Category: Knitting

Sweaters in the Works (WIPs)

Knitting sweaters and planning the next pattern. I always have more wool and ideas than time.

Sweaters knit using fingering weight yarn, or DK, generally take a while to finish. It’s a lot of little stitches to create a sweater for my size.

So, let’s start with my favorite WIP. The Field Sweater is pretty awesome. The yarn I chose is super soft and lovely and the fit is great. As of this post, it is not finished. I have the body left to knit. I changed the pattern for the sleeves to make them looser.

I love the neckline and love the fabric of the merino and mohair (both from Knitting for Olive). I can tell it will end up being a favorite.

Update: I have finished knitting Field – see the post here.

Field sweater knitting
Merino & Mohair
knitting Field pullover
Loose sleeve
right sleeve knit on Field sweater
One sleeve down

I’m also knitting the Autumn Alpine sweater and this one is giving me a hard time. I guess it’s time to quit using patterns by this designer. For me, it’s always trouble getting the size right, or there is something about the pattern I end up not liking.

Autumn Alpine sweater
Corrugated ribbing
knitting Autumn Alpine
Rib colors match flowers

I began with a smaller size as I had planned to make this for someone else. Then, I didn’t really like the colors so I expanded the body to make it fit me. That really isn’t going to work – I don’t think. The neck is tight, and could get better after a wash and blocking, but overall, this is not a sweater I really love.

To end the knit quickly, I plan to do short, or 3/4 sleeves. The colorwork was fun (one of the reasons I chose this pattern) but I need to steer clear of this designer. She is very popular, and I am not putting her down, just saying that (for me) I have difficulties. She has some wonderful patterns and great designs, they just don’t work for my preferred style and sizing.

Update: I have finished knitting Autumn Alpine.

Looking Ahead

It’s easy to get bored with knitting a pattern. When the knitting takes weeks, or months, to complete, the mind begins to think about all those other colors and yarns, stashed in the back bedroom, just waiting to be used.

Sleeves and bodies are especially tough when the knitting is simple round and round and round. When I’m in love with the project, I can stay strong and get the task finished. The sweater will be a wonderful accomplishment. But, when the tedious knitting will end up with a project that is not such a favorite, it’s tough to continue.

I do plan to finish both of these sweaters before beginning another. Yes! I can do it (and I did finish them before beginning Rebel).

Yarn Stashed for the Project Queue

The new yarn in my queue is just dying to become something wonderful. I have more Knitting For Olive merino and mohair in pretty green. (The company is based in Denmark, but the yarn can be found at other places. They do offer free shipping from Denmark on a first order.) I chose green mainly because I have almost nothing to wear that is green. Also, you don’t see so many green sweaters being knit. So, it’s a bit unique.

Knitting for olive Yarn

Knitting for Olive yarn in green
Pea Shoots and Dusty Artichoke colors

The merino is “Pea Shoots” and the mohair is “Dusty Artichoke” and they will be held together to knit the Rebel Cardigan (link goes to the Ravelry page), by Ankestrick.

I tried a new online yarn shop to buy the mohair. The Starlight Knitting Society had a good price, and free shipping (although I don’t think it’s always free), so I chose my six skeins and had the yarn in no time. In fact, I had ordered one extra, which they ended up not having. I was contacted, and refunded, and all was good. It was a good price for this yarn, and with free shipping, I was very happy.

Harrisville Designs Highland

These Highland cones almost didn’t get to me. I had also ordered a book from Harrisville Designs, which ended up being out of stock. The order was placed around Christmas, so I figured it would take time. As weeks went by, I decided to check on the order and sure enough, the yarn was never shipped! It was all good, as customer service got it out right away.

Highland wool on cones
Highland cones in color Suede

The yarn is Highland wool, on a cone, in color “Suede”. I seem to have a thing for neutrals, on the brown-gray side! I had to put in a search for the cones on the site (they don’t seem to pop up otherwise) and was happy to find lots of color choices.

