Knit a Classic Colorwork Yoked Sweater

The Pleasantville Pullover from Lion Brand Yarn is a pretty classic looking circular yoke, colorwork design. It uses four colors and is worked in the round from the top down.

The colorwork designs are pretty simple, and mostly done with slipped stitches (meaning you’re still only working with one color at a time) so this is a good one to try if you’ve never done colorwork before. The pattern is written out and there are charts if you’re learning how to read charts or just prefer them.

There’s additional colorwork at the bottom of the sweater and on the sleeves for a fun look. You could even use leftovers from other projects for some of the colorwork. While the pattern uses the same colors on the bottom and sleeves as were used in the yoke, you could use different colors there, or different shades of the same colors if you want to. It’s your sweater so you can do what you want!

It calls for Lion Brand Local Grown, which as of this writing is a new product for them. It’s a 100 percent wool yarn that is made from America-raised and shown sheep and that’s also processed in the United States. It comes in 15 colors that all look great together, so it’s a good choice for colorwork projects. And because its worsted weight you’re sure to find lots of different ways you want to use it.

The sweater comes in three sizes and can be worn with a lot of ease or less as you like. The smallest size has a chest measurement of around 40 inches, while the largest is 58 inches. It’s rated easy but it would be helpful to have comfort with working in the round before casting on.

Get the free pattern or purchase a kit with all the yarn you need from Lion Brand.

[Photo: Lion Brand Yarn]

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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.

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