Friendly Fair Isle Sweater
Being partial to lore and a sucker for furry creatures with power, each year leading up to Groundhog’s Day I wonder what Punxsutawney Phil will predict. And each year, I am conflicted. Do I want the warmth and light that come with an early spring, or do I want six more weeks of winter cold so I can keep knitting with gloriously thick and wooly yarns?
Well, my ambivalence didn’t stop Phil from deciding. His decree: six more weeks of winter. But fear not, those who’ve grown weary of windburn, this Friendly Fair Isle Sweater is for you! Not only is it cuddly warm for an enduring winter season, but this punchy sweater also spreads the brightness and cheer of spring. And just in case Punxsutawney Phil’s meteorological skills aren’t quite on point this year, the Friendly Fair Isle is such a fun, quick knit, you’ll be weaving in your ends long before that early spring arrives!
I designed this no-fuss pullover with a classic cut and a raglan sleeve shoulder. And for speed and coziness, I used Purl Soho’s aptly named Super Soft Merino. The colors, I picked purposely to pop out like spring’s first flower buds peeking through the earth.
Since Phil is as unpredictable as the weather itself, I’m glad that this year I have my bases covered, a toasty sweater for winter, done well before spring… no matter when it comes!
For more information about the Friendly Fair Isle Sweater, please read below. -Laura
Designed by Purl Soho designer, Laura Ferguson.
Share your progress and connect with the community by tagging your pics with #PurlSoho, #PurlSohoBusyHands, #PurlSohoFriendlyFairIsleSweater, and #PurlSohoSuperSoftMerino. We can’t wait to see what you make!
Materials
(Please Note: The Purl Soho Friendly Fair Isle Sweater Pattern has been discontinued from purchase. For assistance, please contact us at customerservice@purlsoho.com.)
8–10 skeins of Purl Soho’s Super Soft Merino, 100% merino. Each skein is 87 yards/ 100 grams.
- Main Color (MC): 7 (8, 8, 9) skeins; approximately 595 (645, 695, 770) yards required. We used the color Sea Salt.
- Contrast Color (CC): 1 skein; approximately 60 (65, 70, 75) yards required. We used the color Super Pink.
You will also need…
- US 11 (8 mm), 16- and 32-inch circular needles
- A set of US 11 double pointed needles
- Stitch markers, including one unique
- 4 stitch holders or scrap yarn
Gauge
Sizes
36 (40, 44, 48)
- Finished Chest Circumference: 36 (40, 44, 48) inches
- Finished Length from Shoulder to Bottom Edge: 22¾ (23, 23¼, 24) inches
- Finished Length from Underarm to Bottom Edge: 13 inches
- Finished Length from Cuff to Armhole: 18½ (18½, 19, 19) inches
Ease: This garment is designed with a 3–4 inches of ease around the chest.
Sample: We knit the size 36.
Pattern
Please Note: The Purl Soho Friendly Fair Isle Sweater has been discontinued from purchase. For assistance, please contact us at customerservice@purlsoho.com.
Looking for more inspiration? Explore all of our free knitting patterns and knitting tutorials, buy one of our many knitting kits and yarn bundles, and shop for beautiful yarn. We have over 35 gorgeous natural fiber yarns in 100’s of magnificent colors, designed to bring integrity, beauty, and joy to your next knitting project and only available at Purl Soho!
This is really a cute sweater! You say it's an easy and quick design, so that means that it'll be done by the time next Winter comes, but at least that means it will be done in a year instead of in fifty!
WOW that is totally gorgeous!!!
Had no interest in doing another sweater. Until I saw this. Beautiful.
This sweater is so fresh and new!
It is so Laura! You are all such talented designers.
Thank you.
I've yet to actually knit a sweater, but my mind is made up, this one will be my first! Love the colors you chose.
I've said it before, but if only I could knit! xx
easy and beautiful
This is a darling sweater. So classic!
Beautiful! Can a fairly new knitter do this? Is it a top down sweater? (I.e. No seams?)