Cones contain approx. 450 yards x 3 = 1350 yards of worsted weight yarn. Cones (as of this writing) are $25.50 each and Harrisville Designs offers Free Shipping over $75… so that was wonderful as well!

What will I knit with my Suede cones? I’m considering the Clotilde Cardigan for this yarn. I may change my mind by the time I am free from WIPs…!! I had also thought about using my Alafosslopi for the Clotilde. So, we’ll see.

Purl soho’s Good Wool

Good Wool is from Purl Soho. These skeins are very squishy soft and I can’t wait to use them for something. The wool is undyed and this color is called “Hickory Nut”. Yup, it’s light brown! Haha… I will end up with a lot of neutral sweaters I think.

good wool by purl soho
Good wool

Keep reading my knitting stories…

A Collection of Knitting Books Worth Having

Knitting books you may like to add to your collection.

I have collected a few books about knitting and thought I’d share my knitting book reviews here. (Please know that some links go to the Amazon site, where I am an affiliate. If you end up purchasing through the link, I will get a small royalty which in no way affects the cost to you.)

Do you enjoy knitting Fair Isle, colorwork, and stranded? If so, there is a fun book of charts you must consider buying.

Alice Starmore’s Charts for Color Knitting contains more charts than (I suspect) you could use in a lifetime. I’ve only used a couple of the bigger charts, and a few of the “border” charts. This is a wonderful book for Fair Isle and colorwork knitters who like to choose their own patterns.

Buy the Alice Starmore Book on Amazon (paid link)

The author also goes into depth on how to create your own colorwork sweater. This is over my head at this point in my knitting journey, but would be very helpful for those who would like to design knitwear.

Alice Starmore’s charts for knitting book

I purchased a used copy of the book, in November 2021, and it is in very good condition. Check at Amazon for used books to save money. I’ve had very good luck buying used books of all kinds.

Both colorwork sweater designs below were taken from the book.

Staka colorwork vest in Lopi yarn
Plotulopi Pullover
flower colorwork at bottom of body
V-Neck Cumulus

The Vogue Knitting Book, Revised and Updated Version

The Vogue Knitting book covers all types of thing related to knitting (with some pages about crocheting). From choosing needles and yarn, to finishing projects, and designing your own knitwear. There is a whole section on designing sweaters with knitting design worksheets to copy and use. There are more pages of knitter’s graph paper in the back of the book which can be copied as many times as needed.

I like most things about this book, and bought a used copy to save money. Cons for me are the dark colors used for a few of the sample images in the book. It is more difficult to see the samples. Also the images about how to work stitches can be hard to follow. I’d rather look it up on YouTube. For that reason, I often forget to use this book, but it is full answers to just about every single knitting question you may have.

Vogue Knitting book
My new Vogue Knitting book
Buy the Vogue Knitting book at Amazon (paid link)

The Mosaic Knitting Book

If you have never tried mosaic knitting, you really should. It is very simple to accomplish these colorwork patterns and is done on flat knitting projects.

Here in Florida we had a hurricane hit shortly after I purchased this book. I spent a few days without electricity. I used that down time to knit mosaics from this book!

Just think about a time without access to online things, or electricity to charge the computer and phone. I love to have books around for these reasons. The day may never come in your lifetime, but what if it does?

Mosaic knitting book
Buy the Mosaic Knitting Book at Amazon (paid link)
ball of yarn divider

A Brioche Knitting Book

I admit right off that I can’t knit brioche. Every year or so I give it a try, and fail. The last 1/4 of the book is all patterns! If you already like knitting brioche, this book may be worth purchasing just for the patterns. If, like me, you still need to get the hang of the basics, a video is probably more helpful.

Brioche knitting book.
Buy the Knitting Brioche Book at Amazon (paid link)
balls of yarn graphic

Do you have some favorite knitting books? I’d love to hear about them. I wish I had some of my grandmother’s knitting stuff. I don’t know where it went when she died, but probably to one of her daughters. Do you have patterns, needles or other items that were passed down through the family?

Recent pages about knitting…

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Crescent-shaped Shawls to Knit

One of the first things I knit was a shawl. A shawl can be a very easy project and might be perfect for a beginner knitter to make.

