I’ve been wanting to knit something for my mom for a while (especially since I made a sweater for my dad last Christmas) and I finally got an opportunity when she stopped in front of a store window to look at a sleeveless knit top. It was a breezy design with an open gauge and a slight drape entirely appropriate for an August birthday. So I blatantly stole the idea.
Despite this being a pretty quick and easy knit, the first hurdle came when I got the yarn in the mail. I ordered a pima cotton blend the same color as the sweater in the window. But when I opened the plastic shipping bag, I got a whiff of a sheep in a thunderstorm. It’s a smell that takes me back in time to felting beach bags and blocking socks in the Jack and Jill bathroom my sister and I shared – and Dad walking in already holding his nose.
I got the smell out with The Laundress Wool and Cashmere Shampoo, which funnily enough, Mom bought me for Christmas last year, but it was down to the wire. I bound off the neckline last night, leaving me to furiously shampoo it – tails and all – in my bathroom sink at 2am. If it was still a little damp for her birthday dinner, despite some blowdryer action before my own shameless photoshoot with it – I say all the better for the fit if you block a sweater while wearing it.
Sweater Pattern
Size: Women’s Medium
Finished Dimensions:
Width (lying flat): 19″
Length: 24″
Materials:
Needles: US 6 – 4.0 mm and US 8 – 5.0 mm
Yarn: Knit Picks Woolen Cotton (n yards, n ounces) in Bare
Gauge:
10 stitches and 13 rows = 2 inches
in ST st (size 8 needles)
Back
CO 98 with size 6 needles
Knit in 1×1 rib for 2″ ending on WS row. Change to size 8 needles.
Row 1: Knit
Row 2: K4, p to last 4, k4
Repeat rows 1 and 2 until back measures 15″ from bottom of rib
Armholes
Row 1: K4, SSK, k to last 6, k2tog, k4
Row 2: K4, p to last 4, k4
Repeat rows 1 and 2 until 60 stitches remain
Row 1: Knit
Row 2: K4, p to last 4, k4
Repeat row 1 and 2 until armholes measure 7″ from beginning of decreases. (6 rows)
Row 1: K18, BO24, k to end. Place right side on stitch holder.
Back Left
Row 2: K4, p12, p2tog
Rows 3 and 5: SSK, k to end
Rows 4, 6, 8: K4, p to end
Row 7: Knit
15 stitches remain
Repeat rows 7 and 8 until armholes measure 11″ in length. BO.
Back Right
Pick up 18 stitches from stitch holder
Row 2 (WS): P2tog, p12, k4
Rows 3 and 5: K to last 2, k2tog
Rows 4, 6, 8: P to last 4, k4
Row 7: Knit
Repeat rows 7 and 8 until armholes measure 11″ in length. BO.
Front
Repeat steps for Back until armholes measure 5.5″ in length.
Row 1: K18, BO24, k to end. Place right side on stitch holder.
Front Left
Row 2: K4, p12, p2tog
Rows 3 and 5: SSK, k to end
Rows 4, 6, 8: K4, p to end
Row 7: Knit
15 stitches remain
Repeat rows 7 and 8 until armholes measure 11″ in length. BO.
Front Right
Pick up 18 stitches from stitch holder
Row 2 (WS): P2tog, p12, k4
Rows 3 and 5: K to last 2, k2tog
Rows 4, 6, 8: P to last 4, k4
Row 7: Knit
Repeat rows 7 and 8 until armholes measure 11″ in length. BO.
Sew top BO edges together.
Neckline
WS: Pick up and knit 90 stitches with size 6 double-pointed needles.
Rows 1-4: K in 1×1 rib
BO loosely rib-wise.
Sew sides together, weave in ends.
Knitting Problems 