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.
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.
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.
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 – Free pattern
Meadow Moon
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.
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.
This is my bohemian version of the Marshland sweater pattern by Tin Can Knits. The pattern is in their book “Strange Brew”.
Once again I am knitting with yarn I really don’t like all that much. I purchased this yellow Arranmore yarn when the color was on sale because it is / was discontinued. I planned to use it to make a different sweater (Big Love) and when that never happened, I had all these skeins of yellow yarn hanging around.
Since I am not crazy about this yarn, and generally I don’t like a pullover, I was knitting this for practice and to use up some yarn.
The Marshland is knit top down, with the ribbing at the neck added last. There is a long colorwork area on the yoke and chest that carries over to the sleeves. I changed it up a bit and tried to use up some stash yarn.
Picking up stitches is not something I am all that good at and when it came to doing so for the sleeves, I had to pick up and knit in pattern! I had changed the colorwork pattern, so had to follow my own changes to continue onto the sleeves.
Before washing
What I Learned From Knitting the Marshland Pattern
This pattern is fairly easy to follow, but it needs short rows to raise the back. It seems there really is no front or back. The design seems to be meant as a knit for men. For that reason it is not super comfortable. I may add onto the neck.
Wearing my Marshland on a cool Florida day
I chose this pattern because of my yarn weight, but it’s not the prettiest pattern in the book – it’s manly. That is one reason I changed the colorwork.
The Arranmore yarn is also very strange. I have washed the sweater and I think it will take days to dry. I would not buy this yarn again, and it is discontinued I believe. No wonder.
In the end, the sweater fits, but I don’t like the bottom ribbing or the fact that the colorwork at the bottom of the body tends to pull in. It may block out.
I had trouble with the yoke increases and they still seem to be creating a lumpy row of stitches. That could block out too. On my first try, I added too many increases and had to rip out many rows.
This one is a “never knit again” but it’s mostly due to my yarn and the masculine look. I did not enjoy knitting three colors in one round either. I love Tin Can Knits and will try another pattern from the book one day.
I’ve begun knitting the Marshland pullover sweater by Tin Can Knits – see the pattern link at the end of this page. The pattern is in the “Strange Brew” book. I chose this pattern because I had worsted weight yarn to use.
I have too many stitches
Because the pattern colorwork looks to me like it was meant more for a man – it’s a unisex design, I decided to change up the knitting with other color patterns. The pink rows and the last yellow and green rows are different from the suggested pattern. However, all that was ripped back and I didn’t re-do it the same way.
The yellow Arranmore yarn was purchased to knit “Big Love” – a cardigan. That pattern was confusing, so I never knit it. I’m using other stash yarn, and some is not exactly the same weight as the Arranmore, but oh well.
First time doing this – pick up right hand side of each knit stitch, all the way around. This will be the new starting row.
The “Make One” Rows
The pattern calls for places where M1 is needed – that is “make one” – and a stitch must be added. There is no suggestion about how to make a stitch, so you’d better have a favorite way! (HINT: Use the backwards loop method.)
On the very last increase row of the yoke, I somehow added too many M1’s and ended up with way too many stitches. I didn’t realize this, and kept knitting…. HINT / NOTE TO SELF: Count your stitches right after that last M1 row…!!!!!
In my photo above, my mistake row was in the brown section just below the pink. So I picked up stitches above the pink rows to start again. Everything below the needle was removed.
How to Rip Back Many Rows
I’ve never had to fix a knitting mistake as big as this one. I could not simply un-knit some stitches. I needed to rip many rows out. So I watched a couple of really bad videos, but the gist of it was to use a needle to pick up the right side of each V knit stitch. This has to be done slowly so none are missed. Also be sure you stay on the correct / same row!
But first, I pulled out the 32 inch needle I’d been knitting with – that gave me the ability to try on my sweater (very first photo). I used the same needle I’d been using to pick up the new stitches. I did this on a non-colorwork row because it was easiest. I began at the BOR marker and continued to the end. Now I had all new stitches on my needle.
Then I had to unravel all that previous knitting and rewind the balls. I was left with this (photo below) and ready to begin again. When I got to that M1 row where my error occurred, I used stitch markers to help me count.
Ready to try again
Below is the same yoke on my second knit. This time I followed the pattern’s suggested colorwork design. The sleeve stitches have been put on holders and all counts are perfect. So onward I knit!
This time I counted stitches
Stranded colorwork knitting is fun to do, and keeps a project interesting. Katie’s Kep, the Turkish Watchcap, and the Triple Patterned Watchcap were hats I enjoyed doing in Fair Isle, aka stranded colorwork. The only other sweater I knit like this is the Umpqua and it was my first sweater.
I’ve come across one row in the Marshland design where three colors were used, but all the others are two color strands.
