Knit a Rainbow on Your Sweater

Whether you’re still knitting for Pride, want to commemorate a rainbow baby in your life or you just love the colorful addition of rainbow stripes to anything you knit, the Rainbow Over sweater from The Drunk Knitter is a pretty way to stitch up some color.

The yarn used in the original pattern is actually a rainbow gradient, which makes it super easy to knit because you don’t have to change colors. But this would also be a great use for any rainbow colored mini skeins you have on hand.

The pattern uses worsted weight yarn and is worked from the top down with a circular yoke and bishop sleeves for high drama. You could also shape the sleeves more traditionally if you don’t want all that extra fabric at the wrist.

The pattern comes in 8 sizes to fit chest measurements ranging from 30 to 62 inches or 76 to 157 cm, with zero to 4 inches/10 cm of positive ease. The body is a little cropped but you can always make it longer if you want to. This would be super cute as a dress, too, though of course you’d need a lot more yarn and probably need to alter the pattern to make a tunic or dress.

The yoke has a bit of a textured stitch pattern, while the rest of the body is worked in stockinette stitch, making this a pretty quick and easy knit.

You can find the pattern on Ravelry or on the Drunk Knitter website.

And if you’re looking for more uses for those mini skeins, check out my post all about ways to use mini skeins from advent calendars or elsewhere. And if you are looking at rainbow knitting patterns because Pride is every day, check out my Pride knitting patterns and more general rainbow knitting patterns.

[Photo: The Drunk Knitter]

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Sometimes I feel like knitters get intimidated to try new things because they think they need to start with a big project. Your first time working in the round doesn’t need to be a sock, and your first colorwork doesn’t need to be a sweater, for example. You can find little projects that use the skills you want to learn to build your confidence before you move on to something that requires more time commitment.

This adorable knit bunny, for example.

The colorwork bunny from Knit Picks was designed by Amy Munson and is a kind of bowling pin shaped bunny complete with a knit hat, contrasting inner ears and a little stranded colorwork on its body. Note that the ears are attached the the hat not the bunny, but you could stitch them to the bunny if you’d rather.

It’s worked from the bottom up and also has a tiny pompom tail you can’t see in the picture but it’s a really cute touch. There are a variety of little fair isle patterns to choose from to make the best bunny for you.

The bunny comes out about 8 inches tall (or just over 20 cm) and use several colors to complete the colorwork, depending on the design you choose.

You can purchase the pattern by itself from Knit Picks, or make a kit that includes sport weight yarn in all the colors you need for your creation. There are gray and brown options for the main body of the bunny, but of course if you’re using your own yarn you can make it whatever color you like.

Once you’ve tried colorwork (maybe also working in the round and shaping if those are skills you haven’t used before) in a little project like this you’ll be ready to take on something bigger in no time.

Check out the pattern on Knit Picks.

[Photo: Knit Picks]

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