New Knitting Project: Color-work Pullover Pattern

My next big knitting project for 2021 will be a colorwork, or Fair Isle, pullover sweater. I’ve been searching the internet and Ravelry for some ideas and now it’s time to narrow down the selections. It’s taken me months to write this post, and it’s already September, so I’ve already begun two sweaters (see below), and plan to make a third.

Hooked on Colorwork, Fair Isle Knitting

After knitting for a few years, I have decided that I really like colorwork knitting. Now that I have a couple of hats (Katie’s Kep), mittens, and fingerless mitts (Stellar Parallax) under my belt, I feel that a sweater is what I need to knit next. Once a year I need to make myself a sweater. This will really be sweater number two, after the Cobblestone, but the Cobblestone was not colorwork.

Fingerless mitts Stellar Parallax pattern — Stellar Parallax

Fair Isle Mitts colorwork pattern — Stellar Parallax

A Word About Steeking

A colorwork, or Fair Isle, sweater must be a pullover because a cardigan requires steeking. Once the sweater is knit, it is cut up the front to create the cardigan. Yikes, I am not ready for that yet.

Three Patterns For the Price of Two – Jennifer Steingass

Jennifer Steingass is a knitwear designer who offers lots of colorwork pullover patterns to knit. Also, she is currently (at the time I wrote this) selling her patterns at three for the price of two, or buy 2 get 1 free.

Because I have some Istex Lettlopi yarn on the way to my house from Iceland (that is so cool – LOL), I chose the following patterns to purchase. I’ve decided to knit with aran, or worsted, weight yarn for my next sweater. The links below go to Ravelry.

Telja – Lettlopi (aran / worsted)
Treelight – Lettlopi
Goldwing – worsted
Meadow Moon – Fingering, I am knitting this one – see photo below
Newleaf – Fingering

But beware… or be aware… not all of her color-work patterns are Fair Isle (using only 2 colors at one time), as some of them require three colors to be carried along one row of knitting. Of course, I can stay with two colors if I want and ignore adding a third. I find that trying to work with more than two colors can be annoying. I ran into that while knitting a few of the rows for the “Marshland” sweater.

Knitting Sweaters: On the Needles

Right now I am knitting two sweaters while I wait for my Lettlopi yarn to arrive. Below is my green Calliope and colorwork Meadow Moon.

Calliope sleeve knitting — Calliope – Free pattern

knitting colorwork yoke of Meadow Moon pullover — Calliope – Free pattern

Marie Wallin’s Fair Isle Patterns

One of the first sweater patterns I saw at Ravelry was Marie Wallin’s Lovage. It is part of her Windswept Collection but the pattern can be purchased separately at Ravelry for approximately $8.87 US (at current writing). I’ve looked through the comments from knitters of this sweater and some people have had trouble. There is a lot of stranded knitting at the entire top and part of the sleeves. Then there is some braided work down the rest of the sleeve. It’s very pretty, but might be too difficult for me.

She also has a Meadow Collection and I love the Nigella Fair Isle pullover pattern, but wow, what a big project. It’s worth checking out her Free Patterns section too.

Sweaters Knit by Me

At the beginning of the year (2021)I knit the Cobblestone Cardigan and took it up to New Hampshire with me. I wore that sweater nearly every day! It’s big and soft and cozy. I won’t get the chance to wear it, or any sweater, until I can travel north.

Each time I knit a sweater, I learn a bit more. From the type of yarn, style, pattern writing, fit and mistakes to how much I like, or dislike, the end product. I’ve only knit five sweaters, one is a child’s size, two are pullovers and three are cardigans. I like cardigans best for wearing, although living in Florida means I seldom get to wear any type of sweater.

Each time I knit a sweater, or other item, I find more yarn I love. I keep it in mind for any upcoming projects. Each image below has a link at the bottom.

Cobblestone Cardigan knit in Brooklyn Tweed yarn — Marshland

I’ve learned that I like knitting with wool and don’t like washable yarn. I’ve discovered what “pooling” is – see the Umpqua sweater, which I really dislike for many reasons, but it was my very first sweater! I knew literally nothing about sweater knitting. I will probably frog it at some point to re-use the yarn.

Sock yarn should be used for socks, IMO because when I want a sweater, I want it to be warm and cozy. Wool and natural fibers, tend to be cheaper also. I like that I know where the sheep / animals lived who provided it!

I Want to Travel to Cooler Locations!

