At long last... Steps to Stranded!

Special note: from now until 2/14/10, I will donate 50% of the proceeds from all my pattern sales to the American Red Cross for Haiti relief efforts.

Cardigan A ($1.99): buy now

Cardigan B ($2.99): buy now

Cardigan C ($2.99): buy now

Or the packet of all three ($5.99): buy now


I'm pleased finally to present a pattern I'm really excited about: Steps to Stranded Baby Cardigans!


This package of three top-down baby cardigan patterns is intended for all ranges of knitters, from beginners who only know knit and purl to intermediate or advanced knitters who have been wanting to try stranded knitting but are a little afraid to try.


Cardigan A has a circular yoke worked in contrasting self-striping yarn for a big effect with very little effort. Cardigan B uses Barbara Walker's "mosaic knitting" to achieve a two-color yoke while only working with one yarn at a time. And Cardigan C... is the one I'm really stoked about: it uses a modified mosaic technique worked over one row at a time to achieve what looks like fair isle... but without ever having to use more than one yarn at a time, and without steeking!

Cardigan A

Cardigan B

Cardigan C

The 16-page pattern includes detailed, illustrated instructions for every technique included in the pattern except knitting and purling, as well as lots of other photos, hints, and charts to make everything totally clear. It's written for thee sizes, from 3 months to 12 months.

Best of all, these three sweaters use up extra sock yarn and are also the same gauge and measurements as my Sock Yarn Stranded Sweater, so you can graduate from these to that! And in fact, the Sock Yarn Stranded fair isle yoke never has more than 3 stitches at a time of one color, so you could use the same modified mosaic technique from Cardigan C to knit it!

There are two ways to buy: you can buy the individual sweater patterns, or you can buy the packet of three patterns at a discount ($1.98 less than buying all three individually).

Cardigan A ($1.99): buy now

Cardigan B ($2.99): buy now

Cardigan C ($2.99): buy now

Or the packet of all three ($5.99): buy now

Tulip Yoke Baby Cardigan pattern

Just in time for in-like-a-lion March weather, here's a free baby cardigan pattern with spring colors of mud and grass and a line of cheerful spring tulips!

This is a top-down, circular yoke cardigan in three sizes (3-6, 6-9, and 9-12 months), with instructions on how to increase for the yoke, separate for the sleeves, and pick up stitches for button bands. It's a great pattern to try if you are a first-time sweater knitter!

Also avaliable as a free Ravelry download here.
Matching hat available here.

Note: There was one row missing from the yoke instructions. All increases should be worked in knit rows. Pattern has been amended 7/3/09.

Tulip Yoke Baby Cardigan Pattern

Sizes: 3-6 (6-9, 9-12) months. Shown in smallest size.
Finished Measurements: 20” (21”, 22”) chest circumference

Gauge: 6 stitches and 8 rows = 1” in stockinette

Requirements:
Circular or straight needles, size 3
Double-pointed needles, size 3 (optional)
Sport weight yarn (I used Knitpicks Shine Sport): MC (300-450 yards), secondary colors A (less than 100 yards), B, and C (less than 50 yards each)
Two stitch holders or pieces of scrap yarn
Tapestry needle for weaving in ends
6-8 matching buttons

MC=green (I used “leapfrog”)
A=brown (I used “fedora”)
B=pink (I used “terracotta”)
C=tan (I used “willow”)


Note: this is a top-down circular yoke sweater; it begins at the neck ribbing. It does make use of flat fair isle knitting for a brief section of the sweater (14 rows total), so be warned if flat fair isle knitting is something you hate!

Special instructions:

Complete abbreviations glossary at end of this document.

m1 (make 1): my favorite way to make a stitch is to lift up and knit the right leg of the stitch one row below the stitch on the left needle. Another option is to pick up the bar between stitches and knit it through the back loop.

Reading the charts: pattern repeat is marked in red. For the tulip chart, one or two extra stitches are included next to left and right button bands to make the pattern symmetrical. The tulips are upside-down because the knitting will be done top-down. The fair isle pattern for both charts begins with a purl row.