Love your site.
Can you give other yarns to make this pattern that are not wool I would live to make this sweater for my mom and she is very allergic to wool thank you.
I love it! I'm thinking this will be the first sweater I knit. The colors are just perfect … so cheery!
Hi Theresa,
Thanks! I'm glad you like it. As for yarn substitutions…
Purl Soho doesn't carry any chunky weight cotton yarns… but it could be interesting to pull two strands of Blue Sky's Worsted Cotton together for this project.
https://www.purlsoho.com/purl/products/item/721-Blue-Sky-Worsted-Cotton
Laura
Hi Mary,
Yes a fairly new knitter can definitely do this sweater. It is a bottom-up construction, worked in the round, with no seams. Also… we are ALWAYS here to help you along the way!
Laura
I really like like the pink with the sea salt color. Are you getting more? I saw there were only 4 left….
Danielle
Beautiful!! That beautiful pink livens it up and keeps it from looking "old" 🙂
Beautiful detail and great color combo!
Sheila
http://sheilazachariae.blogspot.com/2014/02/knit-socks-on-straight-needles-and.html
LOVE this pattern! So beautiful and it looks like it will be perfect for my first fair-isle project. I have a question about sizing: the size small should come out to a 36" chest circumference, so that would fit someone with a size 32" bust (with the four inches of ease)? Just wanted to confirm. Thank you!
Hi Casey,
The XSmall, with a finished dimension of 36 inches around the bust, will definitely fit a person with a 32-inch bust.
The Small, with a finished dimension of 40 inches around the bust, would probably be a little larger than you'd want.
Good luck with the sweater, hope you enjoy it! We're here if you have any questions…
Laura
Beautiful, as always!
Hello there,
this pattern looks so nice and I am particularly amused by the fact it is a seamless sweater using a bulky yarn – this makes it perfect as my first attempt with a sweater. In fact I think I need to see the work growing fast as first sweater project (or I'm afraid I would get discouraged easily).
My question would be: can it go for a very slim man too (me), if I use a large woman size?
Thanks a lot 😉
Lucio (ITALY)
Actually, the XSmall has a finished chest circumference of 36", right? And the Small size has a finished chest circumference of 40". If I have a 34" bust size, should I knit the Small or the Medium? Is your model wearing a Small or an XSmall?
Thanks,
Jennie K.
Hi Lucio.
If you are a slim man, the Large will definitely fit and maybe even the Medium. If you measure you're chest circumference and add 2 to 4 inches and that number comes to either 44 or 48 inches… then the Medium (with finished measurement of 44 inches) or the Large (with finished measurement of 48 inches) will fit.
Men tend to have longer limbs than women. So you may have to make modifications at the sleeves, but the nice thing is, you can try these on as you knit them.
Please let me know if you have any other questions!
Laura
Hi Jennie K.
Thank you so much for pointing out my typo before. I have gone in and edited the previous comment to correct it.
The model is wearing the Small in these photographs, although I think the XSmall would have fit her better. I have a 36-inch bust and the Small (with a finished dimension of 40 inches) fit me perfectly!
If I had a 34-inch bust, I would probably make the XSmall, unless you want to wear this sweater over other sweaters in which case the 6 inches of ease that you'd get from the Small would be ideal.
Hope this helps.
Thanks again for writing in!
Laura
This looks like it could potentially be a great first sweater pattern! As much as I like Purl's Super Soft Merino, I'm afraid I have to find a less expensive yarn given the number of skeins this pattern requires.
Do you have more specific measurements for the yardage requirements for this pattern? Am I correct in thinking that the S/M sizes call for at least 700 yards for the main color? I'm also curious as to how much of the CC you had left over.
Thank you!
Hello Claire,
Thank you for your interest in and inquiry about this sweater!
Here are the yardage requirements for the Friendly Fair Isle Sweater…
Main Color (MC): 595 (645, 695, 770) yards
Contrast Color (CC): 60 (65, 70, 75) yards
Laura.
