About the sweater construction

The biggest advantage of this design is that it doesn’t require you to count stitches but rather it guides you how to make a perfect fit while trying it on along the way. 

Airy Essential Sweater is constructed in the top-down technique, knitted with two strands of  Silk Mohair. You will knit it on circular needles, possibly changing to the double-pointed needles for cuffs. Entire sweater is knitted on 5mm (US8) needles 

You start knitting a sweater  from a neckband. Once completed, you proceed to shape the neckline using German Short Rows  while at the same time creating a raglan increase. You continue with the raglan increase until the length of the sweater is sufficient to split stitches between body and sleeves.  While sleeves stitches rest on the holder you continue knitting the body to the desired length. Body is finished off with a 5cm (2in) of ribbing and tubular cast off for elastic effect. After this step, you proceed with knitting sleeves, one at a time.  Sleeves are also  finished off with a ribbing and tubular cast off. 

TIPS

• as you are working at the same time with 2 strands of yarn try to avoid tangling.
• to get two strands of Silk Mohair Yarn from the same skein, pull one end from the outside and one from the inside of the skein
• enjoy it! this design is all about the pure pleasure of knitting! 🙂

Check knit along video tutorial on YouTube

Here is the list  of all the stitches and abbreviations used in the pattern. Whenever mentioned in the pattern they will also be linked to dedicated video tutorial. 

• • k / k1 – knit / knit 1 stitch
  • p / p1 – purl / purl 1 stitch
  • k1b – knit 1 stitch below
  • YO– yarn over
  • k2tog – knit 2 stitches together

Here is the list of all techniques used in the pattern. Whenever mentioned in the pattern they will also be linked to a dedicated video tutorial.

• • long tail cast on
  • magic loop to work in rounds
  • german short rows to shape neckline
  • placing stitches on the holder
  • picking up stitches to continue sleeves without sewing
  • adding stitches through a back loop to shape underarm 
  • classic bind off

TIP:

• before you start knitting this project go through the video tutorials and make sure that you know all the stitches and techniques.  If you do not know them, just grab a spare skein of yarn and practice on a small sample until you are comfortable using it in your bigger project. Practicing on the go seems to be tempting but you may just lose a lot of energy and unnecessarily destroy your precious yarn.
•  

Let’s start knitting!

Intro

You start knitting a sweater from a neckband.

Neckband is knitted on the 5mm (US8) circular knitting needles with 40cm cable in the round using Magic Loop Technique. You start by casting the required number of stitches and follow the pattern to knit a ribbing. 

Abbreviations & Techniques

• k / k1 – knit / knit 1 stitch
• p / p1 – purl / purl 1 stitch
• k1b – knit 1 stitch below
• long tail cast on
• magic loop to work in rounds

Pattern

Cast on S (M) L  64 (70) 78 stitches. 

Row 1: p across the round

Join together using a magic loop technique and mark the beginning of the round with a marker. Marker indicates mid back of your sweater and beginning of the round.

Round 1: *k1, p1 ;  repeat *across the round 

Round 2: *k1b, p1; repeat * across the round

Repeat round 1 and 2 three more times each.

Congrats! Knitting neckband is now completed.  You can now start shaping your neckline!

proceed if you completed the neckband.

Intro

In this section you will shape neckline while at the same time working raglan increase. Neckline is knitted on the 5mm (US8) circular needles using German Short Rows technique, therefore despite the fact you work on circular needles you will be knitting flat and  alternating between  the right and wrong side of the project.

Before you start knitting you will divide stitches  to indicate  a front and a back of the project and a left and a right sleeve. Those markers will also indicate where raglan increases need to be made.  Raglan increase is made before and after every raglan stitch while adding extra stitches.

Abbreviations & Techniques

• • k / k1 – knit / knit 1 stitch
  • p / p1 – purl / purl 1 stitch
  • YO– yarn over
  • german short rows to shape neckline

Pattern

Divide stitches in the following way:

S (M) L 

Place 8 extra markers to mark raglan increase as follows: 11 (12) 13 stitches (right side of the back), marker 1, 1 raglan stitch, marker 2, 8 (10) 12 stitches (right sleeve), marker 3, 1 raglan stitch, marker 4, 22 (23) 25 stitches (front), marker 5, 1 raglan stitch, marker 6, 8 (10) 12 stitches ( left sleeve), marker 7, 1 raglan stitch, marker 8, 11 (11) 12 stitches ( left side of the back). 

 And now knit as follows:

Step 1: knit to marker 1, YO, slip marker 1, k1,  slip marker2 , YO, knit to marker 3, YO, slip marker 3, k1, slip marker 4, YO, k2, turn

Step 2: purl to the main marker

Step 3: purl  to marker 8, YO, slip marker 8, p1, slip marler 7, YO, purl to marker 6, YO, slip marler 6, p1, slip marker 5, YO, p2, turn 

Step 4: knit to the main marker

Repeat steps  1-4 2 more  times making turns  2 stitches after the previous turn.

Neckline shaping is now completed and you can now continue with raglan increase. 

Tip:

• use markers indicating a front, a back and both sleeves  in a contrasting colour to the main marker
• the short rows neckline shaping has now been complete and we can continue with raglan increase.

proceed if you completed neckline

Intro

Now you will continue raglan increase  while working in the round until your project is long enough to be divided  between the body and the sleeves.  You keep on knitting in the round on needles size 5mm (US8)

Abbreviations

• • k / k1 – knit / knit 1 stitch
  • YO– yarn over
  •  

Pattern

Round 1: *knit to the marker, YO, slip marker, k1, slip marker YO, repeat * across the round. There should be extra 8 stitches on the needles after each raglan increase round

Round 2:  knit across the round

Repeat Round 1 & 2   until  your  raglan is about  S (M) L  25 (27) 29 cm [10 (10.75) 11.50 in] long.  