Directions:

Yoke
With MC, cast on 79 (79, 85) stitches. Work 7 rows of k1, p1 ribbing. Work one row purl. Switch to A and work two rows stockinette. In next row, increase 16 (16, 20) stitches evenly across row as follows: k2 (2, 4), *m1, k5 (5, 4), rep. from * 14 (14, 18) times, m1, k2 (2, 5). 95 (95, 105) st. Work 1 more row stockinette. In next row, increase 28 (28, 28) stitches evenly across row as follows: k7(7,12), *m1, k3, rep. from * 26 (26, 26) times, m1, k7 (7, 12). 123 (123, 133) st.


In next row (WS), join B and begin working tulip chart. You will work 12 (12, 13) repeats of the tulips. Remember to work the extra stitch or two at the beginning of first repeat and end of last repeat to center the design on yoke. After row 10 of the tulip chart, work one row in color A, then in the next row increase 28 (28, 28) stitches evenly across row as follows: k8 (8, 13), *m1, k4, rep from * 26 (26, 26) times, m1, k7 (7, 12). 151 (151, 161) st. Work 3 rows stockinette (in color A). In next row, increase 17 (17, 19) stitches evenly across row as follows: k3 (3, 4), *m1, k9, rep. from * 15 (15, 17) times, m1, k4 (4, 4). 168 (168, 180) st.

In next row (WS), join C and begin working zigzag chart. You will work 42 (42, 45) repeats of the zigzags. After row 4, work one row stockinette in MC, placing markers as follows: p24 (24, 26), place marker (pm), p36 (36, 38), pm, p48 (48, 52), pm, p36 (36, 38), pm, p24 (24, 26).

In next row and following 5 (7, 7) RS rows, work raglan increases: *k to marker, m1, slip marker, m1, rep. from *, k to end. 216 (232, 244) st.

Body
In next RS row, divide for sleeves as follows: knit to first marker, place stitches between first and second markers on a holder or piece of scrap yarn, knit to third marker, place stitches between third and fourth markers on a holder or piece of scrap yarn, knit to end. You can drop the markers in this row. Continue body in stockinette until it measures 9½ (10½, 11½) inches from cast-on. Then work 12 rows of k1, p1 rib and bind off.

Sleeves
Place one sleeve’s stitches back on needles and rejoin MC yarn. Work back-and-forth or in the round. If you work back-and-forth, cast on one selvedge stitch at each side to use for seaming up later. Work 12 rows stockinette. In next row/round (RS), k1, ssk, work to 3 stitches before end, k2tog, k1. Work 11 more rows/rounds. Repeat these 12 rows/rounds 3 more times. Work 0 (4, 8) more rows/rounds stockinette. Sleeve should be 6 (6½, 7) inches from armpit. If it is not, continue in stockinette until it is. In next row/round, *k4, k2tog, repeat from * to end. Work 8 rows k1, p1 rib and bind off. Repeat with other sleeve.

Buttonhole bands
Pick up 3 stitches for every 4 rows along left front cardigan edge for button band. Work 8 rows k1, p1 rib and bind off. Pick up same number of stitches along right front cardigan edge. Work 3 rows k1, p1 rib. In next row, work eyelet buttonholes in the places you would like them (make an eyelet buttonhole by working up to the place you’d like the buttonhole, then YO, k2tog, and continue to the next spot you’d like a buttonhole). Work 4 more rows k1, p1 rib and bind off.

Finishing
Weave in ends, block, and sew on buttons!



Abbreviations used in this pattern:

k: knit
k2tog: knit two stitches together
p: purl
pm: place marker
rep from *: go back in this line of instructions to the *. Repeat the instructions from the * to the end of the line as many times as specified.
RS: right side (usually knit side)
ssk: slip the next two stitches as if to knit, then knit them together through the back loops.
st: stitches
WS: wrong side (usually purl side)
YO: yarn over (move yarn to front of needle as if to purl, but knit the next stitch, making a loop where the yarn went over the needle.


