Chickadee

Chickadee

Thursday, October 11, 2012

Comfy Sweater Pattern ... Maybe Someone Can Make This Look Good?



I knit this sweater.  It looks weird, but it's very comfy.  Here's the 'pattern' I wrote up:
Comfy Sweater
Yarn:  Super Bulky (I used Bernat Roving)
Gauge:  3 st/inch; 4 rows/inch
Needle:  Circular 6mm
Size:  Huh.  This one's pretty large ( I wanted extra room) and about 40 inches around the body. The length is about 28 inches.
Pattern:
Cast on 120 sts.  Work k3, p2 ribbing for 3 inches.  Place markers at beginning and middle; also pm after 21st st and 38th st.  There should be 18 sts between those two markers.
Knit in stockinette st. until piece measures 18 inches.  Leave body sts on needles.  Also place the  four sts around each marker onto waste yarn (these will be grafted to the sleeve sts eventually).
Sleeve:  Cast on 36 sts.  Work k2, p1 ribbing for 3 inches.  Knit stockinette st for 2 inches.
Increases:  K1, m1, knit to one st before end of round, m1, k1.  Repeat increase row every fourth row until there are 60 sts.
Knit until sleeve measures 18 inches (should just be another inch).
Joining sleeve to body:
Place the first two and last two sts of sleeve onto waste yarn.  Knit first st of sleeve and first st of body together, then knit around sleeve to one st before the held sts and knit it together with the last body st.  (Here's a link to sort of visualize:  http://www.vogueknitting.com/magazine/article_archive/jared_flood_going_seamless.aspx )
The sleeve is now knit back and forth, knitting together the first and last sts of the sleeve with the next corresponding body st.  Continue in this fashion until the centre st markers are reached.
Neck:  This is the point where the front and back are decided.  Knit 30 sleeve sts and turn work. P2tog, purl back to body and knit the sleeve and body sts together.  Knit 28 sts, k2tog.  P2tog, purl back.  Continue decreasing one stitch every row for nine rows.  Then begin increasing back to 30 sts.
Go back and knit the back part in the same way but without the decreases or increases.  When the back matches the front, they can be joined and knit as before the neckline.  Continue knitting until there are only the four sts on waste yarn from the body.
Cast on 4 sts and knit around the (now second) sleeve.  Knit 1 inch (or however many were needed to reach 18 inches on the other sleeve) and start decreasing as before (two sts every fourth row, one st in from beg of round and one st before end of round).  Knit in stockinette st for 2 inches, then k2, p1 ribbing for 3 inches.  Bind off.
Finishing:
Graft eight sts together at armpit of first sleeve.  Pick up four sts from armpit of second sleeve and graft them to the four sts from the body.  Weave in ends, block.

Full of mistakes, I'm sure.  This hasn't actually been test knitted, just the one I did for myself (and believe me, I changed a lot based on the original!).  Advice welcomed :)