Tip:

• at some point in this section you may consider changing the cable to 80cm.
• you may decide for yourself to work less or more rounds to make a perfect fit for your body

proceed if you completed raglan increase

Intro

In this section you will divide your work between body and sleeves. That is achieved by placing sleeves stitches on two holders while the body stitches are joined together and then knitted until desired sweater length.  The body is finished off  with a ribbing and tubular cast off for elastic effect.  You knit in the round on knitting needles 5mm (US8).

Abbreviations & Techniques

• • k / k1 – knit / knit 1 stitch
  • p / p1 – purl / purl 1 stitch
  • k1b – knit 1 stitch below
  • placing stitches on the holder
  • adding stitches through a back loop to shape underarm
  • classic bind off

Pattern

Diving stitches between sleeves and body 

Knit until marker 1, knit raglan stitch. Now place all the stitches between marker 2 & 3 on the holder. Those will be the stitches used to knit the right sleeve in the later stage. Knit raglan stitch and  keep on knitting the body by adding 6 stitches under the right underarm by using the through the back loop technique.

Join the  back and the front of  your work and knit until marker 5, knit raglan stitch. Now place all the stitches between marker 6 & 7 on the holder. Those will be the stitches used to knit the left sleeve in the later stage. Knit raglan stitch and keep on knitting the body by adding 6 stitches under the left underarm by using the through the back loop technique.

Join your work and continue knitting until the main marker.

Division of stitches between sleeves and body is now completed.  

Make sure you have an even number of stitches for the back and front of your sweater. The same applies for right and left stitch. 

Knitting body & ribbing

Keep on knitting in the round until your sweater is around S (M) L 47 (49) 51 cmm [18.5 (19.25) 20 in] long measuring in the middle of the back without the neckband ( or other desirable length).

Now knit ribbing following the pattern: 

Round 1: * k1, p1, repeat * across the round

Round 2: * k1b, p1, repeat * across the rounds

Repeat Round 1 & 2  total of  5  times each.  

And bind off with a classic  bind off. 

Congratulations! Body of your sweater is now completed!

TIPS:

• as a holder you can either use a piece of yarn or  a 40-50cm circular interchangeable cable.
• once the sleeve stitches are put on the holder, markers 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8  are no longer needed. You will just need a main marker.
• keep your yarn very loose when binding off. Even though  a tubular bind off is intended to give the elastic finish-off,  you will not get this effect if you thread a yarn too tight. 

It is a good practice to start knitting sleeves only after the body is completed, but you can also start knitting sleeves while being halfway there with a body. However it is compulsory to knit at least a few rounds of a body as some of its stitches shape sleeves. 

Intro

In this section you will continue knitting the sleeves by picking up the stitches on the holder and the stitches added under the underarms. The sleeves’ stitches are evenly decreased along their length . You continue knitting in the round on 5mm (US8) knitting needles.  You may decide to knit the ribbing on the double-pointed needles.  The cuffs are finished off with a tubular bind off for an elastic effect. 

If you used a piece of yarn to put your stitches on hold, it is the time to place them again on your needles and continue as per pattern below. 

Abbreviations & Techniques

• • k / k1 – knit / knit 1 stitch
  • p / p1 – purl / purl 1 stitch
  • k1b – knit 1 stitch below
  • k2tog – knit 2 stitches together
  • picking up stitches to continue sleeves without sewing
  • classic bind off

Pattern

Check technique here or follow steps below

Step 1: Start by picking up 6 stitches that were added under the underarm. Place a marker in the middle of those 6 stitches to mark the beginning of the round. This is your main marker now. 

Step 2: Keep on knitting until the last 4 stitches before the marker.

Step 3: K2tog, k2, slip marker, k2, k2tog.

All sleeve stitches are picked-up now and you can continue knitting your sleeve. 

Keep on knitting your sleeve in rounds until it is  40cm (15,75in) long (measuring from underarm) for all sizes.

When you reach the desired length of the sleeve, knit the ribbing as below:

Round 1: *k2tog * across the round

Round 2: *k1, p1, repeat * across the round

Round 3: * k1b, p1,  repeat * across the round

Repeat  Round 2 & 3 total of 5 times each.

And bind off using a classic bind off technique. 

Repeat the same for the second sleeve.

TIP:

• keep your yarn very loose when binding off. Even though a tubular bind off is intended to give the elastic finish-off,  you will not get this effect if you thread a yarn too tight. 

There are last three things you need to do to before enjoying your sweater:

• wave in all loose ends

• if you want to make sure that the rib neck edge keeps it shape over time, you can sew a thin elastic thread along the edge.

• block your sweater.  Meaning, give it a gentle hand wash in a warm water. Ideally just soak it for a few minutes and press out the water, never wring!  Lay the garment on a clean towel and roll it up like a jelly roll to extract water.Then let dry flat on a new towel or a mesh rack, never hang-dry. Give your sweater final shape –  you can adjust the fit slightly bigger or smaller, and as the garment dries it will set in place. Do not exaggerate – wool stretches easily 😉

congratulations! your sweater is now ready to wear! how does that feel?