Copyright 2009 by Jennifer Little of Looking Glass Knits. Please do not sell this pattern or sweaters knit for it for your own profit.

Ahoy.

I had a request from a fellow Raveler to provide a chart of the fair isle pattern I used for my Nautical Fair Isle baby cardigan. I'm happy to oblige. This is not a full-on sweater pattern but just a chart of the colorwork and a few pointers for anyone wanting to make a nautical fair isle garment.


The Chart (click to enlarge):


The Pointers:

As I wrote on the chart, because each band of peeries has a different-sized repeat, you need to do a little math as you go along.

• If you're making a cardigan, make sure that each row of picture elements is evenly spaced from your button bands. This means that you should have the same number of "blank" stitches before the first goldfish, boat, or wave and after the last one. So, for example, if my cardigan body (which I am knitting in one piece from left front to right front) has 100 stitches, for my goldfish row I would divide 100 by 10 (the pattern repeat). Here it would seem that all I have to do is work 10 repeats of the peerie, but that would mean that the first fish starts right up at the button band and the last fish has three "blank" turquoise stitches between its nose and the button band. So, in fact, I need to work 9 repeats and spread the remaining 10 stitches out evenly between the beginning and end so that the first and last fish are evenly spaced with regard to the button band. So first I will work 3 stitches before my first fish to parallel the three "blank" stitches at the end of the last pattern repeat. That leaves 7 stitches to divide between them. I'll add 3 stitches before the first repeat and 4 after the last one (a difference of one stitch is not a big deal). That means that my goldfish row will work like this: k6 in turquoise, work 9 repeats of goldfish peerie, k4 in turquoise. In terms of what it will actually look like, though, the band will have 6 turquoise stitches, then 9 goldfish, then end with 7 turquoise stitches. Repeat this kind of calculation with the other peerie rows.
• If you are knitting a pullover, you'll have to increase and decrease a little bit to make up for the difference in pattern repeats. So if, again, I were working on a 100-stitch body section, I would work 25 repeats of the zigzag, 10 repeats of the goldfish, decrease by one stitch (to 99 stitches) to work 11 repeats of the sailboats, increase by three stitches (to 102 stitches) to work 17 repeats of the waves, then decrease by 2 to get back to 100. A difference of 1-4 stitches up or down from that 100-stitch body count is not going to be noticeable, especially after blocking.
• I knit my nautical fair isle cardigan top-down, using my favorite recipe for top-down raglan baby cardigans. If you choose to do so, just flip the fair isle chart upside down!
• Similarly, you can work this pattern on the yoke of a sweater. A normal circular-yoke sweater increases (if you're going top-down) or decreases (if you're going bottom-up) by 4 evenly-spaced stitches every row/round (or 8 every other, or 16 every fourth, or 24 every sixth, etc). So you can hide your increase/decrease rows in the solid-color rows as follows: increase/decrease by 8 in row 1; by 8 in row 4; by 24 in row 10; by 32 in row 18; by 8 in row 20; by 8 in row 22; by 16 in row 26.
  

Enjoy! And avast, ye land-lubbers!

Sheep Yoke Baby Cardigan Pattern

3/29/08 note: this pattern is also available as a free PDF from Ravelry. Click here to download it if you'd rather have it in that format!

4/8/10: cliquez ici pour la version française de ce patron (PDF), traduit par Louise Robert pour Biscotte & Cie.


Here is the pattern for my sheep-yoke baby cardigan, which was inspired by a sweater "recipe" in Gibson-Roberts and Robson's Knitting in the Old Way. My version has a much simplified yoke pattern and is sized for a baby.


Sheep Yoke Baby Cardigan

General pattern note: as with my other patterns, I have given directions for two sizes using different size needles. Doing so means that the stitch counts and fair isle patterns can stay the same across sweater sizes. Make sure you choose the size needle that will give you the proper gauge! Since babies grow so fast, however, it's really not particularly important to make a sweater in an exact size.