I’d love to leave the state of Florida more often. I dislike living here, and there is so much of the US I have not seen.

After being unable to travel due to the Covid restrictions, which seem to drag on and on, I have decided I will not count on airplane travel any longer. Wearing a mask through the airport, on the plane and through a second airport, was very uncomfortable. I understand the concern, but the restrictions kept me from seeing two of my kids for over two years. This is unacceptable.

We will be buying an RV of some kind to make travel easier. I have cats and they will need to come along. But the most exciting thing is that we will be able to visit cooler locations. Then, I can wear my sweaters, hats, cowls, and mitts! I long for this.

Knitting The Stellar Parallax Mitts by Bunnymuff

After knitting stockinette for days on my Calliope sweater, I felt that I needed a color-work challenge. Mona Zillah aka Bunnymuff has a pretty pattern done in Fair Isle, stranded knitting. The pattern is called Stellar Parallax and you get two patterns for the price of one as it includes directions for a hat and mitts. I’m knitting the fingerless mitts first.

The Wool Yarn

I am knitting with wool yarn which I have in my stash and it includes Rauma (orange and yellow), Tukuwool (green), and Jamieson & Smith 2-ply (blue) and J&S Shetland Supreme (black- dark brown – and white-undyed). The only problem I had was with the dark brown yarn which would occasionally become very thin in places as I knit. All the other colors were very consistent.

A New Way to Knit Corrugated Rib

I was unsure of what needle size to use. My first cuff was knit with a size 3US which is bigger than the pattern suggest. It turned out to be too large around so I began again with a size 2US .

Size 2 US used for all of knitting (9-inch circular needle) except for top of hand and thumb ribbing when I used size 1.5 DPNs.

First, I did the cast-on and ribbing as I usually do corrugated rib. And it looked like this (photo left below). The cuff was too large, so I began again with a smaller needle and followed Mona’s directions (photo right).

One Mitt is Finished

On September 4th I finished my first mitt. All that’s left is the weaving in of ends, which will be a big job. I took some photos while knitting the ribbing at the top of the hand with the thumb stitches on hold.

The whole mitt was knit with size 2 needles until the ribbing. I used size 1.5 to finish off the ribbing on the hand, and then I used the 1.5 for the thumb. I don’t like the Hiya Hiya set of three needles, so I bought some wooden DPNs to use for the second mitt – they are Lykke brand and are beautiful.

Ending Notes on Knitting the Stellar Parallax Mitts Pattern

I enjoyed knitting this pattern by Bunnymuff (link goes to her Ravelry store). She has a lot of colorwork patterns that I love, but she also creates patterns that require steeking – which I’ve never done. Steeking, in case you don’t know, is required when knitting colorwork sweaters that will become cardigans. Because Fair Isle knitting is done in the round, the sweater opening has to be created afterward. It all seems quite scary to me because you must cut up through your knitting! Yikes… I plan to learn it one day, but I’ll have to be in the mood. So I’m sticking with more simple colorwork projects for now.

black cat, knitting basket, fontana — Fontana checks out the knitting basket

As I’ve said, I really liked knitting this pattern and it didn’t take long to finish the knitting. The weaving of ends is another story! I tried to carry the yarn colors more on the second mitt, to keep ends at a minimum, but it didn’t help much. It also didn’t help that Fontana, my cat, would insist on jumping into my lap while I tried to keep all my balls of yarn organized….!! How do cats always know to bother us when we are the busiest? Oh well, in the end, it’s all worth it.

Buying the new set of DPNs, Lykke brand (this is an affiliate link to Amazon), size 1.5 US, made a huge difference when completing the top ribbing for the hand and thumb.

weaving in ends on Stellar mitts — New Lykke DPNs

Lykke driftwood double-pointed needles — New Lykke DPNs

I have yet to wash the mitts because I am still weaving in ends! It’s never-ending, but I love the look of the mitts, which fit perfectly. I’m happy with my color choices and I learned a new way to knit corrugated ribbing. I’ll have to begin the hat part of this pattern soon before I forget where I put all my matching yarn.

Boot Cuffs Knit in Myak Yarn

Mat my daughter’s request, I have begun to knit boot cuffs. Last year I knit some cabled cuffs in brown yarn, but she says they are too loose.

Now I have knit a new pair of cuffs which does not have a pattern, but I will write on this post how I made them.

boot cuffs knit in Myak yarn color Moss — Boot cuffs done- unwashed! Yup, that’s a big seashell.