Love,love this pattern & am ready to start, bought my yarn & pattern yesterday at Purl Soho. But I have noticed that the sleeves are the same size for all sizes , I like a slimmer sleeve & I am knitting the size SMALL. Is it possible to make a smaller sleeve ???
Hi Dianne,
Although the cast on for the sleeve for all of the sizes is the same, after working the increases, the stitch count is different: 48 (50, 52, 58) stitches.
If you still wanted to do one less round of increases for the SMALL. You'll need to compensate for the stitch count later in the pattern. You have two options.
1. Hold off a 2 fewer stitches at the underarm so that number of stitches you are joining to the body is unchanged.
OR
2. Hold off the instructed amount of stitches at the underarm, resulting in having 2 fewer stitches to join to the body, then once you begin shaping the raglan, omit the sleeve-side decreases on the first round. After this your stitch count should match the pattern's.
If you omit more than one round increases at the sleeve, simply modify in the same way but either 1. hold of 4 fewer stitches or 2. omit the sleeve-side decreases on the first two rounds of raglan shaping.
Be in touch and let us know how it goes!!
Laura
hi there,
I'm cuckoo-banana's for this sweater, but as a novice, I'm having a hard time starting the sleeves and getting them connected in the round and staying in the rib pattern, etc.
is there any way to start from the top of each sleeve and decrease on the way down and eventually end up on the double-pointed needles?
cheers!
MJ
ps. making it in burnt charcoal (MC) with dessert blue (CC). looks insanely good!
Hi MJ,
Charcoal and Desert Blue sounds beautiful. I bet the blue pops!
As for working in the round… have you seen this tutorial: https://www.purlsoho.com/create/knitting-tutorials-working-rnd/2008/7/25/double-pointed-needles.html I think it might help you get started on the sleeves.
If you'd like to do the sleeves top-down, just one warning: the Fair Isle potion is going to look different than on the body. The Vs formed by the knit stitches will be upside down. If you still want to work top down… simply cast on the final number of final stitches (including the stitches on hold for the underarm and) using a provisional cast on (https://www.purlsoho.com/create/knitting-tutorials-cast-ons/2007/12/10/provisional-cast-on.html). This way the stitches will still be 'live' and you'll be able to pick up and work in the other direction, attaching them to the body.
All that said… I really encourage you to try working the sleeves from the bottom up. For this project, I think it will be easier in the long run.
I'm here if you have any questions though!!
Laura
Hi Laura, I have knitted up the body to 13" but can't quite understand the instruction from CONTINUE – I have knitted my 60 stitches do I place the last 7 on an stitch holder ? How can I keep knitting to the end with my needles ? Sorry, I know that it is probably very simple but I just can't see how to do it ?
I might have to come down to the store for a demonstration !
Hi Dianne,
Once you've knit your 60 stitches, take a tapestry needle threaded with scrap yarn or a stitch holder and with the tip of that tapestry needle/holder slip the last 7 stitches off of the right needle onto the scrap yarn/holder. Your working yarn will be coming from that last stitch on hold, but you can still continue working with it. Just let the holder/scrap yarn hang gently from your knit fabric and continue with the pattern… knitting another 60 stitches and then placing another 7 stitches on hold. At this point you have divided the Front from the Back and you'll be ready to join the sleeves.
If this isn't clear, the folks at the shop are more than happy to walk you though this. I can forward them your comment so that they know you're coming and what your question is!
Or if you have any follow up questions… I'm here!
Laura
Hi Laura,
Thank you so much , that really helped. Now for the sleeves !!
All the best
Dianne
Ta, da !!! I have finished the sweater & it looks great. Just for your information, I am an average knitter & I knitted the SMALL but I have a full ball leftover. It really only needed 7 not 8. Thanks for your help & guidance ,
Dianne
Hello,
I’ve started with the sleeves on the sweater twice and both times they’ve come up at 13 inches rather than the 18 1/2 which the pattern says the small size should be. Have you got any advice, the second time I tried to knit a lot looser but it has only made the sleeves wider rather than longer! My gauge measured correctly so I’m a little confused! Thanks!!