Size: 6-9 months or 9-12 months
Yarn: DK weight superwash wool (I used Knitpicks Swish DK) in tan (220-250 yards); blue, green and cream (60-90 yards); black (less than 20 yards); for girl's version, pink (less than 60 yards).
Needles: size 5 (smaller size), size 6 (larger size) straigh or circular needles.
Gauge: 6 stitches and 9 rows = 1 inch (smaller needles); 5.5 stitches and 8 rows = 1 inch (larger needles)
Shown in size 9-12 months.


With tan yarn (MC), CO 70 stitches. Work 7 rows of k2, p2 rib. Work 1 row of purl. Break yarn and join blue.

Begin working Sheep Yoke Chart. The row marked "setup row" is the purl row you have just worked. Chart guidelines:

• Be sure to repeat each bracketed section four times as you work across the rows, and be sure also to space increases across each section without lining them up vertically -- lining increases up along the red "fault lines" of the pattern will result in ugly and obvious increase "seams." You can pretty much put the increases wherever you want in each section -- some knitters have complained that they have to do math to get the increases evenly spaced, but you don't have to -- if you just make sure that you work the right number of increases anywhere you feel like it in each section, they'll end up spaced pretty evenly across the yoke. Seriously!
  
• The black wedges on the chart indicate "no stitches." Just jump across these areas to the next stitch in the row.
  
• Only work the pink flowers if you are making the girl's version. For the boy's version, just work these two rows in blue.
  
• For the flower pattern ONLY, do not repeat each bracketed section exactly as pictured. Rather, keep the eight-stitch repeat of the flowers continuous across these two rows. You will also need to work in the required increases as you do so, so be careful!
• For the rest of the chart, you can work the repeats exactly as pictured.
  
• If you are making the boy's version, use blue yarn for the checkerboard pattern. If you are making the girl's version, use pink yarn. I have shown both on the chart for a visual aid.
  

After you have completed row 34 of the chart (206 st), divide for the sleeves as follows:
K29, place 44 st. on a holder or piece of scrap yarn, k60, place 44 st. on a holder or piece of scrap yarn, k29.

Work straight in stockinette with MC until piece measures 10.5" [12.5"]. Then, work 2 rows with blue (boy's version) or pink (girl's version). Work one more row with MC, then work 7 rows k2, p2 rib and BO.

With black yarn, duplicate-stitch heads and legs to sheep as charted in the Duplicate Stitch Chart (sheep should be facing toward the button band on each side). Use blue yarn to make french-knot eyes for the forward-facing sheep in the center back.


Return stitches from one arm to needles and join MC. Work 9 rows stockinette. In the next row, decrease by one stitch at each edge. Repeat these ten rows two more times (38 st). Work 7 more rows, then join pink or blue and work two rows with this color, then work 1 more row with MC. Work 7 rows k2, p2 rib and BO. Repeat with other arm.

With MC, pick up 3 stitches for every 4 rows along the right front edge. Work 8 rows k2, p2 rib and BO. Check out your button band and decide how many buttons you would like and where you would like to put them. Pick up the same number of stitches along the left front edge. Work 3 rows k2, p2 rib, then work a row of buttonholes as follows: work 4 stitches in rib, *YO, k2tog, work in rib to place you'd like the next buttonhole, rep. from * until 6 stitches from end, k2tog, YO, work 4 stitches in rib. Work 4 more rows of k2, p2 rib and BO.

Seam arms, weave in ends, and block. Sew buttons to button band to match buttonholes.

Notes and suggestions for modifying:

• I stranded my sheep, but you may find it easier to use intarsia.
• If you are averse to knitting it flat, you can certainly feel free to knit in the round and steek. If you’re using superwash wool, the best way to reinforce would be with a sewing machine.
• If you are a little nervous about the garter stitch sheep, there is no reason why you could not knit them in stockinette. This will only affect the texture detail. If you want to try other ways of adding texture, you could try bouclé yarn or something fuzzy like angora. If you wanted lots of texture, you could add some bobbles! I’ve also fantasized about making one – or all – of the sheep black (doesn’t every flock need a black sheep?

