Let’s Knit a Sweater

blog.tincanknits.com/2013/10/25/lets-knit-a-sweater/

By alexaludeman October 25,

2013

Are you ready? It’s time to knit your very first sweater! Two of the
challenges many knitters face when creating their first garment are
gauge and fit. Review our tutorial on gauge to ensure your sweater
comes out to the dimensions you want, and learn about choosing your
size to ensure you get a sweater that fits the way you want it to.

Flax is adorable on little men, big men, and on the ladies too! Make a little size to learn the techniques, or jump off
the deep end and get started on a sweater for yourself.

::: Get Started :::

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Download a copy of the Flax pullover pattern (it’s free!) grab your
yarn and needles, and let’s get down to business. If you have been
following along and knitting the other free Simple Collection
designs: Wheat Scarf, Malt Blanket, Oats Cowl, Barley Hat, Maize
Mitts and Rye Socks, you will already have learned most of the
techniques required to make the Flax Pullover. Believe it or not,
there aren’t that many complex techniques required to make a
simple sweater!

::: Yoke :::

Using smaller circular needles CO 56 (62, 68, 74, 74, 76,

78, 86, 86, 86, 86, 90, 90, 90, 96, 96, 96) sts place BOR
marker, and join for working in the round.

Ribbing: (k1, p1) around

Repeat ribbing until piece measures 1 (1.5) inches from cast
on for Child (Adult) sizes. Change to larger needles. [an
illustration of this technique shown here]
See this tutorial for details on casting on in the round. BOR is your beginning of round
marker. This tells you where your round starts.

Next round: knit, increasing 4 (4, 4, 4, 8, 18, 16, 12, 18, 22,
26, 24, 36, 46, 48 54, 56) sts evenly spaced
[60 (66, 72, 78, 82, 94, 94, 98, 104, 108, 112, 114, 126,
136, 144, 150, 152) sts]

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This may seem like a complicated instruction but follow along and we will do a little
math. What this means is that you have 56 (62, 68, 74, 74, 76, 78, 86, 86, 86, 86, 90, 90,
90, 96, 96, 96) sts and you need to increase 4 (4, 4, 4, 8, 18, 16, 12, 18, 22, 26, 24, 36, 46,
48 54, 56) sts for a total of 60 (66, 72, 78, 82, 94, 94, 98, 104, 108, 112, 114, 126, 136, 144,
150, 152) sts. So how are we going to do this?

Take the number of stitches you have and divide them by the number of sts you need to
increase:

eg. For the 0-6 mo size: you have 56 sts and you need to increase 4 sts, 56/4 = 14

So I will knit 14 sts, then make 1 stitch 4 times and I will have 60 sts.

It gets a little more complicated when the numbers don’t work so perfectly.

eg. for the size XS: you have 86 sts, and you need to increase 12 sts, 86/12 = 7.16. So I will
knit 7 sts, then make 1, 12 times, then knit to the end.

Although this may seem unnecessarily complicated (why don’t we just do the math for
you?!) it’s an instruction you will come across often in sweater patterns. If we wrote out
each size every time we had to do an increase round like this our patterns would be 10
pages long!

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 Marker setup: [p10 (11, 12, 13, 13, 14, 14, 15, 15, 15, 15,
15, 16, 16, 17, 17, 17) PM, k20 (22, 24, 26, 28, 33, 33, 34,
37, 39, 41, 42, 47, 52, 55, 58, 59), PM] twice
(these raglan markers indicate the divisions between right
sleeve, front, left sleeve, and back sections)

This establishes where the sleeves, front and back are. The sleeves are worked with a
garter panel down the middle, while the front and back are worked in stockinette st.
[learn more about basic stitch patterns here] .

When you are working back and forth, garter stitch is created by knitting every row, but
in the round garter stitch is created by knitting on 1 round and purling on the next.
Stockinette in the round is created by knitting every round. Since you never turn your
work, the right side is always facing you, and therefore the stitches are created
differently.

Tip: If you are having trouble remembering where the garter panel goes (or you just want
things to be a little more fool proof) you may want to place a marker on either side of the
panel.

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The Yoke of the sweater is created by increasing (with a kfb) at 8 points on the sweater, 2
sts increased for each sleeve and 2 sts increased on the front and the back. Once you
have completed the yoke increases it’s time to measure. You will be working rounds
‘even’ (this means without increases, keeping the garter panel on the sleeves as set). If
your round gauge matches that stated in the patter, you will need to work 6 (4, 6, 6, 8, 8,
6, 6, 6, 6, 6, 6, 8, 4, 2, 0, 0 ) rounds even. If not you will work as many rows as necessary
for your yoke to measure 5 (5, 5.5, 5.5, 6, 6.5, 6.5, 7.5, 8, 8.5, 9, 9.5, 10.5, 10.5, 11, 11.5,
12.5) inches deep. Measure from cast on.