Shawls can be knit in various ways to make a variety of shapes. Most are triangular, rectangular, or crescent shaped. They can be knit from the top down, end to end, or a combination.

Crescent, or Half Moon Shawl Patterns

Because I live in the sub-tropics, I never wear any type of shawl. They can be fun to knit though. My favorite shape is the crescent. A crescent shawl can also be called a “half moon” or “half pi” or “pi shawl”.

Occasionally I come across a nice crescent shawl that I might want to knit one day. A smaller size shawl can often be knit using one (decent size) skein of yarn. That makes them cheap to knit, as opposed to a sweater project. It also gives a beginner knitter some practice on easier stitches, as well as practice reading a pattern.

I have not yet knit any of these patterns, but they are in my list of faves. Choose a wool yarn of some type and use the shawl like a scarf. All links go to the designers Ravelry page where the pattern is sold.

  • Interisland Shawl, by Donna Smith. Knit in fingering weight yarn, this one has a lace edge that is knit first. Very pretty. Yardage: 437-470 yds / 400 – 430 m
  • Dutch Tulips, by Alina Appasova is listed as “crescent” but it is kinda triangular too. I like it, so I am including it here. This one is done in various stitches including slipped stitches. Sounds interesting. 2 colors, 800 yards?
  • The Lone Skein Shawl, by Joji Locatelli, needs 440 yards (402m) so takes one large skein. It is crescent, but asymmetrical (one side is longer).
  • Slumber Shawl, by West Knits, has been a long time favorite. It is listed as a triangle, but is basically rounded with a wavy edge. It is listed in Stephen West’s Beginner Friendly Patterns.

Shawls I Have Knit – Mostly NOT Crescents

The Spindrift Shawl, by Helen Stewart – link is to her pattern page at Ravelry – was a free pattern (and still is if you sign up for the workshop) and the first shawl I made. It happened to be crescent shaped.

When I began knitting I went for yarn colors that seemed fun to use. Now I am more discerning about yarn type, and colors that I would actually wear! The shape is more important too.

All of the shawls pictured here (except for Vine Pops) were very simple to knit. Vine Pops was a MKAL (mystery knit-along) and I can’t even believe I stuck it out and finished. I was new to knitting, and the shawl had lots of lace. I’ve since decided that I do not like KALs.

Spindrift shawl and Meadow Moon sweater
Spindrift pattern (see link above)
Hidden Gems shawl knitting
Hidden Gems
no fuss shade loving shawl
No-fuss Shade Loving Shawl
Moon sisters shawl knitting
Moon Sisters
Knitting Bay's Edge shawl
Bay’s Edge pattern
MKAL finished shawl
MKAL – had no name – ended up Vine Pops
Dewdrops shawl
Dewdrops pattern
knitting sun-kissed shawl
Sun Kissed shawl
colorful scrappy bias shawl
Scrappy Bias shawl

The block of photos above shows all my finished shawls. I have worn exactly NONE of them!

All, except for Spindrift, are angular. When I was ready to take a trip to New Hampshire, I wanted a little wrap for my neck, and knitted the Railings pattern by Janina Kallio. It was a little crescent-shaped shawl and I added some mohair. Using mohair was a mistake, because the fuzz near my face was not good. But, I did wear it during my trip and it provided nice warmth, as intended. It’s a sweet little shawl pattern.

Knitting the Railings crescent shawl
Railings crescent shaped scarf tied around my neck
Railings crescent scarf in gray showing the pattern

Maybe I need to write a page about knitting little travel scarves.

ball of yarn divider
Keep reading all the knitting stories…

Understanding Knitting Short Rows on a Pullover Sweater

On this page I try to help beginner knitters understand short rows, and the important shaping they do when knitting sweaters.

Short rows are just that, shorter than normal knitting rows. Most often I come across directions to use short rows while knitting sweaters. In order for a sweater to fit properly, the back needs to be raised up a little higher than the front. It makes the neckline lower in front and therefore more comfortable. This is done by knitting back and forth over one section (the back) and ignoring the front stitches, for a few rows. 

