Knit a Sweater (Sort of) Like Tom Daley’s

By now you’ve probably seen the amazing Olympics sweater Tom Daley was knitting during his time in Tokyo. From what I can gather from pictures, it looks like he did the colorwork — a class British Olympic team logo and rings on the back, a British flag, and GBR on the sleeves, and the symbols for Tokyo in Japanese on the front — were done in duplicate stitch rather than stranded colorwork or intarsia.

I saw on Facebook that British yarn company Wool and the Gang said the sweater itself was their Blake Minimal Cardigan, which makes sense because he made the original Blake Cardigan for his husband’s birthday.

It’s a bulky V-neck cardigan with no buttonholes, so it is actually a pretty fast knit, though most of us wouldn’t knit it as fast as Daley did.

If you don’t want to knit that exact pattern, I’ve scoured the Internet for similar possibilities.

Sixth Street by Amy Miller has buttons (and pockets!) but you could leave both off for a simple bulky V-neck cardigan that’s a lot like the one he made. (This pattern is available on Ravelry.)

This vintage men’s V-neck cardigan pattern from Etsy is similar to the original in that it uses bulky yarn, but the shoulder shaping is different and it has buttons. There’s also an option for a shawl collar if you’re into that.

Martin Storey’s Stour is a buttoned V-neck cardigan designed for men. It also uses bulky yarn and can be found on Ravelry.

This longer-length open Rathnelly Cardigan from Yarnspirations uses a sort of textured yarn but you could use something smoother if you want to do colorwork on it.

Caitlin Hunter’s Reluctant Homeschooler also has buttons and pockets but could be worked without them. It uses bulky yarn and has a wide range of sizes to fit men and women. You can grab it from Ravelry as well.

Daisy and Peace’s easy cardigan has the relaxed fit of the original, but more of a cropped length (which you could change) and it’s worked in lightweight yarn. This one is on Etsy.

Maritsa from Berroco Yarns (designed by Amy Christoffers) is a little more structured and has shorter sleeves, but it’s a really pretty basic that could be altered to have full-length sleeves if you like

Sarah Hatton’s Tyburn is longer than the original but has the same relaxed fit. It’s a free download on Ravelry.

The closest thing offered by Lion Brand is actually a super bulky cardigan called Back to Basics, which is available as a free pattern or in a kit.

Next Pattern:

Blankets are a great blank slate project that you can change up in a million different ways. From color to stitch pattern to size, the possibilities are almost endless.

Jared Flood, the designer behind Brooklyn Tweed, was inspired by a log cabin quilt his mother made in 1995 to re-create that design in knitting, which led to more blankets and ultimate Brooklyn Tweed’s Knit and Crochet Blankets, which includes 25 patterns from an array of designers using different skills and techniques to make cozy, pretty blankets.

The patterns are divided into three aesthetic themes: traditions, minimalism and colorplay. The patterns are rated on a scale of one to five, with one being the easiest, and there aren’t any pieces rated five. Two blankets are rated one, 14 are two, eight are three and one is four.

In addition, three of the 25 patterns are crocheted, but they either use single crochet or granny stitch, so they are pretty easy even if you don’t do a lot of crochet. You can see all the patterns on Ravelry.

Some of my favorites include Rattan by Rastus Hsu, a chunky blanket worked in knits and purls with simple crossing stitches to make a raised woven look; Homewood by Seth Richardson, covers in dramatic, loopy cables; Ainur Berkimbayeva’s Tessellate, one of the beginner projects that doesn’t really look beginner but is totally worked in knit and purl stitches; Warp + Weft by Aist? Butkevi?ien?, which is mostly knits and purls but makes a fun woven look fabric that blew my mind a little bit; and the same designer’s Canyonland, a multicolored blanket with wavy stripes.

The patterns tell you how to resize them for different dimensions and include information on pattern repeats where it is possible to make a totally custom size.

Many different techniques are included here such as cables, lace, shadow knitting, intarsia and other colorwork techniques, as well as modular knitting and lots of sewing pieces together. The patterns are all presented with charts, but there are line by line written instructions available on the Brooklyn Tweed website if you need them.

The book ends with a deep dive into log cabin knitting, telling the story of the quilt Jared’s mom made and how he made it in knitting, as well as the multitude of variations you can make if you want your own log cabin style design.

The back of the book includes a little written information about some of the special techniques needed, but there are no photos.

This is a lovely book full of inspiration for knitting and crochet blankets for any skill level. If you like to make blankets as gifts or aspire to have a handmade blanket in every room of the house, these designs would be a great place to start.

About the book: 192 pages, paperback, 25 patterns. Published 2024 by Abrams Books, suggested retail price $24.99.

Next Pattern:

Have you read?

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