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.
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.
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 #1, Brown LettlopiWarm 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.
My experience and notes about knitting the Blueberry Vodka Lemonade sweater pattern by Thea Colman, aka Baby Cocktails.
After some summer top knitting, I needed to have wool in my hands again. I chose a new pattern and some new-to-me yarn and got knitting on the Blueberry Vodka Lemonade sweater (pattern link below).
I made a stupid mistake when beginning the first rows after the neck ribbing, and had to rip it all out and begin again. Believing I would be able to do those yarn-overs just fine, I began to screw things up again – because, no I did not do yarnovers correctly. This time I kept knitting and took a refresher in doing yarn-overs.
Once I had all that down, the knitting went smoothly and the yoke became fun to knit.
The Yarn
I am knitting with Sandnes Garn Tynn Line Peer Gynt wool yarn (link goes to Wool & Co.). I’ve never knit with it before, but it’s soft and beautiful. There are some thick to thin areas, but I don’t mind that and I think it’s typical.
Although I bought two types and colors of yarn as possible choices for this project, the Tynn Peer Gynt worked out better for the needle size. I’ve ended up knitting with the black yarn.
Norwegian wool
New yarn
Swatches
“Peacock” Shetland wool color
Let’s Try This Thing On!
Using fingering weight yarn to knit a sweater means lots of little stitches and many rounds of knitting. Surprisingly, to me, I was done knitting on this fun project in just a little over a months time.
Finally I have split the body at the hem which means I can get this thing tried on! Yay…!
I am very pleased. That neckline seems perfect. A bit wide, but not too wide, just as the designer promised. I did knit for one more inch on the body, stopping at around ten inches and not nine. Two more inches of hem will be added, but first I plan to knit the sleeves.
We cannot run out of yarn on the sleeves, so I want to knit them without worry. IF I run low on yarn for the body ribbing, I can order another skein and not worry if it’s not a perfect match. *No problem here. I ended up with plenty of yarn even with adding a couple of extra inches to the body length.
Hem split done, time to try it on
I began knitting this sweater on July 20th and today is August 15th, so it has taken almost a month to get this much done on the BVL sweater. *Then I finished on August 29th.
A few days later, I had one sleeve knit. They are 3/4 sleeves which stay wide until just before the short cuff. I ended up liking them a lot.
Decreasing for the Cuff
The knitting round where the many decreases are made, just before the cuff, gave me pause. Then I realized that the first set of knit stitches – in the parenthesis () – is done ONE TIME ONLY to begin the round. The next set of stitches – in the brackets [] is the number of stiches to knit along with the k2tog – and this is repeated in the round. The last set of stitches is what is left at the end of the round, and they will be knit – unless there are no stitches left and you knit zero.
For example: For my size, on this decrease round, I had to knit 2, then knit 4 + k2tog for the repeat, until I had only 2 stitches left at the end of the round, which were simply knit.
It took me about a month to finish knitting the Blueberry Vodka Lemonade sweater. I enjoyed knitting it because there was always something going on while knitting. The yarn-overs at the raglan sleeves, the texture down each side, and the bottom split rib, all added to the enjoyment.
Blueberry Vodka Lemonade sweater
The sweater was dry after a day and I did a quick photo shoot. We were getting the outer bands from Hurricane Idalia, with wind and rain, so I couldn’t go outside.
I also love this yarn. It is wool, but very soft. I would compare it to Rauma, but it may actually be softer. The finished project is absolutely fabulous! I’m always amazed at much more lovely a hand-knit becomes when washed. I’m very happy with my new sweater!
I don’t often say this, because once I knit a pattern, I move on to something new, butthis is a pattern I would absolutely use again.
Figuring out how to knit the yarn over eyelets for the Blueberry Vodka Lemonade sweater knitting pattern.
These days I find most of my new knitting projects while browsing Instagram. I’m pretty clueless about the tech side of Instagram, but I have found some very interesting patterns.
