Knitting

Patterns, projects and techniques

Knit a Cozy Sweater Perfect for Lounging

by

In my world, sweaters are for all year, but if you don’t wear sweaters in the summer and are in the Northern Hemisphere, this might be one to save for the fall. Our Southern Hemisphere friends can stitch this one up right away for their cooler days.

The Pillars Sweater by Perfectly Knotted is a cute and easy sweater with a deep V-neck and lots of ribbing at the bottom of the deeply split hem. The top part that’s in stockinette would be a cropped length, but adding all that ribbing makes it long enough to wear with leggings or anything else you want.

The pattern is worked from the top down, beginning flat to form the V neck. It’s then joined in the round for the stockinette portion of the body and split into flat panels again to work the ribbing. The sleeves are roomy (she knit hers pretty long but you could always make them shorter if you like them better that way) and the sweater is meant to be worn with 2o to 30 percent positive ease, though of course you can adjust that to your liking.

Actual finished chest measurements of the sweater range from 32 to 80 inches (81.3 to 203.2 cm) and there are 17 sizes. These are made to fit an actual chest measurement ranging from 25 to 66.5 inches (63.5 to 168.9 cm), though of course you can use less ease on larger sizes if needed.

The pattern calls for worsted weight yarn but also suggests you could work it with a DK weight yarn and a mohair yarn held together for extra warmth and coziness if you like. Maybe try both and see what difference it makes in the warmth — this would be a good lesson for your future knitting projects.

You can find the pattern on Etsy.

[Photo: Perfectly Knotted]

Next Pattern:

Have you read?

Add a Little Lace to Your Knitting Patterns

If you’re new to lace knitting or just aren’t sure how to incorporate the technique into garments, check out these tops and sweaters that use lace as a decorative element.

The easiest lace out there is eyelets, and you can practice them plenty with this eyelet covered sweater from Knitcro Addict. It uses light/DK weight yarn and is worked in four pieces knit flat. It’s intended to be a little cropped and a little oversized, and includes sizes XS to XXL in the pattern.

If you’re in parts of the world where it’s getting colder as you read this, the Nora sweater from Bummbul might be a good choice. This is actually a great one for learning lace because it’s worked in super bulky yarn, which makes it easier to see what you’re doing and makes the lace super graphic. This one just comes in one size, with a 42 inch (106) cm bust, but that could fit a variety of people depending on how much ease you like.

Minimi Knit Design has a cute allover lace cardigan worked in one piece from the bottom up. It’s worked in lace weight mohair held double, which maybe isn’t the best for those new to lace (because it can be hard to rip out) but it sure is pretty. Sizes range to fit from 30 to 66 inches/76 to 168 cm bust measurements.

If you’d rather not have lace all over your sweater, you can knit the Lumi sweater from Originally Lovely, which has a chevron lace pattern on the yoke and is otherwise worked in reverse stockinette stitch. (It’s worked inside out so you don’t have to purl every stitch.) The pattern has 9 sizes from XS to 5XL and uses worsted weight yarn.

Or try the super romantic sookie blouse from Trust the mojo (available on Ravelry). This sweet top is started working flat from the bottom up and has a V-neck and I-cord edgings. The sleeves are worked separately in the round, and the pieces are all joined together to work in one piece to finish off the top. It comes in eight sizes and is available in English and French.

You can also pair lacy sleeves with an otherwise plain top, like on the Starflower Wrap from Annelise Driscoll Gingrow. This intermediate pattern makes a wrap sweater with generous lacy sleeves and a double wrap belt. The pattern has nine sizes, from XS to 5XL, and is available for free from Hobbi.