Hi Alice,
Thanks for writing in.
It sounds like our row gauge could be pretty different. I worked this pattern at 15 rounds = 4 inches or 3 3/4 rounds to 1 inch.
After the 3 inches of ribbing, you work 11 rounds at this point you should have approximately 6 inches of sleeve already.
Then you have 12 1/2 (12 1/2, 13, 13) more inches over which to work 10 (11, 12, 15) increase rounds.
I would add 1 round of even knitting between each increase round and see where that gets you. You should be able to reach 18 1/2 inches.
I hope this helps.
Thanks for writing in.
Laura
Hi Laura,
Thanks so much for your help, I will have a look and see if I have gone wrong anywhere. It’s a lovely pattern so would love to get it right!
Hi Alice.
Definitely let me know if I can help more!
Laura
yikes, I had the exact same proble as Alice. kept counting and recounting g each row to make sure i did it properly, but I keep coming up with exactly 13 inches (size small). since I’ve made all the increases already, could I just keep knitting until I end up with 18.5 inch arms, or is this going to look weird in the end?
thanks for your help!!
MJ
Hi MJ.
You could definitely just keep working evenly. Since it sounds like most of the shaping is towards to cuff end of your sleeve, the sleeve as a whole will have less of a gradual shaping to it. The sleeve will just be a little wider farther down giving the feeling of being slightly spacious. It is a spacious sweater in general though and so it may look absolutely fine!
Also, MJ, Alice, I wanted to thank you for writing in. We are re-working this portion of the pattern so others won’t run into this same problem. It’s been fantastic to have your feedback. So thank you!!!!
Laura
i have a whole day to myself to knit but i’m stuck!!
got everything done up to the point where i’m to attach the arms to the body. and in theory, i think i generally understand what to do, or at least how it’s supposed to come together. however, in the pattern, where it says to:
“ATTACH THE SLEEVES
SET-UP ROUND: Knit to 1 stitch before first stitch holder,…”
i can’t figure out: what i’m knitting with; or where to begin; or what yarn to use; or how to attach new skein if need be…
the MC is still attached to the body, but it hanging from the 1st (or last?) st on one of the on hold underarm stitches. (see second image).
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/3740647/IMG_1390.JPG
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/3740647/IMG_1389.JPG
help!? 🙂
Hi MJ.
Flip your sweater over so that when you are looking at it laying flay, the working yarn is towards the right side. Pick the sweater up and with that working yarn attached to the body, knit across the body to one stitch before the holder, place a marker, k1, then knit across the sleeve stitches, place a marker, knit to one stitch before the next holder, place a marker, k1, then knit across the second sleeve. Place a marker and join with where you began for working in the round!
I hope this helps. Please let me know if you have any questions!!
Laura
thank you so much for your reply. during the course of the day I realized that I hadn’t finished the round prior to the part of the directions that I was stumped on. once I realized that and completed the half-baked round, I was on my way again. finishing up today. thanks!!
Hi, I just finished the sleeves (wohooo) and I am about to start with the body.
The instruction says “with longer needles, cast on (….) Place marker for joining in the round”.
Do you mean the 16 inch circular needles or the double pointed needles … “Working in the round” seems to mean that I need my 5 needles again but reading the instructions it could also be the circular ones?
Thanks a lot in advance (and sorry this is probably a dumb question…. )
Julia
Hi Julia.
Thanks for writing in.
If you take a look at the back page of your printed pdf or back cover of your pattern booklet, you’ll see a materials list. The “longer” needles in the pattern are referring to the 32-inch circular needles listed here. You just need that one. No need for 5 double pointed needles again on this project!
Let me know if you have any questions!