I have fallen in love with the washable Lorna’s Laces Sportmate yarn. I decided to knit the Polliwog Popover with the gray (Dobson) and blue (Cermak) colors I recently bought on sale. It’s a little sweater with a unique neckline for babies or young children. It is a great pattern for a little boy. The pattern is by Mary Lou Egan and I found it in my copy of “Drop Dead Easy Knits” (link to the book below).
The title mentions easy, so none of the patterns should be difficult – you would think. However, as I have been knitting this baby top, I’ve run into some difficulty.
Polliwog Troubles, Mistakes and My Personal Fixes
First of all let me suggest that whenever you choose to knit a pattern search for possible errata – or changes to a pattern due to direction corrections. A mistake here and there is understandable. No one is perfect. I’ve noticed that patterns often have an errata listed.
Most knitwear designers have test knitters, who will all knit up a pattern and give feedback, including catching pattern mistakes. So the fact that the Polliwog was included in a book, but contains numerous mistakes, is disappointing … and annoying.
IMPORTANT: If you plan to knit this PATTERN, go to the Ravelry Polliwog Popover pattern page where the designer lists the mistakes on the page. Take note of them and make fixes on the pages in the book before you begin knitting. The first mistake was the number of stripes to knit for the body.
But I had more troubles than just the ones listed, so I wanted to share my woes here. In the end, I really like the top. It is soft and cute and works well for a boy or girl. It would be a breeze to knit again now that I have made my changes to the pattern and provided notes to myself.
I may actually sew down those flaps on the front, but I’ll see how it looks after washing.
Polliwog Popover – done!
Check Your Gauge!
First, I strongly suggest you knit a swatch to find your gauge. Usually I have to go up a needle size to make my gauge correct. This time I did not knit a swatch and used the suggested size 4US needle, but I should have used a 3 or maybe even a 2.
The sweater is WAY bigger than even the measurements for the largest size (12-24 months), and now I fear I may run out of blue yarn (I didn’t – see my yarn photo below). I’m following the smallest size (6-9 months) directions. So my gauge is way off. I’m thinking it would fit a one-year old. This is my own fault, and not a fault with the pattern. I should have found the correct gauge before I began.
Knitting Stripes That Align
I was no expert at knitting stripes, but after making all the stripes on the body and sleeves of this sweater, I consider myself an accomplished stripe-knitter. And for the most part, my stripes align pretty well. This is how I did it.
Row 1 (of 3 knit in same color) – when adding / changing colors, bring the new color up behind the old to tug the little area closed.
Row 2 – when you reach the BOR (beginning of round) marker, and are ready to begin knitting row 2, lift the right side of the knit stitch below the row onto the LEFT needle and knit through both strands. This will make the first worked stitch of the row look like only 2 stitches when the rest of the row will have 3. This makes the rows of color line up nicely. You can see this in my photo below on the BOR seam of a sleeve.
Row 3 – knit around… begin again at row 1 when you change to the new color.
Aligning the rows of stripes
The Shaping
Once I had the front section shaping on the left shoulder completed, I felt pretty good. I had managed to do the short rows and then knit them up fine.
Shaping the front
My troubles began when I had to do a similar thing on the Right Shoulder. The stitches are opposite and the directions to “slip the stitch and pull the yarn over the needle to create a double stitch” did not work because you end with a purl stitch. Or maybe you just pull the lumpy thing over and call it two stitches ???, but it looked bad. I tried searching YouTube for help and found nothing that made sense.
After wasting lots of time trying to figure out what to do – after all this was going to be the neckline of the sweater – I used my notes from a little scarf I began a while ago. On the Ruffle scarf you create a number of short rows, or wrap and turns. I could do that simple thing when knitting the scarf, so I simply did the same thing for the Popover. I did the same when working the back sections as well.
Short Rows on Right Side Shoulder
Here is how I did my turns on that right side – front and back sections of the sweater.
When I got to the end of the row the yarn was forward because I ended with a purl stitch. I kept the yarn forward, in front, and slipped a stitch from the Left needle to the Right needle. Then I turned the work and brought the yarn forward again. Slipped a stitch once more from left to right and began knitting in pattern back to the end of the row.
Super easy, looked fine, and easy to pick up each knit and purl on the finishing row. No stitches needed to be knit together.
The Neckline Bind-Off
Here is where my blood pressure rose once again. First of all the patterns says, “work a sewn bind-off … as described in the Techniques section”. So I flipped to the back and found the page for Techniques. None of the technique titles were for a “sewn bind-off”. I finally decided it must be the “K1, P1 Bind Off” because it called for using a tapestry needle. I didn’t like the sounds of that.
Reading through the long directions for this type of bind-off I began to have serious doubts about my ability to not mess it up! So I knit up a little swatch in the knit 1, purl 1 ribbing to try it out. I couldn’t figure it out. It was a disaster. So I looked on YouTube. Even watching videos describing this sewn bind-off, and following along on my swatch, I gave up after making a complete mess of it. This was not easy, even after watching a video.
