Tag: pattern

A Simple Sweater With Stripes

My newest knitting project is a simple sweater with stripes. A link to the pattern page on Ravelry is further down the page. This one is advertised as a good project to use up stash yarn. I can see how that would be true.

I was finishing up knitting the Warm Up sweater (#3), and I had to decide on a new knitting project. In the queue I had planned on a colorwork pullover and I was looking forward to it.

I began the cast on for the Secret Garden Sweater (pattern page at Ravelry). I messed it up when completing the join. It was twisted! I have not done that since back when I was a beginner. While casting on, I really was not happy with the yarn. It was very thin. And I had my doubts about the pattern. Something told me to move on and skip this one for now.

Uradale yarn skeins in brown and blue
Uradale yarn

If I don’t use the Uradale gift yarn for this planned project, what will I use it for? The Simple Stripes sweater was a pattern I had recently saved. It uses the same weight yarn. If I mix the Uradale with some of my stash wool, that could work. I could incorporate some colorwork into it. 🤔

I almost decided to simply use an old pattern I had already purchased. After knitting a few sweaters over the years, I could easily knit almost any pattern and do stripes, as I did with Warm Ups #1 & 2.

The Simple Stripes Sweater Pattern

The Simple Stripes pullover is a pattern by SuviKnits. I’m using needle sizes suggested in the pattern. Main needle is a 4.

Although this is a straight forward raglan sweater, there are two things you should know before getting started. Further down the page, I explain how to do both.

First, the stripes need to be smooth and even. This is simple until a new color is added. You need to make the Jogless Join. Find a method you like, and do it. You will be happy to have smooth stripes in the end!

Second, learn to weave in the yarn ends as you knit. This is not necessary, but will save lots of time later when the project is complete.

Simple Stripes sweater pattern cast on
Cast on and short rows complete

Know How to Do the Jogless Join

This is important. While knitting this sweater in stripes as indicated, you will need to do the jogless join when adding a new color. What this does is leave a smooth transition from one wide stripe to the next. You will want this!

In my photo here, the jogless join was made up the center of the back, until the separation for the sleeves. After that, the BOR (beginning of round) is placed at the side of the sweater. You will still need to do the special join whenever the colors change. It is easy to do, but there are a variety of methods for this.

Simple stripes pullover doing invisible join

If you simply keep knitting around and around without making the join correctly, there will be an obvious “jog”, or uneven rows, at the location where the new yarn is added. There could be a little hole there as well.

YouTube Videos For the Jogless Join

I could not find a video with the method that I used. But this is how I knit my jogless join. When a new color is needed add the new yarn. Before knitting the first stitch, wrap the old color over the new, so it tightens up the stitch. Knit normally around. On round #2, at the BOR first stitch, lift the right side of the stitch below onto the left-hand needle. Then knit that stitch together with the new color.

If you don’t have a preferred method for doing this, these videos may help.

The Chili Dog has a video for doing the join a bit differently, with the same outcome.

How to Knit Jogless Stripes – with good info on wrapping the yarn so there is no hole.

Suzanne Bryan has yet another way to do this. See her video here.

Weave in The Ends As You Go

Each time a new stripe is begun you will have a two new yarn tails to weave in. The old color will be cut (tail #1) and a new color is added (tail #2).

What I do is grab one of the tails and carry it along as I do when knitting colorwork. I hold the extra strand in my left hand. This tucks the yarn into the stitches for about 8-10 stitches. On the next row, I grab the other color that is left hanging, and do the same thing.

If you need another way, watch this video by Stephen West. He explains how to easily twist the yarn (in Continental or English style) so that the ends are held.

If you choose not to weave in the ends as you go, this leaves LOTS of ends to do all at once, when the sweater is finished.

Simple Stripes – The Beginning

My cast on is complete, and I went with the Jamison’s in a rustic orange. Jamieson’s yarn is a consistent size, whereas the Uradale is not. The pattern is very basic with short ribbing at the neck, then raglan increases along with short rows.

The Uradale yarn is fickle. The darker brown Moorit was quite thin compared to the Jamieson & Smith. When I added the Uradale Aess, which is beige, it is thicker. In general the yarn seems to deviate, sometimes becoming very thin.

