Knitting

Patterns, projects and techniques

Knit a Dress without Knitting a Swatch

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You might not know this about me, but I’m a stickler for gauge when it comes to knitting garments. It’s hard for me to get gauge (I actually just did swatches for a sweater and it took me three tries to get it right!) and I know how easily a little difference in gauge can make a huge difference in whether your sweater fits.

But I also understand how appealing the prospect of not knitting a gauge swatch is for a lot of knitters, whether you’re someone who “always gets gauge” or you just hate doing it.

When it comes to garments, patterns that work for any gauge allow you to just start knitting with the yarn and needles that you want to use, but they typically involve lots of math and/or trying things on once it’s big enough so you can figure out how the rest of the pattern needs to go so it will fit you. I’ve done this with top-down sweaters before, and in the case of the Mamaki pattern by Nicola Susen you can do it with a dress.

The pattern suggests you’ll need about 1.7 times the amount of yarn you would need for a sweater in order to make a dress with the same kind of yarn, so if you have yarn you’ve used before to make a sweater that can give you a place to start for yardage requirements. Or you can make it a total stash buster and use all the leftovers of a single weight of yarn that you have.

(I did something sort of like that last year when I decided to turn the scrap yarn sweater I was knitting into a tunic. But I did start with a sweater pattern I’d knit before, and I did check my gauge and do the math for increases I needed to cover my hips.)

If you want to make your own dress or tunic on the fly (you could totally use this same pattern to make a sweater, just knit to the length you want), check it out on Ravelry. This is a fun one to look at all the different versions people have made, too. A lot of the pattern notes are in German but the pattern is available in both German and English.

[Photo: Nicola Susen]

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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.