Take it Easy with a Bulky, Textured Sweater

If you’re looking for a sweater that embodies afternoons sitting by the fire, reading and knitting with a favorite warm beverage at hand, it might just be the Easy-Going Sweater from Bernat.

It’s worked in chunky roving yarn, with an ample funnel neck, boxy shaping and an allover texture pattern. I think you’d call it a variation of fisherman’s rib, as it’s worked by knitting in the row below on some stitches in one round of the four-round repeat.

The sweater is worked from the bottom up in pieces, starting with twisted ribbing. The shoulder seams are sewn together, then you pick up stitches around the neckline and work the collar piece in the round before finishing sewing the rest of the project together.

It comes in six sizes and is meant to have a lot of positive ease. The actual size of the sweater ranges from 41 to 64 inches at the bust, or 104 to 157.5 cm. But the smallest size is meant to fit an actual chest measurement ranging from 28 to 34 inches, or 71 to 86.5 cm. If you’re in the middle of the sizing you may be able to choose a size that would give you less ease if you prefer, but it is meant to be a super cozy, oversized design.

The pattern page includes a video tutorial that walks you through how to do your swatch and demos a tiny version of the sweater in case you need any help working any of the stitches or putting it together. I would have said this wasn’t ideal as a first sweater because of the textured stitch pattern and because roving can be a little tricky to work with, but the video definitely helps if you have any questions.

The pattern has a skill level rating of easy and is available for free on the Yarnspirations website.

[Photo: Yarnspirations]

A Cabled Sweater to Span the Seasons

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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.

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