I like the fact that Uradale yarn comes from a small farm on Shetland, but I can buy similar yarn in the US that costs me much less. This yarn was a gift, and I would not use it again.

I intend to mix the yarns I have to create stripes that vary in colors. I won’t have enough of the Jamison’s in one color to continue the color palette.

Simple stripes sweater knitting

As I knit this pattern, the raglan increases are done differently than most raglan patterns I’ve knit in the past. I’m wondering how this will turn out.

I’ve separated the sleeve, and there are big cast ons for under the sleeves. Now the knitting is round and round for the body.

Simple stripes sweater knitting project

More to come as I knit on this pattern. It’s the end of summer and here in Central Florida it’s a time to get planning the Fall garden. It means I am not doing a lot of knitting.

Update: Sleeve #1 is Finished

Hey, it’s September and I have finished knitting sleeve #1 of the Simple Stripes sweater. A little kitty-cat colorwork was added, and the cuff is a 3×2 (3 knits / 2 purls) ribbing on 65 stitches. Sleeve length is approximately 17-18 inches.

Sleeve number two will be all stripes and I will try to match colors. I do love the ribbing I chose, and the Rauma wool in off-white.

The Bind Off is normal and follows the knits and purls.

Sleeve number one is finished with a ribbed cuff

The holidays are coming – believe it or not – and any holiday knits need to be worked on. I have one or two on the needles. How about you?

Reading list

My Turn to Knit the Sophie Scarf

I splurged and bought two skeins of Cashmere yarn to knit the large size Sophie Scarf. But first, I knit it using some yarn from my stash. This pattern is quite popular and requires a next-to-the-skin softness. Read on to see how the yarns compare.

Sophie #1 – The First Try

I’ve already knit one Sophie in off-white, Lorna’s Laces Soulmate yarn. I believe this yarn is discontinued, and I’ve had the skein for years. I split the skein in half, to knit with two strands held together. I knit it on a size 5 needle.

The scarf ended up 51 inches long and 5 inches wide. (Pattern measurements are 41 inches long and 5 inches wide.). Although my scarf is 10 inches longer, it is just long enough for my liking. I’ve read that quite a few knitters decided to make their large size scarves longer.

Sophie scarf knitting pattern washed and drying
Sophie scarf length
51 inches long

Sophie #2 in Cashmere Yarn

After scouring three little scarf patterns, I purchased three sets of cashmere yarn. Two sets are Lang Cashmere Premium, and one set is Pascuali Cashmere Charis (knitting another scarf with this).

The Lang yarn is sold in 25 gram balls, but each of them weigh 23 grams. the Charis is sold in 50 gram balls, but each of those weigh only 48 grams. Is there a reason that all six balls are not weighing in correctly? Do I have less yarn than advertised? Does all cashmere end up this way?

I’m going to start knitting and hope that my two balls of yarn will complete one, large size, longer, Sophie Scarf.

Lang Cashmere

Cashmere yarn is pretty expensive. Two balls of this yarn cost me around $50 and I will probably use just about all of two balls to complete the scarf. It makes a very soft and pretty fabric but, after knitting with one ball, I am not too happy with the yarn.

Cashmere yarn leftover

First, I had a knot that needed to be cut out. Knots are annoying, but they happen. Then, further along the first ball, I had an annoying split. The yarn strand was unraveling (see photo below). That had to be cut and reattached. This yarn does not splice and that means I have two tails, for each time I do this. The Sophie Scarf is double-sided, meaning that there is no good place (wrong side) to weave in the ends….!! I’m a bit perturbed.

split in yarn strand
A split in the yarn strand
Yarn ends to weave in after starting new strands to compensate for knots and splits in the cashmere.
All those ends…

The designer has a suggestion for attaching a new strand, and that is to do so along the edge. I had planned to only have to attach a new ball – leaving 2 strands somewhere along the middle of the scarf. I now have 6 tails, and that is thanks to the faults in this ball of Cashmere yarn!