Short rows also can be used to shape things, like sock heels, or shawl edges. I’m no expert on short rows, but I feel they are necessary as part of sweater knitting.

Sweaters Knit Without Short Rows

I’ve knit a couple of sweaters that did not include short row shaping. They are not the most comfortable to wear. The Carbeth Cardigan really needed short rows. The pattern was unique and pretty nice except that the back pulls downward, and shouldn’t. I tried to add some short rows myself, which I think helped, but I didn’t really know for sure if I had done them correctly.

Farfuglar sweater yoke and neck
Farfuflar, or Migrating Birds
Short rows, neck ribbing, Carbeth knitting
Carbeth back

Farfuglar was another pattern that omitted short rows. I wish that pullover pattern had included a few short rows as well.

Without short rows, there will be a noticeable difference when wearing a sweater.

Picturing Short Rows

It is always more helpful to me when I can picture how short rows will be knit. The Warm Up Sweater is a pattern from Espace Tricot and it includes short row shaping. I will use this pattern as an example to explain how the rows are knit.

Warm Up is a top-down raglan. Once the neck ribbing is knit, the sleeves, front and back are separated and expanded. Markers are placed to delegate all these sections. The sleeves will have fewer stitches than the front and back, because our arms are smaller parts of our bodies! You should also have a BOR (beginning of round) marker that should be different from the other markers.

Warm up sweater neck showing short rows
Warm-up Sweater

You can see how the dark brown block of color is not as deep at the front as it is on the sleeves and the back. This happened because of the short rows. The front neckline sits nice and low compared to the back.

We knit from right to left. We cast on and do the neck, and then begin the body. Our sweater is being knit top-down, but while we are knitting we are holding it upside down.

The Warm Up pattern short row directions say that the first marked area is the Right Sleeve, then Front, then Left Sleeve, and Back. In that order. (See my chart below.)

*Helpful hint: Place a removable marker at the “back” middle area. I do this just to keep the front and back straight in my mind – because no knitting should be done across the front (only while making short rows). Short rows will be knit across the back, and in this case, the sleeves.

short rows drawing

Short row shaping on the Warm Up sweater begins with Row 1 which says to “knit to marker”. From the BOR the knitting goes across the Right Sleeve. Then, “slip marker and knit X” which ever number for your size. 

This brings you a few stitches into the “front” of the sweater (Green GSR in my image), but now you turn – doing a German Short Row (see how below) – and will purl back (pink line in my image) – across the right sleeve, and the back, and the left sleeve. (This is Row 2, which says: *P to marker, SM and repeat 3 more times. This takes you past the R. sleeve marker, BOR marker, and both L sleeve markers – plus 3 or 4 stitches into the other side of the Front.)

Row 3 of this Short Row section includes increases, in the form of kfb (knit front and back) which are done on either side of the sleeves. You also do a GSR. It is not hard, just do each thing when it says to in the pattern. Some people mark where their short row turns are, but the double stitch made will stand out so there is really no need. 

The German short row turn is done like this: Knit (or purl) to the stitch indicated. Turn the work and with the yarn in front, slip the stitch on the left needle onto the right. Then pull that stitch up and over. It will look odd, like two stitches. You are now ready to either knit – on the RS, or purl, on the WS. Follow the directions for the next short row. 

Watch this excellent Short Rows Video for more help.
small green yarn

More About Short Rows

Making the turn for short rows will become second nature once you practice enough. If the pattern is well-written, the designer will walk you through those rows. Once the short rows are finished, you will continue knitting normally, or as the pattern directs. 

The funny looking short row stitch is always knit together – as one stitch – when it comes time to either knit, or purl that weird stitch.

Socks use short row shaping at the heel. And short rows can make a ruffle on a scarf or other project. 

Perfect Newborn socks pattern knitting
Perfect Newborn socks
wild angelica socks pattern fair isle colorwork knitting
Wild Angelica Socks
Ruffle scarf
Ruffle Scarf

My Knitting Life

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