::: Separate Body and Sleeves :::

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Now for the fun part: Once you separate the body and sleeves it will start to look like an
actual sweater! You will be placing your sleeve sts on waste yarn, casting on sts at the
underarm, and joining the front and back.

Next Round: [place 26 (29, 30, 31, 33, 34, 38, 43, 45, 47,
49, 53, 58, 62, 67, 71, 77) sts on waste yarn (the sts from
BOR to first marker), using backwards loop method <link>
CO 4 (4, 4, 6, 6, 6, 6, 8, 8, 8, 8, 8, 8, 8, 10, 12, 12) sts, knit
to marker] twice

sleeve sts on waste yarn

Now you will have just the body sts on your needles with 2 sleeves on waste yarn.
Starting to look like a sweater yet?

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 ::: Body :::

Here comes the easy peasy miles of stockinette! Just knit knit knit until your piece is 5
(5.5, 6, 7, 9, 12, 14, 13.5, 13.5, 14.5, 14.5, 15.5, 16.5, 17, 17.5, 18.5, 18.5) inches from
underarm (or 1 (1.5) inches short of desired length for child (adult) sizes). Change to
smaller needles and rib for 1 (1.5) inches.

Binding off in pattern: for a regular bind off you are working 2 knit sts, passing the first
over the second, knitting another stitch, passing the first over the second etc [tutorial
here]. Binding off in pattern is almost the same, but instead of knitting each of the sts
you are working them in pattern.

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For this sweater it will be: k1, p1, pass st over, k1, pass st over, p1, pass st over, etc.

::: Sleeves :::

Place 26 (29, 30, 31, 33, 34, 38, 43, 45, 47, 49, 53, 58, 62,
67, 71, 77) held sts on larger dpns or 16” circ needle for
larger sizes. Knit across these sts then pick up and knit 2 (2,
2, 3, 3, 3, 3, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 5, 6, 6) sts from body at
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underarm, PM*, pick up and knit 2 (2, 2, 3, 3, 3, 3, 4, 4, 4,
4, 4, 4, 4, 5, 6, 6) more sts from body at underarm, then join
for working in the round.

Put your needle through the live sts before removing the waste yarn.

All sts are on DPNs

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 picking up underarms sts.

If you are doing one of the larger sizes, it’s easiest to start with a 16″ circular needle and
switch to DPN’s when you have worked a few decrease rounds.

For the smaller sizes you will be picking up your stitches on DPN’s and the easiest way to
distribute them is putting the sts from the BOR to the garter panel on N1, the garter
panel on N2, and the rest of the sts on N3. The beginning of your round is the first st on
N1 (the middle of the underarm).

Once you have picked up all of your sts, you will join again for working in the round. You
will have a small hole at the underarm, not to worry, we will stitch that up later.

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Work even (maintaining garter panel as set) for 4 (4, 5, 6, 8, 10, 11, 8, 8, 8, 8, 7, 6, 6, 4, 3,
2) inches. If you want to adjust the sleeve length, this is a good place to do it. If you want
a longer or short sleeve, here is where you should add or subtract inches.

Decrease round: k1, k2tog, knit to 3 sts before marker, ssk,

k1

Work 5 rounds even.

Repeat the previous 6 rounds 1 (1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 2, 5, 5, 6, 6, 7,

9, 10, 12, 14, 15) more times. [26 (29, 30, 33, 35, 36, 38,
39, 41, 41, 43, 45, 46, 48, 51, 53, 57) sts]
Continue working sleeve as instructed, you already have all the skills required!

Tip: Making 2 the same

The important thing about knitting sleeves is making 2 the same (sounds obvious right?).
So make sure to take notes on the number of rounds you work as you go.

how many rounds to the first decrease?

how many rounds after the last decrease but before the ribbing?
how many rounds in the ribbing?
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 ::: Finishing :::

Finishing a sweater can be the most important part. Block your sweater and weave in
your ends. There will be a small hole at the underarm, use your tail to sew that up.

You have put a lot of work into your first sweater so don’t skip blocking, it’s an important
step. Blocking will make your stitches even out and lie flat and generally ‘smooth out’
your work. It’s easy to block a sweater out of proportion if you aren’t careful. Make sure
you have your measuring tape handy and that your chest measurements and length are
as desired.

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This tutorial is part of The Simple Collection – our 100% free learn-to-knit series. Check
out the 8 fabulous free patterns sized from baby to big, and get started making modern
seamless knits for the entire family! Like our work? Get our email updates and we will
let you know about new patterns, tutorials, and events.

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