What are we knitting from this week's clue? A very charming little pullover! I've designed a few different raglan sweaters for other patterns, but this time I wanted a very classic, ribbed turtle-neck that was a little more flexible with gauge. Combined with the flat cap we knit last week, the outfit is quite handsome!
Reading through the pattern before starting will be helpful for this clue, as it uses a few intermediate techniques, and requires you to follow an established stitch pattern as you work the raglan increases. But with patience and attention to detail, you will end up with a delightful finished garment!
The supplies: This is 35 g of sport weight wool yarn, and a 3.25 mm cable needle. Sport weight yarn is going to give me a looser fitting sweater. I like using a cable needle because it's easier to see the shape as I knit.
In this photo, the collar has been knit, and I've inserted the markers that I'll use to place the raglan yoke increases.
In this photo I've knit 4 sets of raglan increases for the yoke. You can see how the ribbing pattern is continued as stitches are added next to the markers. I decided to use both left- and right-leaning increases for this pattern so the shaping on the yoke would be symmetrical.
In this photo I've finished the yoke portion of the pullover, and have divided the stitches for the front, sleeves, and the two halves of the back. I've left the yarn attached to where I finished the last row, because I have another end from the ball I can use to knit the sleeves. This isn't totally necessary, but does mean I have fewer ends to weave in later.
One sleeve done! You can see where I cast on stitches at the underarm. This adds a little complexity to the garment, but makes it fit the toy much better.
Two sleeves done! The sweater has narrow rolled edges, for a slightly casual finish. If you prefer a more polished look, you could switch to a smaller needle and finish with 2 more rows of ribbing.
In this photo, I've sewn the underarm seams of both sleeves, and placed the body stitches back onto my knitting needle. You can see the small gap under the sleeve, where I will pick up stitches, and thus join the backs to the front of the body.
Here you can see where I picked up stitches at the underarm. The first row of the body is a little complicated, but if you follow it correctly, the ribbing pattern will continue smoothly into the lower body of the sweater.
Half the body rows are done, and you can really see the final garment design taking shape!
The knitting part is all finished, and the yarn ends from the sleeves have been woven in on the wrong side. You could block the sweater now, or do it after you've sewn the back seam.
Mattress stitch makes a neat and nearly invisible seam up the back. I've stopped just short of the collar section, because it's a bit easier to sew that part down from the top.
I forgot to take a photo of the step where you turn the sweater inside out to sew the top part of the collar seam. Here you see how it looks once you turn it right-side-out again. It might appear that the seam is on the wrong side, but it will get turned down and hidden once the seam is finished.
Ta da! A beautiful finished pullover! I've lightly steam-blocked this so it would look nice for the photos, but I'll probably wash it too, because the yarn has been in storage for a long time.
How gorgeous is this hat and sweater fit? Can you guess who will be wearing them?