern for yourself form Bea Creative Knits on Etsy.

[Photo: Bea Creative Knits]

Next Pattern:

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