Want to See My Ideal Sweater?

I think I may have just found my perfect sweater.

(At least the most perfect one I didn’t design myself; the Color Belt Sweater from Colorwork Knitting is actually my favorite sweater I’ve ever made.)

Achoo by Dieuwke Schack-Mulligen is a henley sweater knit from the top down, starting with a speckled yarn and moving into a solid. It does sort of give the impression of having been sneezed on, if sneezes were colorful dots of dye.

I have a ball of speckled yarn that I think would be perfect for this sweater, though the base of it is white and I don’t really want to knit a mostly white sweater. Maybe I can pull out of the colors instead of using the background color?

The pattern is $7 and you can bet I bought one. Have to get a few other projects off the needles before I can start it, but nothing like a new project to get you motivated to finish some old projects, am I right?

[Photo: Dieuwke Schack-Mulligen via Ravelry.]

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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