Sweaters and Tops Perfect for Spring

I don’t know if you’re starting to feel it where you live, but here in the south it’s starting to feel a little springlike again. It’s raining instead of snowing, and it’s supposed to be nearly 70 tomorrow. It’s probably time to stop knitting big bulky sweaters and start thinking about transitional pieces, if you haven’t already.

Here are a few free patterns for sweaters and vests perfect for spring or fall that have caught my eye lately.

Love Knitting has a few great free patterns you can get by signing up for a free account with them. There’s the UK Alpaca Tunic, a fun striped tee with cute little picot edgings worked in alpaca yarn so it’s still plenty warm for cool mornings. The Rowan Ladies Twinset is a classic in tweedy yarn (and a tweedy looking stitch pattern, too) and this fun cardigan from Lang Yarns is worked in bright cotton yarn and has a really interesting textured stitch pattern.

Looking for more Vest patterns to knit? Check out these Vest Knitting patterns on Etsy.

And the Noro Waistcoat is colorful and a fun shape for spring, and the bulky yarn will help you knit this one up in no time.

Lion Brand has this cute Ribbed Collar Bolero that’s a quick and easy knit in striped Homespun. The little sleeves give a bit of coverage and the circular shape is just fun. Also check out their Colorblock Slipover, which is worked in intarsia squares that form a simple, mostly rectangular shape. It’s a dramatic look and great practice at intarsia if you’re new to that technique.

Berroco’s Winifred uses a chevron lace stitch to bring a little coolness to a long-sleeved pullover worked in a yummy alpaca, wool and silk blend. Perdido is a vest with a deep ribbed collar and cable patterns on the sides and back. Rated for intermediate knitters, it’s a good early cable project.

And Classic Elite Yarns has a fun cropped cardigan style vest that’s pretty, fuzzy and warm in a mohair yarn.

Are you knitting for spring (or fall, in the Southern Hemisphere)? I’d love to hear what you’re working on!

Not too long ago I did a test knit for another designer that was for a cabled cardigan. It’s really cozy and nice but it just about broke me in a ton of different ways. I couldn’t get gauge, which I suppose is my own problem, but mainly I was somehow both bored and forced to pay attention at the same time.

Because it used the same cable all over, I always had to know what row I was on, but nine out of ten of those rows, nothing in particular was going on. So I couldn’t stop paying attention, but what I needed to attend to was boring.

It may have ruined me for knitting cabled sweaters, but maybe I just need something that’s more engaging. Like this Modern Aran Cardigan pattern from Lion Brand Yarn.

This is a reworking of an old pattern from their archives, and you can tell that form the classic look of the cables and the oversized feel (nothing cropped about this one!). It has allover cables, but like a classic Aran sweater it’s not the same cable, so you’ll have to pay attention to what row you’re on and what cable turns happen for which cables on that row.

Because of this, it’s considered an intermediate knitting pattern, but if you’re comfortable working from multiple charts at once it shouldn’t be a problem for you. There are three different charts and seven different cable moves.

Also because the pattern is so big and boxy there are only two sizes available, with a finished chest measurement of either 49 or 63 inches (that’s 124.5 or 160 cm). It’s up to you to decide how much ease you would like and whether that will work for your body.

The pattern uses worsted weight yarn (and calls for another classic, Lion Brand Fisherman’s Wool). It calls for six buttons and includes pockets to make it extra cozy.

This one looks like a great winter project to make and to wear if you’re up for a bit of a challenge. You can grab the free pattern or buy a kit with the yarn needed direct from Lion Brand Yarn.

[Photo: Lion Brand Yarn]

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