Laura
Hi Laura,
What a beautiful sweater! I received a purl soho gift certificate for my birthday, and am trying to decide whether I should spend it on yarn for the Purl Soho Pullover or this sweater. I’ve never done Fair Isle before and would love to learn on a new project. My concern with this sweater is the sizing. I wear an XL (size 16) and I am worried the Large will not be big enough. Do you think it would work, or are there some easy modifications I might make? Thanks!
Best, Kaelin
Hi Kaelin-
The finished sizes are listed under the “Size” heading. The larger chest circumference is 48-inches. If that is too small I’d recommend that you get the Purl Soho Pullover materials since, unfortunately, there isn’t a simple way to size this up. Whichever you end up choosing please do let us know if you have any questions along the way! And thanks so much for getting in touch about this!
Best-
Molly
Hello-I’m thinking of trying this great sweater, but I’ve not had luck with Fair isle in the past. Could the pattern be done with a duplicate stitch. I’m not skilled at carrying a second color along. I’m not adverse to making it in only one of the beautiful colors. And chunky too!
Thank you
Donna
Hi Donna.
Thanks for writing in.
I think this could be done fairly easily with duplicate stitch!
Laura
Do you have additional instructions for woman size s xl & xxl? Id really like to make this sweater for myself however a large is just not big enough for me. Thank you
Hi Jodi.
Thanks for writing in.
Unfortunately we do not have this in sizes xl and xxl.
Thank you so much for your interest in the pattern! We’ll keep this request in mind for our sizing in the future!
Laura
You sell the patterns, but do you sell the yarn also. Do you sell kits.
Hi Vivian!
Yes we sell the yarn and the patterns.
Go here to select the pattern you’d like (pdf or hard copy, sized for women or sized for toddlers + kids): https://www.purlsoho.com/purl/products/item/9356
Go here to select your yarn: https://www.purlsoho.com/purl/products/item/8944-Purl-Soho-Super-Soft-Merino
Thanks for writing in.
Please let us know if you have any questions.
Laura
I love this design but I don’t like working with circular needles. Can this pattern be converted to use straight needles?
Ana
Hi Ana.
Thanks for writing in.
Unfortunately, at this time, we only have the pattern written for knitting in the round. I appreciate your request though. We tend to work things in the round, whenever possible, forgetting that it may not necessarily always be the favored method. I’ll keep this in mind.
Please let me know if you have any other questions!
Laura
Hi, I am wondering if this whole sweater could be done using the magic loop method? Thanks.
Hi Shannon.
Thanks for writing in.
I just want to make sure I’m fully understanding the question… are you wondering if you don’t have the right length circular or you don’t have double points… can you use the magic loop method to work the entire piece… if that’s the question, then… YES! I don’t see why not! Just be careful with your tension of the fair isle portions so they don’t end up too tight or too loose on those first and last of your 2 sets of stitches.
Thanks.
Laura
Hi Purl Soho,
I like to wear my sweaters a little longer (so it covers my butt and I can wear it with leggings).
Is it possible to make the sweater longer simply by knitting more stitches in the main color in the middle portion of the garment?
Thanks!
Mikko
Hi Mikko.
There is a lot of ease built into this pattern so if you’re more on the lean size, I think you could just work evenly in the middle portion of the garment. But if you’re on the curvier side and need might need some more room around the bum, you may want to cast on for the larger size and work through that first fair isle section and then decrease evenly at the sides as you make your way up to the the underarms with the goal of getting the stitch count back down to your original size.
I hope this makes sense. Please let me know if you have any questions.
Laura
I am stuck and I just started. one sleeve i started and did the fair isle perfectly but messed up my increases. I stopped and began to unravel. I started over on a different sleeve and messed up my knitting and pearl stitches. What has me stuck on the second attempt is on the pattern for the sleeve where it says continue after you complete the fair isle. The instructions says to switch to a shorter needle where necessary. However I am using 16 inch circular needles and then I am lost where the pattern says next 3(2,2,1) rounds knit. PLEASE HELP. IM A SMALL FRAMED TALL PERSON. I WOULD PROBABLY BE USING THE X- SMALL TO SMALL MEASUREMENTS. I have knitted scarves before but following this pattern is confusing to me.
