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Strap in everyone, we're making a sweater!!
Don't give me that look. I've been wanting to make a sweater for a long time, and I finally did it! She's not perfect, but she's cute. I've named her the Moss Sweater. I learned a lot from making this, and I'll show you what I learned!
To see all of the posts, click on the "Moss Sweater" tag at the bottom of the post.
About this tutorial
This is going to be a multi-part tutorial, released weekly. And...you're gonna have to swatch. I'm sorry! That's just how custom garments work! This is gonna be based entirely on your own measurements, which is why it's more of a tutorial than a pattern. But if I can do it, you can do it!
This week's post is going to be about supplies, and the general concept. The actual sweater making will start next week!
The sweater
So obviously we need to talk about the Moss Sweater!
She's made with a simple sc moss sitch (sc, ch 1 skip). The cuffs are all knit, but you could do them with crochet! We can (and will) talk about all that stuff later on.
I decided to go with some delightful bell sleeves, but with a tapered wrist. Because...I'm into that lol. You can most certainly make entirely tapered sleeves! Or make short sleeves! Or sleeveless! Seriously this pattern will be 100% customizable for you.
But we'll talk more about that when we get to the actual crocheting.
What you'll be making
The construction is really simple. You'll crochet a front panel and a back panel, then sew them together. Next you'll crochet 2 sleeves, then sew them onto your currently sleeveless sweater. Finally, you'll knit all 4 of the cuffs, then sew them on.
...Actually there's one more step, and that's weaving in the million or so ends when you're finished.
Supplies
Because of the truly customized nature of this sweater, you really can use any size yarn and hook that you like! As long as it has a nice drape, you can use it! So nothing heavy, or it'll just sag. Here's exactly what I used:
- 512 grams / 1960 yards of Elsebeth Lavold Silky Wool yarn - that's 11 skeins. I made the entire sweater holding 2 strands together. I really liked the texture of the yarn, but I didn't want the sweater to take 800 years to make, so I doubled up. The color I used (salmon) has been discontinued, but you might be able to find it at yarn outlet/overstock websites. And of course, the yardage you'll need will likely be different than mine, but...it's a sweater, so go big or go home!
- 6.5mm crochet hook
- 6mm circular knitting needles - 16 inches is a good size, but bigger is absolutely fine. Smaller is gonna be pretty difficult.
Aside from a yarn needle and some scissors, that's it!
And that's it for this post! Come back next week for some measuring & swatching! But I have a personal story to tell about this yarn and how this sweater came to be, so if you'd like to read it, continue on!
Story time
Originally I bought this yarn to make a sweater from the book Geek Chic Crochet by Nicki Trench, but after finishing the front panel, and nearly finishing the back panel (which took forever, because it was all popcorn stitches omg), I decided I just...wasn't feeling it anymore. I had spent nearly 2 years making it and I just didn't feel like I even wanted to wear the style anymore, so...I frogged it! I'd only purchased 2 skeins at a time from my local indie yarn shop because they were $12 a piece. So I had this gorgeous, expensive yarn, crying out to be turned into SOMETHING wearable.
Now, while I was making the first sweater, after I'd finished the front panel, I went out to get more yarn, and the shop owner told me the company had discontinued my color! What?! How could they do this to me?! Luckily I found a website that still had plenty in stock, AND they were selling them at $6 a skein. So I was sure to buy more than I thought I'd need to finish!
After frogging, I spent weeks browsing patterns on ravelry and etsy and nothing really jumped out at me. I found some I really liked using super bulky yarn, but I didn't feel confident I'd be able to replicate any of them with the yarn I had.
So I started to think I should create my own!
Watching @smalltowncoven and @steviebythesea create tons of sweaters on instagram really started to get me excited about the idea.
Finally, I started sketching out some ideas. I decided pretty early on to go with a moss stitch, since it's one of the very few crochet stitches that has a lot of flexibility, that also doesn't just SCREAM crochet. Plus I just think it's pretty.
And eventually...I came up with the design! The finished sweater turned out pretty much exactly how I imagined, so I'm pretty pleased.
Hopefully you'll all enjoy making your own Moss Sweater!
Tags: Clothing, Crochet, crochet pattern, freebies, Moss Sweater, Sweater Tutorial, tutorial