Quick Boot Cuffs Pattern

I don’t have a gauge to report, and since I was trying to make these fit my daughter’s small legs, it was trial and error. After my third try, this size seems to be okay. I won’t know for sure until she receives them and tries them on with her jeans and boots.

This is how I knit the boot cuffs pictured on this page, which are small – like teen girl size. It will depend on the type of yarn used also – is it stretchy? Are you a tight knitter like I am? To make them bigger, cast on more stitches by 2’s. In other words, it’s a bit of trial and error.

Using a size 6 US circular (9-inch) needle, cast on 34 stitches and join in the round. (DPN’s work too)
Do a 1×1 rib (knit one, purl one) for approximately four inches – or to desired length
When the vertical ribbing is done, knit one row around.
Next, Purl 2 rows, Knit 2 rows 4 times, or more if the top needs to be longer.
Bind off loosely

The loose bind off I used was a combination of the stretchy bind-off shown on Andrea Mowry’s video and a regular bind-off. I do one stretchy, with the extra yarn over, then a regular bind off – around.

The Yarn

The yarn used is Myak and I have to say it is the most beautiful yarn I think I’ve ever used. First of all, I LOVE that color, which is “Moss”. I really hated to use it for something like boot cuffs, but my daughter will take good care of them and not much yarn was used. I could actually make her a hat or scarf to match.

Here is what I’ve read about Myak yarn:

It is naturally sourced from Tibetan yaks
“The fiber is hand-combed from the soft undercoats with no harm to the animal” – taken from the tag on this yarn skein.
The skein I used here is 100% from baby yaks
125 yards in this skein

Sorry, Giving Up on Knitting Brioche

I began writing this post in the hope of being able to easily explain how to knit brioche. It turns out that I simply can’t do it. This project was ripped out, but I do have some good notes, and videos, to reference for anyone trying to knit brioche in the round.

Where’s the Brioche Hate Club, I need to Join

After much difficulty with casting on, (I did learn some new cast-ons) I am on my way to successfully knitting brioche in the round – or so I thought. Well, honestly, I am making lots (and lots) of mistakes – ya, it looks horrible!, but that’s okay, I am practicing. But, at each BOR (beginning of round) the yarn color changes and I’m either going to knit or purl. This can be daunting for us beginners. And sometimes downright impossible.

After my many efforts to complete a nice cast on for brioche in the round, I gave up and simply used some sort of long tail cast on which is what I usually use. My cast on edge looks bad, but I needed to begin practice on brioche stitch.

My Practice Hat in Brioche Stitch – which I ripped out

I cast on 80 stitches using worsted wool and this was a good number. The Skipp hat pattern called for fingering yarn, so I tried to estimate with worsted, just to try out the pattern. Before I ripped out the hat, I tried it on and the fit was good. If I ever learn to knit brioche in the round correctly, 80 stitches are a good amount to cast on.

The light gray is unknown yarn and the red is Brooklyn Tweed’s Shelter. I’m using up stash with only a small ball of red yarn left, then I switched to dark blue.

Brioche hat knitting two color — Brioche knitting

My Brioche Knitting Advice For Beginners

To practice brioche knitting, I’ve found that doing the following makes things easier

Use worsted weight yarn
Choose two very opposite colors and NOT variegated
If you can’t get a good cast on done, do whatever you can so you can just knit! Consider this practice.

Figuring Out Beginning of Round Knits and Purls

Brioche knitting is not really all that difficult, but at the beginning of each round I get very confused. This mainly happens when I don’t see the yarn stitches I’m supposed to see for the next round! I guess I have some kind of mental block because so many people CAN DO THIS! What’s wrong with me?

With only two yarn colors and two types of rows (knits and purls), this shouldn’t be all that difficult. But as a beginner, who makes lots of knitting mistakes, I dreaded that BOR stitch – because it screwed me up….!!!

So here’s how it goes for two yarn colors, and two row changes. This much I understand.

Know your yarn and what it means. My knit row yarn is my MC (main color) which for me is light gray. That makes red yarn my CC (contrast color) and it is my purl row yarn.

MC Gray yarn = Knit Row
CC Red yarn = Purl Row

But in brioche, knit and purl rows are not all that obvious unless you know what to look for. This information is for “brioche in the round” because flat brioche is probably different – I don’t know. (Oh yes, I tried that too and still couldn’t accomplish it! – see the free pattern links below for brioche scarves.)