The Blueberry Vodka Lemonade pullover is the newest, and I have just cast on to knit it. This pattern is by designer Thea Colman, aka Baby Cocktails, and it is a raglan style with a wide collar and eyelets down the sides of the sleeves.
It calls for a fingering weight yarn and I have chosen to use Sandnes Garn Tynn Peer Gynt. A mouthful, but a beautiful wool that comes from Norway. It is a bit thin, so I had to go down a needle size to get gauge.
Two firsts here for me: I’ve never knit anything by this designer. The pattern is one of the best I’ve ever followed. It’s 9 pages long, and full of good info needed to successfully knit the project. I did have some trouble in the beginning and had to begin again, but it was totally my own fault for not paying attention.
Pretty black woolShort rows have been completed and I’m on to knitting my way down the yoke.
Help on Knitting the Eyelets
This sweater has eyelets, or little holes, along the edges of the sleeves. To create them, you must be familiar with yarn-overs. And I was not! I never knit much of anything that calls for yarn-overs, but I have done them before. I needed a refresher.
The YouTube video from Purl Soho is very good and covers all the ways a yarn-over is made. But the pattern yarn-overs are made at stitch markers so a “slip marker (sm)” is included, and that is where I got confused.
For instance, the directions will say, “Yarn over, slip marker, purl”. What this means is to do the yarn over (forward) and it will be on the needle before the marker. Then the marker is slipped, and when the purl is done – by wrapping the yarn back around the needle (watch that Purl Soho video if you need to), that purl strand must stay on the needle to the right of the marker. Not doing this throws off the stitch counts between the markers – the strand will be next to the purl when it should be behind the marker. I was doing it wrong, and it took me a few rounds to figure it out.
By the time I knew what I should be doing, my stitch counts for the back section and sleeves were off. I had to add in some stitches as I continued knitting.
So, the sweater is a big mess already… LOL. I already had to re-start this project, so onward I knit. My counts are good…the eyelets are a little off in some places, but …. It’s all good.
I thought I would share this info just in case anyone else is having the same kind of trouble doing the yarn-overs.
I look forward to seeing how this sweater turns out. More to come about knitting this pattern.
The Warm Up Sweater may be a perfect free pattern for a first time sweater knitter.
For those of us who have not knit a lot of sweaters – or knit them successfully – the raglan top-down style may be the easiest.
I’ve begun knitting the Warm-Up Sweater which is NO LONGER a free pattern, UNLESS you buy yarn from Espace Tricot – for this sweater and mention it when buying.
See the Espace Tricot designer page at Ravelry. I believe this company has changed hands, and now many of their patterns are no longer free.
Anatomy of a Raglan Sweater
A raglan sweater is known for the increases done along the sleeve and shoulder area that dips down toward the underarm. You can see these stitches, that make a “line” on either side of the front. They are also on the back. The raglan style looks like four sections put together, but it is knit round and round. The knitting expands outward around the yoke and creates room for the sleeves.
This sweater pattern has a simple “knit through the back loop” increase but some sweaters do a pretty little cable or decorative area at these increases which looks very nice (Blueberry Vodka Lemonade Sweater).
A raglan is usually knit from the top down which makes it nice because it can be tried on as it is being knit – or at least pulled over the head. Raglans are usually pullovers but can also be cardigans.
What You Need to Know to Knit This Pattern
The Warm-up pattern – get it at Ravelry – begins with a cast-on at the neck. A few rows of a twisted rib is done and then some short rows. I love that this free pattern includes short rows. See my photo to see how the short rows raised the back of the neck. Sweaters need this shaping to fit comfortably. It is surprising to me that some designers, who sell sweater patterns, do not include short rows in their sweaters!
After that we get into the raglan increases which take place on either side of the sleeve / shoulder areas.
When the correct length and stitch number is reached, the sleeves are put on hold while the body is knit down to the correct length. A bottom ribbing is done and bound off.