Hi Robyn.
Thanks for writing in.
I emailed you back with a response.
Please let me know, here in the comments section, if you did not receive it!
Thanks,
Laura
Thank you for writing a cute pattern for a 10 year old. As patterns for this age group and up is a very rare commodity. Simply beautiful and modern.
Hi! I love this sweater but I have a few concerns- I would need to make the sleeves longer. How would I go about doing this? Also the finished length from underarm to bottom edge seems a little short when I try and measure it on myself. Would someone be able to assist me in making a few pattern adjustments for these dimensions?
Hi Meghan!
Yes, I’d love to help you.
First of all, for the sleeves, if you are long-limbed, simply add a round between every increase round or every other increase round. If you add a round between every increase round that will give you 9 (10, 11, 13) extra rounds measuring up to approximately 2.4 (2.6, 2.9, 3.5) inches. Those measurements are based on the round gauge given in the pattern, 3.75 rounds = 1 inch. If you do an extra round between every other increase round, that would be approximately 4 (5, 5, 6) rounds measuring to about 1 (1.3, 1.3, 1.6) inches.
As for adding length to the body, after you work the fair isle pattern above the ribbed band, simply knit evenly until the piece measures your desired length to underarm. At which point you’ll join the sleeves. I believe that instruction is in the pattern already so you’ll be guided along as you go.
I hope this helps.
Let us know if you have any questions.
Laura
Hi – gorgeous! Last time I was in NYC I discovered your amazing shop. I love this jumper so much I’m considering shipping the wool to the UK. But are you out of stock of the Sea Salt colourway?
Hello SarahBee!
Unfortunately we are sold out of this colorway! Feel free to email customerservice AT purlsoho DOT com in order to get on the waiting list to be notified when it’s back in stock! Thanks for your patience! Were so glad to hear you had a great time at our shop. Enjoy! -Alyson
Hi- I have a question about this pattern. How long should I knit the sleeves? I can’t find anything about it in the pattern and since it asks us to knit the sleeves first I can’t compare the length to the size of the body…
Thanks!
Hi Suzy.
Thanks for writing in! The sleeves should measure 18 1/2 (18 1/2, 19, 19) inches from the cast-on edge before you work the round to hold off the underarm stitches. I send you an email about this as well. I do hop that’s okay. Please let us know if you have any questions! Thanks again for writing to us.
Best,
Laura
I would love to make this in a lighter weight yarn – dk or aran – any tips to help me?
Love your colour choices.
Fiona
Hi Fiona,
Thanks for your interest in this pattern! Unfortunately we do not have the resources to customize patterns. I suggest you base your pattern off our Classic Hemmed Crewneck in Purl Soho Flax Down. I provided a link below. This pattern is a great basic shape that can be modified for customization based on your needs and is similarly constructed. If you are up for a little math, I think this would be a great start!
https://www.purlsoho.com/patterns/knitting/classic-hemmed-crewneck-pattern.html
Best,
Adam
Hi, I signed up and I was told that I’d get a free pattern. I didn’t receive it so I’m confused… What did I miss?
Hey, KaTie!
Thank you for writing in! I am sorry to hear that you didn’t get your free pattern! Please send us an email at [email protected]. Let us know which pattern you’d like and we’ll send it over!
Best,
Kumeko
Hi, I’m allergic to wool. What cotton or acrylic yarns would make good substitutes for your recommended yarn? Thank you, Laura
Hi Laura,
Thank you for writing in. Unfortunately we don’t sell any plant fiber yarns that are thick enough for this pattern, but I do have some suggestions. You could certainly double up the Blue Sky Skinny Cotton and knit the sweater on an 11. You might have to play around with the needle size and gauge. Let me know how it goes if you decide to do it!