BOR Stitches – The Knit Row

At the BOR, when I see a purl stitch as the first stitch to work (photo below), and it’s in my CC (red) yarn, it means I will be using the MC (gray) yarn for this row. That means it’s a KNIT row.

The knit row is worked as follows: *Gray yarn forward, slip that purl stitch (purl wise). Leave the yarn in front as I pick up the next TWO stitches (a gray and a red stitch – you can see them crossed in the image below) and bring the working yarn up and over the needle to knit those two stitches together. This creates a yarn over (YO) for the next round of knitting. *Do it again until I finishing knitting this round. It helps to repeat this in your head when you get going on the round…yarn front, slip, yarn over purl (2 – counted as one).

It’s not that difficult. It’s basically a slip and k2tog – but those two together are counted as one stitch. The yarn just needs to be in the correct position to create that yarn over with the knit.

brioche in the round, two color row stitch appearance — BOR, a slipped purl stitch begins this round, so I am **knitting** this row and using the MC yarn which is gray.

BOR Stitches – The Purl Row

My purl row begins incorrectly. This goes back to my difficulties in casting on. If I can’t make the right kind of cast on and join, I won’t have the correct stitch set up!

My photo below is in the middle of the round, but the beginning of the round would start with a knit stitch like this – at least I think it would. A gray knit stitch means I will slip it – using the other yarn color. Dark blue yarn has replaced my red so I am working with the CC color and purling this row.

Work the Purl Round / Row like this: *Yarn forward and slip the knit stitch. Yarn up and over the needle to purl the next two stitches together. *Continue around. Once the purl has been done, the yarn is in the front so just slip the next stitch. Yarn up and over and purl the next two. Pretty simple. Hahahahaha… do I sound insane?

Adding a New Yarn Color

Eventually I ran out of red yarn so I have added a dark blue. The yarn was added at the beginning of a round and it now takes the place of the red yarn. Blue is now my CC.

I’ve made a ton of mistakes on this practice hat, which may not ever end up being a hat (No, it won’t) because I have no idea how to decrease at the top while knitting brioche – Oh Lord, I’m far from being able to do that!

Brioche in the round, hat knitting practice — Dark blue yarn added

My Brioche Hat Photos, Before I Ripped it All Out

The actual stitches were fun to do, but every now and then I would make a mistake on the round. The Beginning of round stitches, and end of round stitches, did not line up and I would lose it (glass of wine anyone?). Also, it’s easy to not carry the yarn correctly – front or back – which will make unwanted lines of yarn where they shouldn’t be.

This is nearly impossible to fix. Jared Flood suggests adding life lines to brioche and it’s definitely some great advice. See the link to his video below where he shows you how to do that.

brioche knitting attempt hat in the round — This part is okay

brioche hat knitting other side — This part is okay

The cast-on’s in my photos above were done following Andrea Mowry’s “Two Color Tubular Cast-On” which is really nice and a great cast-on to master. A couple of rows are knit back and forth before the join and the video is a very good one. BUT… and this is another big BUT… like so many other videos, it stops after the cast on – how do I join? How do I continue to knit from this? There is no explanation. The video ends. So the cast on is as far as I went, and then ripped it out.

Patterns For Practicing Brioche

Some patterns listed here are free, and some are not. I did buy the Jared Flood hat which I couldn’t complete. Then I found some free patterns for knitting brioche flat (should be simple right?), which I also couldn’t complete. It’s so sad that I am incapable. If you can’t do brioche, join my club. I may try again in a couple of years, but at this point I am OVER IT.

I’ve spent nearly two weeks trying to figure this out. I have all these patterns and saved videos to reference for later. I’m not one to give up easily and in general I believe that if others can do it, I can. Not so with knitting brioche.

FREE – Purl Soho – Brioche Gradient Scarf (this is a flat knitting pattern)
FREE – Westknits – Bundled in Brioche scarf
Skipp – Jared Flood – the pattern I bought and began my journey (brioche nightmare)
Hester’s Hat
Harlow – Andrea Mowry

Brioche Knitting Tutorials at YouTube

Lots of people have made tutorials for YouTube showing us how to brioche knit. Here is a list of some of my favorites. No videos I came across shows me how to create a good join and knit from there.

Stephen West
Brooklyn Tweed – Jared Flood – Brioche in the round – This video is awesome for everything except casting on and joining in the round. Jared explains what to do at the end of the round – with that other color yarn which is just hanging there waiting to be used. He also shows how to add a life line – which is a great idea for knitting something where mistakes could easily be made and be difficult to fix.