Incremental Progress

This looks very much like the previous yoke picture, but in fact it is not: here is a completed fair-isle yoke, about ten rows away from separating for the sleeves. I am pleased with the final product: there was no avoiding a sort of striped look, but I think I was able to balance simple peerie bands with more complex bands in a harmonious way. I'm not totally sold on the final band of pattern: the one that looks like lavender flowers with red centers at the bottom there -- it's lovely, but I am not 100% sure that it's in keeping with the other, more abstract and graphic patterns. I think that when it is on and I am not looking at it so critically that this will cease to be an issue.

If you look carefully at the photo above, you can see that there are stitch markers dangling from the cable at the bottom right-hand corner. That is because I decided after the yoke increases were done to switch to raglan-style increases until I divide for the arms. I don't think that it will be noticeable in the final product, but I think that it will make it easier for me to try on the sweater as I am increasing and divide at exactly the right point.

Anyway, if any of you are interested in the patterns that I put together for the yoke of this sweater, I have posted a link to my chart in the sidebar. It is not a sweater pattern so much as a very sketched-out "recipe," but since it took much longer than I thought it would to design my own balanced fair isle pattern, I though I could save other people the trouble.

Stay tuned in the next week for photos of a finished and blocked top-down arwen!!

Chronicles of Narnia Cardigan pattern

3/29/08 note: this pattern is also available as a PDF download from Ravelry. Click here to download it if you'd rather have it in that format!


7/3/07 note: there is an error in the pattern as it was originally posted, and the pattern below has been updated. If you have printed out the original version of the pattern, please note that the number of cast-on stitches has been changed from 70 to 68.

Specifics:
Size: 9 months to 1 year. This pattern works nicely with different size needles. I have found that size 5 needles make a good 0-3 month sweater, and size 6 needles make a good 3-6 month sweater. I've never tried it with size 8s, but I'd assume you could do a 12-18 month sweater with them. Just go one to two sizes down for your ribbing, whatever needles you use.

Gauge: 21 st. and 28 rows = 4" in stockinette with larger needles


Requirements:
Circular or straight needles, sizes US 5 and 7
DK-weight yarn (I used Filatura di Crosa Zara): MC (3 skeins), secondary colors A, B, and C (less than 50 yards each), scrap yarn in color D


Special instructions:
Seed stitch: over even number of stitches
Row 1: *k1, p1, rep from *
Row 2: *p1, k1, rep from *

M1: make one stitch, keeping pattern correct (this is important in the seed stitch section). In the seed stitch section, the easiest way to do this is to knit and purl or purl and knit (depending on the pattern) into the same stitch. In the stockinette section, the easiest and most invisible way to do this is to lift the right-hand side of the stitch one row below the stitches outside the marker onto the left needle and knit it as if it was a stitch.


Directions:
With MC and smaller needles, CO 68 st. Work 8 rows of k2, p2 ribbing. Switch to larger needles.

Sweater body:
Row 1 (RS): in seed stitch throughout, work12 st (right front), pm, work 10 st (sleeve), pm, work 24 st (back), pm, work 10 st (sleeve), pm, work 12 st (left front).
Rows 2, 4, 6, 8, 10 and 12: slipping markers, work seed stitch to end.
Rows 3, 5, 7, 9, and 11: *work seed stitch to marker, m1, slip marker, m1, rep from *
Row 13: work seed stitch to first marker, m1, slip marker, m1, knit across arm stitches, increasing as follows: k3, (m1, k2) 7 times, m1, k3. m1, slip marker, work seed stitch across back, m1, slip marker, m1, repeat arm increases, m1, slip marker, m1, work seed stitch to end.
Row 14: Slipping markers, work seed stitch on right front, back, and left front, and work stockinette (purl) on sleeves.
Row 15: switch to stockinette stitch on entire sweater body. Continue to work raglan increases as established.
Row 19: begin fair isle pattern on sweater fronts as charted.
Row 37: Stop raglan increases and divide sleeves as follows: (continuing fair isle chart pattern) work to first marker, remove marker and slip arm stitches onto a piece of scrap yarn, remove marker, continue knitting across back, remove marker and slip arm stitches onto a piece of scrap yarn, work to end (continuing fair isle chart pattern).
Rows 38-end: work in stockinette, continuing fair isle pattern as charted.
When fair isle pattern is complete, work 4 more rows stockinette, then switch to smaller needles and work 8 rows of k2, p2 ribbing. BO.

