Tag: stripes

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

How to Spit Splice Yarn and Make Knitting Simpler

When knitting with wool and changing colors or adding a new skein, use the spit splice join to make things simpler and have fewer ends to weave in.

Only recently have I begun to spit splice yarn. When I discovered how easy it is to do, I became hooked.

Wool is a great fiber to use for knitting. In my opinion, sweaters need to be made of wool. A sweater is made to be worn for warmth and wool is the perfect choice.

To the best of my knowledge, spit-splicing only works when knitting with wool. If the yarn is a wool combination, I am not sure. Wool is a sticky fiber and water (spit) will help hold the strands together. Also the brisk rubbing of the wet wool connects the fibers.

Lopi yarn with Lettlopi, Alafosslopi, and Plotulopi

Wool Yarn Only

This is exactly why wool garments need to be hand-washed. The combination of water and friction changes the fiber. It will totally ruin a wool garment if it goes into the washing machine and / or dryer. It is also why felting wool works, which shrinks an item on purpose.

Warm Up sweater knit in Lettlopi
Warm-Up Sweater pattern

I am knitting a pattern called the Warm-Up Sweater by Espace Tricot (see pattern link at bottom of page). It is a simple raglan, top-down knit. I chose it to use up some of my Lettlopi wool. For some reason I have a lot of brown yarn. Then, I decided to combine the browns to make wide stripes for a less boring knit. (Lettlopi colors used are Murky and Acorn Heather.)

Spit-splicing is perfect for this type of patterning of colors.

How to Do the Spit Splice Join – With Photos

To do the spit splice, I change the colors by cutting the end of the yarn I have been using, as normally would be done. In this case it’s the lighter brown.

Instead of adding that new, darker brown color to my needle, I will combine the two colors of yarn together to form one strand. This will gradually bring in the new color and leave no ends to weave in – which is the best part!

Lettlopi wool sweater knitting brown
Warm-up Sweater
brown wool Lettlopi yarn to spit-splice
Two brown wool yarns

With the Lettlopi yarn, I can easily separate each end into two strands. They pull apart and unravel nicely.

Lay the ends together to overlap a bit and twist together.

Spit on that entire entwined section of wool to make it nice and wet. (Someone somewhere said spit works better than water – and quicker too.)

Once the yarn is wet, rub the section briskly between the palms of your hand. I usually have to rub a few times to fill in any loose holes. Do a little tug to be sure the yarns have stuck and do not pull apart.

unravel the yarn ends
Unravel each strand
spit splice how to
Combine and twist together

Once the two strands are stuck together, I have a section of yarn that is made up of both colors. Part of that section is a bit thick, but the yarn is thick and thin on its own, so this works.

Here is my spliced bit of yarn. As I continue knitting, the yarn goes from light to dark and blends in nicely for my next section of darker brown.

spit-splice
Wet yarn and rub until they stick
spit-splice wool
Knit with new color strand

I’m doing the splicing close to the beginning of round marker but it is not exact. It won’t matter. My two yarns are close in color and they just blend nicely. Also, this pattern has the BOR at the back, right shoulder where it wouldn’t been seen anyway.

Why Spit Splicing Makes Knitting Simpler

In the end, the reason for doing the spit splice join is to save myself the hassle of having to weave in ends. In this striped sweater project I would have had two ends hanging at every row of color if I had added yarn the traditional way. That would be a lot of ends when the sweater is complete!

Joining the yarn and not leaving ends means I will only have the cast-on strand, underarm strands, and cast-off strands on body and sleeves to weave when I am done. That is a win in my book!

spit splice knitting no ends to weave in
Rows of color with no ends showing except the cast-on

Other Uses For the Spit Splice Joining of Yarn

Also use this joining method when changing to a new skein, or if the yarn breaks, or if you come across a knot, and so on. I recently knit a colorwork sweater with Plotulopi wool which would come apart very easily on the slightest tug. I used the spit splice join a lot on that one!

Get the Warm-Up Sweater pattern at Ravelry

YouTube Video on Spit Splicing

If you’d like to watch this process on a video, here is one by iKnits that is short and to the point: https://youtu.be/h5UwY8NDtP0