Crazy Aunt Purl's Summer Sweater - Photos

Here is the sweater & a link to purchase the pattern:

This pattern is available for $5.50 USD

(Purchase is secure via PayPal)

This pattern includes two sets of instructions, one for top-down, seamless construction and the second for bottom-up, seamed construction - you choose which way you would like to knit this summer sweater.

Yarn Note: This sweater is worked in Sport or DK weight yarn at a looser gauge than the yarn calls for. This creates a nice and sheer fabric which is perfect for summer. Many different yarns can work for this sweater, but for best results use a yarn that has some silk, hemp, linen or acrylic with cotton.

Please feel free to join the Knit Along Group here on Ravelry:

Crazy Aunt Purl’s Summer Sweater KAL

Sizes:

XS (S, M, L, XL, 2XL, 3XL, 4XL)

32 (36, 38, 40, 44, 48, 52, 56)” finished garment chest measurement

Materials:

Linen/Cotton/ Cotton-Acrylic, Cotton-Silk, Bamboo-blends Sport or DK Weight Yarn – 700 (750; 800; 850; 900; 1,000; 1,100; 1,200) yards

Needle Size: U.S. 6 (4 mm) or needles to get gauge

Gauge: 16 sts/4"

Version #1: Top-Down Seamless Construction

This sweater is worked from the top down in seamless construction, with set-in sleeves that are knit onto the armhole edging.

Version #2: Traditional Bottom-up Seamed Construction

This construction follows the conventional construction of knitting the sweater’s back, then knitting the front and the two sleeves separately from the bottom up. Once all four pieces are knit, they are sewn together to make the sweater.

Neckline: The sweater looks cute with an unfinished neckline, however instructions are included how to knit a neckline ribbing finish.

Here are some photos of the finished sweater: 

 Keep in mind that I am using a “mannequin” that is a size S and I knit a XL, so the V-Neck looks a bit larger than it will look like in "real life". 

I left my sweater’s neckline unfinished. I am thinking about crocheting a slip stitch around the neckline because I like this look or I might just leave it unfinished.

Me wearing the sweater this morning:

Crazy Aunt Purl's Summer Sweater - Update

I have washed and blocked the sweater and I will be wearing it today. :))

I am going to take nice photos of the sweater this afternoon and will post them either in the afternoon, but for sure by this evening  (Pacific Standard Time).

This is going to be one of my favorite summer sweaters. It feels really light and I like that.

I am waiting for the pattern to come back from the tech editor, as soon as she is done reviewing the pattern, I will post it on Ravelry in the pattern section. I will also post a link to the pattern from my blog, for those who are not Ravelry members.

 The cost for the pattern is $5.50. As most of you know, it will come as a PDF file.

If you are a Ravelry member, please come over to the Knit Along (KAL) group that we created for this sweater. Go to "groups" and search for: Crazy Aunt Purl's Summer Sweater KAL

I started a KAL group on Ravelry

I have started a separate group for the **Crazy Aunt Purl's Summer Sweater KAL** (knit along) on Ravelry (www.ravelry.com) because it would be easier to communicate and answer questions along the way. The pattern will be ready by Wednesday, June 8th.

The group's name is: Crazy Aunt Purl's Summer Sweater KAL

If you already on Ravelry, just do a search for the group with the above title and click to join.

If you are not on Ravelry, join! :) It is like facebook for knitters. It is free and a great resource.

The pattern has two set of instructions:
(1) Top-down, seamless construction &
(2) Bottom up, seamed construction.

Crazy Aunt Purl's Sweater - Pattern Update

I finished writing up the top-down  pattern and emailed to the tech editor this evening. YEAH!  :) Right on track with being able to release the pattern this weekend.

I have about another 6 inches to knit to finish the bottom body of the sweater. 

Not the best photo, but I am too tired to dig out my digital camera... :)

Crazy Aunt Purl's Sweater - Top Down Knitting

Progress up to last night.

I remember the first time that I knit a top-down garment. It was the February Lady Sweater which is actually a cardigan. I was living in Haiti and had very little access to patterns or anything knitting related. I had just discovered Ravelry and felt that I had gone to Knitters’ Heaven! I picked the pattern because I liked it. But when I read the instructions, I was so confused!

I had been knitting for over 35 years and had always knit a sweater or cardigan in its separate pieces and then sewn together (with lots of sighs because I do not like sewing knitted fabric by hand - though I love “actual” sewing with a machine). Often, I would finish knitting a garment just to have the pieces laying around for weeks or even months before I would sit down and sew the pieces together. Isn't it weird how we get stuck in the way we do things for years?! 

However, with these instructions, it told you to start at the YOKE! “The Yoke?! Has the pattern designer been drinking?!” I asked myself. 

Then I read through the pattern and started to get the picture about how a top-down garment like this was constructed. But, I was still not convinced that this would actually work. So, I decided that I would participate in the top-down knitting adventure and that I would just go along with the instructions as they went on. I figured that if I approached this project one-row-at-a-time and not question the logic, I might make it through the pattern.

I just went ahead and started and it come out lovely! This cardigan, the February Lady Sweater is to this day my favorite cardyigan (I still have it and wear it)! I was converted to top-down knitting! I read everything on the internet about top-down knitting and started a list of books and/or patterns that I had to purchase next time I was in the U.S. like the book by Barbara Walker, Knitting from the Top.

Eventually, I started designing top-down…. 

There is a thread that I started a few days ago where I show photos of how the sweater is growing step-by-step, but here are some more photos from where I stopped last night:

I have finished writing up the pattern and doing all the calculations, but now I need to find the time to type up the pattern.  So, do I knit and finish this sweater that I am now totally addicted to? Or do I write up the pattern now?  Though, I really need the finished garment before I can post the finished pattern, right?

The way we knit...

I am staying out of town for a week. When I am out of town, I always make a point of visiting local yarns stores. In Costa Mesa, California, there is a yarn store: Knit Schticks. I went there this evening and knit with a fun group of ladies. If you are ever in that area, this is a store worth visiting. There is a lovely collection of yarns! I bought some Louet Euroflax because I am planning on making another Crazy Aunt Purl's Sweater.

Anyway... In the conversation, some of the ladies talked about how the way we knit really reflects our personality. As an example, she talked about her friend. Her friend is a really tight knitter and her personality is “tightly wound”.

So that got me thinking, if the way that I knit reflects my personality, then I am FAST and LOOSE!? 


Hmmm…? :))

P.S. I am almost done with the second sleeve. I am hoping to post some update photos tonight. 

Crazy Aunt Purl's Sweater Update

Thank you for all the lovely comments regarding the sweater design, photos, etc. :)

straightneedles you mentioned that you want to knit with straight needles. 
I have decided to write up the pattern in two ways, the first one (my preferred method - but it cannot be worked with straight needles) in top-down seamless construction and the second one (for those knitters who love to sew seams) in the traditional method from the bottom up. 


Basically, when the pattern is finished, you will get the two different ways of knitting the sweater,  in one pattern. I think that there are so many knitters interested in making this sweater that I want to offer both.


Yarn Choice - will affect the way your finished fabric will look. If you want a really meshy look, you need to find a yarn that is either a 100% linen type of yarn or a mercerized cotton type of yarn in a Sport or DK weight. 


The yarn that I am using is a 50% Cotton-50% Linen mixed yarn. The fabric looks a bit dense in the photos that I have posted so far but that is also because I have not blocked it yet. Once the sweater is finished and wet blocked, the fabric will open up more and will look more meshy.