Jeny’s Surprisingly Stretchy Bind-off
I really didn’t want to have to use a tapestry needle, but I knew I would need a stretchy bind off for the neckline. I’d heard of Jeny’s Surprisingly Stretchy bind off, but never bothered to look into what it entailed. Now I decided to see if I could handle it. I’m so glad I did. And yes, it is VERY stretchy, and EASY!
This is a very easy bind-off to use for anyone. Once it was done, I believe it looks just fine. See my photo below.
As is usually the case, I had to watch a couple of videos to find one I liked. Here is a link to the YouTube video for Jeny’s bind off that helped me – she goes super slow considering it’s super simple to knit.
As I’ve read some notes by knitters of this garment, a few have said that the neckline is too loose and flaps open. Now I am wondering if a normal bind-off would work because of the way the neckline overlaps to make an extra large opening anyway. I don’t have a baby to try it out on.
Finished look of Jeny’s bind off
Jeny’s Bind-Off Written Directions
You don’t need to watch the video because it is easy to explain how to do Jeny’s bind-off. And at least now I know how to do it.
Do This: You are ready to bind off – on the right side – and are holding an empty RH needle. Begin by first wrapping the yarn around the RH needle clockwise. This is opposite of how you would make a Yarn Over. Then, knit the first stitch and pass that wrapped stitch over the knit – like a regular bind-off.
Now, wrap yarn clockwise again, which will give you 2 stitches on the RH needle. Knit the next stitch – giving you 3 stitches (my image below). Bind off by passing the first two stitches over the one recently knit. (I did not deal with alternating knits and purls. Honestly I don’t know if I should have. I was so fed up at this point I just wanted to be done!)
With three stiches on the RH needle, slip the first 2 over the last – as in a regular bind-off
Continue to wrap clockwise before knitting, passing two stitches over one, and so forth. Super EASY! And yes, it is also super stretchy. I guess lots of people use this bind off for toe-up socks so the cuff is not tight. Believe me, it works. I think I could get my big head through this neckline!
The Polliwog Sleeves
To begin the sleeve, first the two sections of the shoulder have to be overlapped. Then stitches have to be picked up, sometimes going through two layers of knitting. I used a crochet hook to pick up stitches through two layers.
Also, pick up through nearly every stitch, or the count will be short. I had to re-do my pick ups for this reason. I used DPN’s but quickly became fed up with them and ordered a 9-inch circular needle to finish the sleeve.
First sleeve transferred to new 9 inch circular needle.
I have a few small circular needles for knitting small round things like mittens, so this new size five, nine-inch circular has been added to my collection. They are totally worth it if you hate using DPNs. I was able to knit all the way to the sleeve cuff and bind-off using the small circular needle. (I did a regular bind-off here, not the “sewn bind off”.)
Knitting the sleeve
I will say that I love Lorna’s Laces yarn. The blue color is slightly variegated and looks really nice. I will be washing it in my machine and throwing it into the dryer for a little bit to see how it ends up. (Directions for washing this yarn are: Machine wash cold with like colors. Machine dry until just damp. Lay flat to finish.)
I did not have a lot of blue yarn left, but as I said, the garment turned out large. After washing (and drying) it seems that either the sleeves should be longer or the body should be shorter. It’s hard to tell.
How Much Yarn is Needed?
Once I finished knitting, below you can see how much yarn was left of the 2 skeins I used. Each skein has 270 yards and I had leftover yarn. The pattern sample uses Swan’s Island washable wool which contains even more yarn per skein (360 yards) and the pattern calls for 2 skeins of the Main Color – which in my case was the blue. So I used less than 270 yards altogether (blue) – less than one skein. And remember that my sweater came out extra large.
Used up nearly all my blue yarn.
Drop Dead Easy? Not This One
The Drop Dead Easy Knits book contains a wide variety of projects. As others have also noted, in comments on Amazon, they are not all that easy! “Easy” is relative. To a fairly experienced knitter, yes, they would probably be easy. To a beginner, not so much. And maybe the writers meant this when putting the book together.
I don’t consider myself a beginner, as I have knit lots of various items in the last couple of years including two sweaters for myself, but the problems I had knitting this one made it unenjoyable. This Polliwog Popover should be simple, but with the mistakes and issues I’ve had with it, I would not label it as so. It was a headache. However, if decided to knit it again, it will be easier, thanks to all my notes!
More From the Drop Dead Easy Book
If you don’t expect all patterns to be easy, the book is still a good one. When I first searched through I was disappointed to find sweater and sock patterns. I don’t consider sweaters to be easy, and I dislike knitting socks. But then again some knitters may consider these items to be “easy”. And lots of people knit socks. The book offers a very wide variety of items to try, from blankets and shawls, to mitts, hats, bags, and even a dog jacket!
I’ve already knit the very easy Shandy Headband (my photo below). Along with the baby sweater I just wrote all about, these two items are my only experience with the patterns in the book. I will be trying more. It’s a very nice book.
New England's Narrow Road 