I had to dip into the second ball, and discovered that it was perfect. Ravelry reviewers, who have knit with Lang Cashmere Premium have complained of the same things, so my bad ball is not all that rare it seems. I have two more balls of this same yarn brand, in another color. We’ll see how that goes.

Loose tie
Sophie in Rosewood
Tighter tie

My finished Sophie scarf ended up being 54 inches long. I like to have the option to tie my scarf loosely. The length is perfect for me and it’s a very pretty color.

Measuring the length of the Sophie Scarf.

Now that Sophie is finished, I must get my next scarf done. I’m on a little scarf kick it seems.

Knitting a Striped Warm Up Sweater #2 Using Peace Fleece Yarn

The Warm Up sweater pattern is a simple raglan design. Although the sample is knit in one solid color, I like making wide stripes. I also like a rustic wool for more of a sweatshirt feel.

The Warm Up pullover is a pattern I have knit before. It is a basic raglan style sweater. The pattern does not include color changes, but I like it with wide stripes. I also like it in a nice, rustic wool. This time I chose Peace Fleece. (Pattern buying option is linked down the page.)

Pattern Mods

A basic sweater offers a blank palette for trying new things. I liked the wide stripes on Warm Up #1 and kept them on Warm Up #2. This time I added a little border pattern between them using a contrast color. Because this yarn splices very nicely, I changed the main colors (red and brown) by spit splicing.

The neck was the only part of the original sweater that I didn’t like. My neckline choice for this new sweater has a little roll and then a rib. I hope I will like it better.

Warm up sweater

The pattern suggests a twisted rib for the neck, cuffs and bottom. By the time I did the sleeves, some time had passed and I did a regular rib. Mostly because I simply forgot. I forgot to go down a needle size for the ribbing, so it was done with a size 8.

Sleeves are done! On to the body.

The sleeves were knit before the body. I was not sure on the yarn color amounts. While knitting the sleeves, I had a feeling that the whole sweater would be way too big. I was wrong! Once the sleeves were finished, I tried it on. The fit was good. The bulky nature of the yarn makes the pullover seem big.

Tubular Knit Bind Off For Sleeves

If you feel inclined to knit a tubular bind off, please watch this video. The Chilly Dog channel has made an excellent video. It explains, and shows, how to bind off with a needle for 1×1 ribbing in the round. The example is a pair of socks, but it works for any in-the-round 1×1 bind off. I have linked it here for myself as a reminder for when I knit my second sleeve.

This bind off is done with a sewing needle and because the cuff is small around, it is very manageable.

Tubular bind off
tubular knit bind off on sleeve

I’m running a little low on the salmon red color.

Buy the Warm Up Pattern Here

This pullover pattern is from Espace Tricot. It was a free pattern back when I got it. Now it must be paid for, but it’s only around $5.50 US currency at the present time. It is a well explained pattern and a good one for beginner sweater knitters.

Warm up sweater
Warm Up #1, Brown Lettlopi
Warm Up sweater pattern using Peace Fleece wool yarn in wide stripes.
Warm Up #2 Peace Fleece (in progress)

I will update with a finished photo when I’m done. The hot weather is coming. Now that February is here, we are having some very warm days. I won’t be wearing sweaters for much longer. I need to get this heavy, wool project off my lap!

finished knitting and gave it a soak in Eucalyn. Now it’s drying on the mats. I have nearly a whole skein of the brown left. There is quite a bit of yellow, and not enough red to complete the last ribbing.

Warm Up pattern is finished, washed and drying on the mats.
Drying
Leftover Peace Fleece yarn from knitting the Warm Up sweater
Leftover Peace Fleece

Knitters, please keep reading…

Knitting the Cozy Dual Loop Beanie

Beginning to knit the deal loop beanie pattern in heavy wool.

After knitting sweaters for a while, I decided to try a smaller project. The Dual Loop Beanie, by Other Loops, looked like a nice hat. (Pattern link below.) I purchased the pattern and began the project. Yup, one more knitting project on the needles!

Here it is all finished, but still needing a soak. Read on and make one of your own.

dual loop beanie
Dual Loop Beanie knit using Plotulopi wool

The Pattern

The pattern is easy to follow. One thing to be aware of is you will always be following the 2×2 rib for the top part. One line in the directions says, “knit to two stitches before the next marker” but it should be knit and purl.

