Show Your Bias with this Sweater Knitting Pattern

February 13, 2026 by Sarah White

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]

Have you read?

Beyond Basic Pumpkin Knitting Patterns

Over the years I have shared a lot of pumpkin knitting patterns, and I’ve knit and crocheted a lot of pumpkins myself. But it feels like there are always more fun things to try with knit pumpkins, so this year I wanted to look a little more beyond basic stockinette or ribbed pumpkins and share some pumpkin patterns with cables, bobbles and colorwork.

In the cable collection we’ve got these cute little basic cable and ribbed pumpkins from Elly Bear Knits. There are two sizes that make a wide, flat pumpkin and a taller round pumpkin. Both are worked in the round as a tube that’s cinched top and bottom when you’re done, and they use bulky weight yarn.

Another cute cable pumpkin knitting pattern comes from Gray Bear Akswokrat. This one is knit flat and it looks like a chunky yarn but you could use other weights to make pumpkins of different sizes. This one also has an I-cord stem and uses yarn to cinch up the sections of the pumpkin, giving it a more natural look.

Add some bobbles to your pumpkins with this design from Autumn Shelter Makes. Also worked in the round in a tube, it features a repeating pattern of bobbles and uses yarn wrapped around the outside to make segments. This one looks like worsted weight yarn to me.

Of course there’s nothing that says your pumpkin has to be a single color, so let’s throw in some colorwork. I love the look of the Cozy Fall Pumpkin knitting pattern from South Stitch Girls. The little leather loop adds a rustic touch but you could also just add a stick. These pumpkins have five colorwork options and are worked in worsted weight yarn in the round.

There’s also the Autumn Fair Isle Trio pumpkins pattern from Equestriann Style, which has three different sizes of pumpkins with four colorwork designs. They are worked in super bulky yarn in the round and look good with high contrast or more muted color combinations.