Then each sleeve will be knit. Stitches at the sleeve area will be picked up from the waste yarn and the sleeve will be knit down to the correct length. Decreases are spaced to taper the sleeve shape. Do the ribbing and bind-off. Weave in ends, wash and block, and you have a new, hand-made sweater!
Is The Warm-Up Sweater Good For Beginners?
If you are a beginner sweater knitter, you may enjoy knitting this pattern. If you are a total beginner knitter, you should try something easier – a shawl, scarf, or hat – first. In other words, this is not a pattern for an absolute beginner. I say this because there is a lot to learn if all you can do is knit a little. I have mentioned in the section above what this pattern entails.
For those who want to step up their knitting game from the simple stuff, and are thinking about knitting a sweater, this one is perfect. The directions are very clear with stitch counts along the way to make sure you are on track.
Read through all pages and highlight numbers for your size before beginning – or go row by row on a knitting app. Also, if you’ve never done them, learn about doing German Short Rows – marked as “work GSR” in the pattern. Purl Soho has a good video. Follow the directions, row by row, and you will be fine.
You may even learn new and useful techniques along the way!
A Little Sweater Knitting Advice
If you are new to sweater knitting, first be sure to check your gauge. Yes, you must. Keep the little swatch as a reference. It is not a waste of time. The gauge required is listed on the first page of the pattern and also on the Ravelry Warm-Up pattern page. For more on gauge see my post here.
A few knitters had trouble with the cast-on number of stitches being too small, or too tight around the neck. I had no trouble, but would prefer a wider neck. I am knitting size 4 – or finished circumference bust size 49 inches. I used the Old Norwegian, aka German Twisted, cast on method, which is somewhat stretchy and had 68 stitches on my 16 inch circular needle. I suggest using this type of cast-on. See my page about different ways to cast on when knitting if you don’t know it.
My sweater is being knit in Icelandic Lettlopi wool. The Warm-Up is shown in worsted weight yarn, in solid colors with an option to do thin stripes. Of course you can use whatever yarn you want as long as you get gauge. I happened to have a lot of brown yarn and instead of doing a solid brown sweater, I opted to do wide stripes alternating the two browns.
Because my yarn is wool, I am doing a spit-splice every time I change colors or add a new skein of yarn. This is saving me from having to weave in many ends when the garment is finished.
Wrong side – with no tails!
I am having fun knitting this simple sweater. Now that I am beyond the raglan increases, it is mindless round and round knitting that can be done in the car or in front of the television. All I need to remember is to change colors when it’s time (I am knitting 12 rounds of each color), and measure for length.
The needles I have used are size 7 and 8, 16-inch circular. Size 8, 32-inch circular (for the body). Then I switched to a 9-inch circular down the sleeve and for the ribbing at the cuff. DPNs can also be used, but I really don’t like using those.
On the sleeves, I picked up and began knitting with the 16-inch circular and changed to the 9-inch circular toward the end of the sleeve. I knit the ribbing in size 7.
Because I did spit-splicing throughout when changing colors, I only had 6 ends to weave in – one under each arm, at the neck, body rib and sleeve ribs…. pretty awesome!
Future Plans
If this sweater turns out to fit me well, I plan to make more like it with possible modifications. I almost made a rolled collar on this one, so maybe I will do so next time. It definitely needs to be wider for comfort.
For another time, some color-work could be added at the bottom near the cuffs on the body and sleeves. I’d go up a needle size to do that.
Finished Knitting
Now my striped sweater is drying. All I had leftover for yarn was two small skeins each of the dark and light brown. In all I used about 9 1/2 skeins, or approximately 1,031 yards.
I’ll try it on and get photos once it’s dry. Total knitting time was about a month and a half. See notes on my Warm-Up Sweater Ravelry page.
December at the Fire
The few cool days we have here in my area of Florida are much appreciated by me! I dig out my wool sweaters and make sure I wear them. It was also an opportunity to get a few selfies.
New England's Narrow Road 