Show Your Bias with this Sweater Knitting Pattern

I’ve been knitting for a really long time, and I know a lot of different knitting techniques, but even for me there are things I either don’t know or don’t do all that often.

So I decided this would be the year that I delved into some techniques a little more deeply. It might be things I know how to do but don’t do often, like double knitting, or things I’ve never tried, like helical knitting (more on both of those soon!).

One thing I do know how to do that I don’t normally do but that I also didn’t think about when I was thinking about things I wanted to do was knitting on the bias.

Bias knitting is accomplished by starting with just a few stitches and increasing to your desired width, then increasing on one side of the work and decreasing on the other to the desired length. This makes a fabric that leans to one side, and when you also work this kind of design in a self-striping yarn, it makes a really fun diagonal effect in your project.

If you want to try it out, the Tunic-on-a-Bias pattern from Yarnspirations is a great way to see it in action. This boxy dropped shoulder sweater is worked in pieces from the bottom up letting the stripes shine. It’s rated for intermediate knitters.

It comes in six sizes, with a finished chest measurement ranging from 39 to 62 inches, or 99 to 157.7 cm. The smallest size is meant to fit a chest from 28-34 inches, or 71-86.5 cm, but the amount of positive ease goes down considerably as the sizes go up.

The project calls for Red Heart Super Saver Bitty Stripes, an acrylic yarn that has what they call “blurry stripes,” which have a bit of a marled look. Any self striping yarn you like would look great in this project.

The pattern is a free download from Yarnspirations, or you can buy the yarn and supplies direct from them.

[Photo: Yarnspirations]

This is a project that kind of stopped me in my tracks when I saw it while scrolling Ravelry. It’s such a fun contrast of a semisolid color worked in stockinette stitch and a more tonal yarn worked in a feather and fan variation.

(See more about feather and fan in this post on my blog; I also have a feather and fan scarf if you want to practice.)

The Nitty Wrap from Renate Dziedataja is worked in fingering weight yarn from a Finnish mill, and the name is the Finnish word for meadow. You of course can use whatever yarn you have handy.

It’s even more interesting because the project is worked from one short end across to make a long rectangle, and the two different sections are joined using intarsia. Generally we think of intarsia as being used for colorwork, so this is a fun different use of it. The lace section is charted in the pattern but it’s pretty easy to follow.

And of course it’s totally optional but to add a little more interest and tie the two colors of yarn together the designer also added some embroidery along the short edges on the stockinette side. A drawing of what she did is included but you can also add different designs if you’d rather.

The shawl has I-cord edgings to give it a nice finished look that doesn’t take away from the organic simplicity of the design.

As shown, the shawl measures about 22.5 inches/57 cm wide and 59 inches/150 cm long. You can of course adjust this according to your preference, the amount of yarn you have and the gauge you are getting. Try a thicker yarn to make a wider shawl if you like.

This pattern is available in English and Latvian for free on Ravelry.

Photo: Renate Dziedataja

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