Sleeves:
Place arm stitches on larger needle, being sure right side will be worked first.
Rows 1, 3, 5, and 7: working in stockinette, space out two decreases in each of these rows so that decreases do not line up with one another vertically (to make decreases as invisible as possible).
Rows 2, 4, 6, and 8: purl.
Row 9: knit.
Row 10: p1, dec, p to 3 stitches before end, dec, p1.
Work 9 rows stockinette, and decrease in tenth row as in row 10.
Work 9 rows stockinette, and decrease in tenth row as in row 10.
Work 8 rows stockinette.
Switch to smaller needles and work 8 rows of k2, p2 ribbing. BO.


Button bands:
Using smaller needles, pick up 74 stitches along left front. Work 8 rows k2, p2 ribbing and BO. Pick up 74 stitches along right front and work 3 rows k2, p2 ribbing. In next row, make buttonholes as follows: work 2 st, YO, k2tog (or p2tog, depending on place in the ribbing). Repeat (YO, k2tog) buttonholes evenly spaced along band, making another buttonhole before last 2 stitches of row. Work 4 more rows of k2, p2 ribbing and BO.

Finishing:
Sew sleeve seams. Weave in all loose ends and block. Sew buttons to match buttonholes.

Latvian-inspired mitten pattern

Here's the pattern for my "Latvian" mitten:

Requirements:
size 4 double-pointed needles
Karabella Aurora 8 (94 yards/skein) or other worsted weight yarn: 2 skeins color A, 1 skein color B, 1 skein color C
Tapestry needle
waste yarn

Ladies' size small
Gauge: 26 stitches and 28 rows = 4 inches

CO 40 stitches in color A. Knit 1 row, then join yarn in the round. Knit 3 more rounds, then *K2tog, YO, rep. from * for one whole round. Knit 4 more rounds.
Switch to color B and begin pattern chart. Notice that some rows require you to increase or decrease by a stitch or two in order to fit the whole pattern repeat, and in switching from the wrist patterns to the main hand pattern you will increase by five stitches.

* note: the red centers of the main pattern's boxes, as well as the white centers of the cuff pattern's diamonds, can be done in duplicate stitch if preferred. If you choose to do so, just knit the boxes entirely in white and the diamonds entirely in black.

Dark outlines on the chart indicate where to place thumb gore for left and right mittens. Inside this outline, increase as charted for length charted. At final row of thumb gore, knit row, then place thumb stitches on a length of waste yarn. In the next round, knit to thumb stitches, cable cast on 3 stitches to make up for 3 original thumb gore stitches, then continue round.

Decrease for top of mitten as charted, using right-leaning (k2tog) decreases on right sides of mitten tops, and left-leaning (ssk) decreases on left sides of mitten tops. When four stitches are left on needles, break yarn, draw both colors through loops, pull through to wrong side of piece, and knot.

Pick up thumb stitches from waste yarn and pick up 11 stitches around hole left by thumb gore, continuing the stripe pattern. Join yarn and knit in the round until thumb reaches about 1/3 of the way up the thumb nail. Begin decreasing by four stitches in each round as charted. When six stitches remain on needles, break yarn, draw through loops, pull through to wrong side of thumb, and knot.

When mitten is finished, fold under and tack up picot hem. Weave in all ends and block mittens together to make sure they are the same size.