Getting Ready for Sweater Weather

Sep 26, 2024

We're four days into autumn and I, like knitters everywhere, am looking forward to cooler temperatures. Of course, true sweater weather is still some weeks away here in the Southeastern US; we're expecting temperatures in the 80's with lots of rain over the next couple of days as Hurricane Helene brushes us with her skirts.

Even without sweater weather, it feels like sweater season. I have two new sweaters ready (or nearly so) for this Fall.

Of course, the most-worn sweaters I wrote about last winter are still in fine shape, ready for another season of service. Looking back at that article, I'm pleased to see that I've taken the lessons learned from that assessment of my sweater collection to heart—both new sweaters are long-sleeved crewnecks, and they are simple designs. I'm also happy to be expanding my color palette to include this deep red and rich pink.

The Fireside Pullover

The red sweater in the photo above is my Fireside Pullover. This pullover was designed for Knit Picks, and I knit mine in Knit Picks Woolen Cotton in the color Garden Gnome Heather.

The Other One

The pink sweater is one for which there is no pattern. It is knit with Purl Soho Plein Air in Pink Dusk. I have about 40 more rounds to finish the second sleeve, and this sweater should be ready for blocking tomorrow.

You might remember the Yarn Face-Off I wrote six months ago comparing these two yarns (click that link to find full details for both). Since I knew these yarns had the same stitch gauge, I was able to build this pink sweater using the stitch counts from the Fireside Pullover pattern. The row gauge for stockinette stitch was not the same as the row gauge for the basketweave texture used for the Fireside Pullover, so I needed to adjust the rate of increasing in the yoke and the rate of decreasing in the sleeves, but that was a simple matter.

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My inspiration for this sweater was modernist architecture and hand-crafted wood furniture: simple, clean-lined, and with all the construction elements celebrated, not hidden. This is most clearly seen in the raglan shaping.

Standard raglan shaping involves increasing one stitch on each side of each raglan line every other row. I changed that to increase two stitches on each side of each raglan line every fourth row, and I chose to use yarn overs as the increases. This creates a little fan of eyelets traveling down each raglan line. I think it's pretty, but not at all fancy, like finely crafted dovetail joints on a wooden box. I'm excited to see this sweater finished and blocked.

Customizing Patterns to Suit Your Vision

You can make similar modifications to any basic pattern in your collection. Change the edging from ribbing to something else. Use a different increase than that called for in the pattern. Change the stitch pattern, either all over or in a panel. Once you're confident in your basic knitting skills and have knit a sweater or two, I hope you feel free to go rogue and modify patterns to create the look you want. Every designer started out just this way. You don't need to search high and low for a pattern that exactly matches the sweater in your imagination. Choose a good basic pattern and trust yourself to figure it out.

I'm a big fan of Tin Can Knits as a source of basic patterns. The designs in their Basics and Simple collections are written for a wide range of sizes and for multiple yarn gauges. These are strong "foundation" patterns. They've done the math so you can customize as you please!

Note: None of the yarn or pattern links are affiliate links. I have not been compensated for my recommendations, and I do not earn a commission if you make a purchase using these links.

It will come as no surprise that I made my way through a lot of audiobooks during this month of orthopedic drama1. I thought I would get lots of reading done while I was in the acute rehab facility, but I couldn't concentrate enough to read a book on paper. Audiobooks were my refuge from daytime TV, though most of them made no lasting impression.

The exception was Bear, by Julia Phillips. It's a different sort of coming-of-age story.

Sisters Sam and Elena feel stuck on San Juan Island, off the coast of Washington. When they were teenagers, they made a pact to stay on the island together and take care of their chronically ill mother. Now nearing 30, they are scrambling to stay ahead of the growing pile of bills, while their mother's condition continues to deteriorate.

The appearance of a grizzly bear literally on their doorstep changes everything. The sisters’ differing responses to the bear reveals how their dreams have diverged and how they have grown apart.

This is a story about what sisters share, what they hide, and how betrayal can sneak up on you, challenging everything you thought was true.

Book titles are affiliate links to Bookshop.org, a non-profit that supports independent book stores. If you make a purchase using these links, I will earn a small commission at no additional cost to you.

As always, thank you for inviting me into your world each week. I know there is not enough time to read all the good stuff, and I’m grateful you’ve chosen to spend some time with me.

Continue the conversation: How is your sweater line-up looking as we head into sweater season? Are you planning some new knits for the coming Fall and Winter? Tell me about it in the comments!