Also, a thumbs down for this pattern is the fact that the needle size is listed ONLY in mm and size / length is ONLY in cm. For those of us in the US we have to convert. It’s not a big deal, but most patterns do list both.

The beginning directions are for a tubular cast on. If you don’t know how to do it, then you must look it up (I have a video link below). There are no directions or links in the pattern. There are no other cast on options listed either. But, if you feel more comfortable using a long tail, or other cast on, go for it!

Stitches / Techniques to Know

  • Tubular cast on & join (see below)
  • K2tog – knit 2 together
  • P2tog – purl 2 together
  • P2togtbl – purl 2 together through the back loop
  • SSK – slip, slip, knit (or left leaning decrease)

Buy the Dual Loop Beanie Pattern

The Cast On and Set Up Rows

I am not a fan of doing the tubular cast on. Many ribbed hats use it to make the edge rounded. And, it does look nice. The cast on is not difficult, BUT keeping the stitches straight gives me a headache. To solve this problem, I used a straight needle this time. A wooden straight needle would be perfect, but I only had my grandmother’s old steel needles. They worked fine.

straight needles and Alafosslopi yarn
tubular cast on onto straight needle
If possible, do the tubular cast on onto a long, straight needle. Doing this will help keep the stitches from twisting around like they do on a circular needle.

If you are wondering why I would cast on for a hat using a straight needle, here’s the answer. The tubular cast on is worked in back and forth rows called the “set up” rows. Once those are done, then the round is joined.

The pattern begins with, “cast on using a tubular cast on in rib stitch”. My help for this came from Stephen West’s video. I followed his cast on directions. Also his first set up row directions (he knits through the back loop on the first row). At his suggestion, I used one needle size smaller (size 3US) for this part of the project.

After finishing the cast on and set up rows, I slipped all of the stitches onto a size 4 circular needle (the main size). Then, I made the join by simply continuing in pattern. I will have to close up that gap when I weave in the ends. *I had no trouble closing the gap and it looks perfect.

Any type of Cast On will work. It may not look as good as the tubular, but don’t let that stop you from knitting the hat.
Ready to join the cast on to knit round and round.
Stitches transferred to circular needle size 4.

Now I am working using the main yarn, which is Plotulopi unspun held double. I’m pulling a strand from each of two cakes. But to cast on and begin with set up rows, I used dark green-brown Alafosslopi. It is sturdier and I needed something to make that cast on as easy as possible. Both yarns came from my stash.

I do NOT recommend using Plotulopi for a hat. I love the way it came out but there was a lot of yarn breaking during this knit.

Because I couldn’t fit more stitches on the straight needle, I cast on for the small size hat. This yarn is thick and the hat size is perfect.

Dual loop beanie

The Dual Loop Beanie is pretty much a basic hat pattern. Once I was beyond the cast on, it’s round and round knits and purls. The decreases for the top are well written out and I’m looking forward to the end result.

Dual loop beanie hat knitting project using Icelandic wool.
Just beginning the decrease rounds on my Dual Loop beanie. Isn’t that yarn pretty!

The beanie is nearly ready to wear. Just needs a soak and then drying out. I had a lot of trouble with this yarn at the top. Unspun yarn like this Plotulopi can’t stand any stress or it comes apart like cotton candy. Fortunately it can be spit-spliced easily. If you prefer a very tall point at the top – add more rows. I followed the directions and mine is not all that tall.

dual loop beanie
dual loop beanie
dual loop beanie in plotulopi wool

Here in central Florida we are certainly not suffering with horrid freezing temperatures like most of the county. We have had a cold, gloomy January. For the past week or so temps have been in the 40’s and 50’s for highs, with wind chills lower. I can hear you… “Oh poor baby” “Those Florida wussies” I know, I know… I’m not whining, just saying it is unusual. And it has given me lots of opportunities to wear my hand knits, so I’m happy. It snowed in the Panhandle, and I hope next time the snow comes here. I love snow.

More posts about hats.