Knit Your First Sweater with Easy Raglan Patterns

I know a lot of people like to start knitting sweaters that are made flat in pieces, and that’s totally fine. That way you can focus on getting the stitches and the shaping right while you’re knitting, but the skills required to finish a sweater well when it’s been knit in pieces are not always things beginners have a good handle on. (It takes practice to make even mattress stitch seams, for example.)

My first sweater was worked in pieces so I didn’t know until it was done that it was alarmingly small. (My second sweater was worked from the top down in one piece, fit correctly and is still in my closet 20-some years later.)

Which is why I want to make an argument for learning to knit sweaters by working in the round. You don’t have to worry about finishing, and, in the case of top-down designs, you can even try it on as you go to make sure it fits.

If you’re looking for a good first sweater knitting pattern, or just want something easy you can modify with stripes, stitch patterns or other embellishments if you like (or leave plain if you don’t, I love a plain stockinette sweater!), try the Step by Step Sweater from Florence Miller.

This free pattern on Ravelry is sized for chest measurements of 90 to 150 centimeters, or 35.5 to 59 inches. It uses worsted weight yarn and you can work in a solid color, add stripes, make it a stash buster, whatever you like. There are two neckline options and the pattern includes videos to help you along, though none of the techniques are that tricky.

If you want to try a bottom up raglan instead, check out Nina Petrina’s children’s raglan sweater. It’s worked in one piece from the bottom up and shown with contrasting hem, cuffs and collar (one of my favorite stash-busting techniques), but here too you can add stripes or other colorwork or patterns as you like. It’s sized for kids 1-10 years (6 sizes in all) and is free on Nina’s website (scroll down for the English version).

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You probably know by now if you’re a regular reader (and if you’re not, welcome!) that I love a knitting pattern that’s a little silly or a little different from the usual. Classic patterns are great, too, but sometimes you just want to make something with a bit of whimsy. And when it’s super functional, too, that’s even better.

That’s the case with the Bananen-Socken pattern from Susanne Shahin. These banana socks are one of those patterns no one seems to be totally sure where it came from, and this free pattern on Ravelry explains how she makes them based on how she learned it.

It’s a sock that’s curved and when not on a foot it looks rather like a banana. There’s no heel, and you can use whatever number of stitches you need to make it fit your foot. If you’ve knit enough socks to know how many stitches you like you can just use that number, or the pattern notes include sizing charts to help. (It needs to be multiples of 2 for the ribbing.)

After working a traditional cuff, the body is made with ribbing on the back and welts (or what the pattern calls horizontal ribbing) on the front, which is what gives it the curved shape. There’s no heel, but there is toe shaping, but for the leg and the foot you just keep working the same pattern as long as you like.

I’m a little skeptical about how these socks will feel with ribbing on the bottom of the foot, but I’m definitely intrigued and will probably give them a try.

The pattern notes are available on Ravelry in English, German, French, Italian and Spanish. If you head to the pattern page you can see a photo of what it looks like on a foot, and it just looks like a normal sock.

Have you ever knit banana socks or do you want to now? I’d love to hear your thoughts!

[Photo: Susanne Shahin]

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