-Adam
Thanks, Adam!
Hi! If i want to make it for a guy what adjustments i need to make?
Hi Anel,
Thanks for writing in! Given that this sweater does not have bust shaping, the main adjustment that I would suggest would be to perhaps knit the body a little longer. I would recommend measuring a sweater that the recipient likes the fit of and knitting the body to that length!
I hope that this helps!
Cassy
I started this sweater 2 years ago but never completed it …. now I really want to finish it but I seem to not be able to attach the sleeves correctly – help!
The pattern says that I should start with the Stich to the right of the Stiches on hold ….. would that mean I knit one, then basically skip the Stiches on the holder and then continue?
I feel like I would start attaching by knitting the first Stich on the left
Sorry!
Hi Julia,
Thanks for the question. When you end up at the stitches on hold for the body I’d match the held stitches on the sleeve with the ones on the body. Next, you’ll want to put your sleeve stitches on a circular needle. From here you’ll use the working yarn coming from your body to knit across the sleeve, making sure that your stitches on hold are still facing each other. After you finish knitting the sleeve you’ll simply join for the other side of the body and repeat for the second sleeve. I hope this clears everything up!
All the best,
Adam
Hi, I would like to knit this sweater. Is the chest circumference measurement the actual measurement of the finished sweater or the measurement of the body you want the sweater to fit? I would like it to be a bit loose fitting like in the pictures and my chest circumference measures 36″. So do I knit the 36″ size – or size up for some room? Thanks!
-Claire
Hi Claire,
Thank you for your message! Great question! In this pattern, we list the finish chest circumferences. The sweater is intended to be made with 2-6 inches of positive ease. That is to say that you would take the measurement of the fullest part of your bust and add 2-6 inches and choose the size with the closest measurement. For example, if your bust is 39 inches, your measurement would be 41-45 inches. You would choose the 44 inch size!
I hope that this helps!
Cassy
Hi, I’m trying to decide whether I should purchase the kid or adult pattern to knit this sweater for a 12 year old, since the pattern’s largest size for kids is a 10. She is approximately 5’1, and usually wears a kid size 12. However, if the sizing runs big, she sometimes wears size 10. Please help! Thanks!
Hi Cynthia,
Thanks for writing in! The best way to decide is to measure the fullest part of the recipient’s chest. The sweater is meant to be worn with 3-4 inches of positive ease. So, if your child’s chest measurement is 29″, 29+3 = 32″. I would select the largest size of the child pattern as it is a 32. If your child’s chest measures 31, 31+4= 35. I would select eh smallest adult size as it is a 36.
I hope that this clears things up!
Cassy
I just bought the salt and pepper super soft merino and want to make a simple turtleneck sweater. Can I take the simple fir isle and adjust it to a turtleneck?
Hello Deborah,
Thank you for reaching out! You could certainly try this out. In theory you could just continue the neck bank to make it into a turtle neck. The only thing you might have to adjust is adding in a couple of decreases to make the neck less wide. You will have to do a bit of experimenting, but it shouldn’t be to complicated.
Happy knitting!
-Marilla
I am now at the yoke with the fourth row decrease. There are 4 markers and the instructions say to knit two together and the ssk at the next marker and continue this till the end of the round. However, it says I would have decreased 8 inches. But there are only four markers. What am I missing?
Hi Deborah,
Thanks for writing in! For this row, in each section before slipping a marker, you will be k2tog and ssk. This will decrease by 2 stitches so with 4 markers and 4 sections when you decrease 2 stitches per section, this will add up to a total of 8 stitches decreased in the row!
I hope that this clears things up!
Cassy
Hi
Can you recommend any other (easy) sweater patterns for the super soft merino yarn?
Thank you!
I just bought 10 skeins 🙂
Hi Autumn,
Thanks for writing in! I am afraid that this is the only sweater that we have for Super Soft Merino. We do have a large variety of other projects that use this lovely yarn and they can all be found here: https://www.purlsoho.com/create/tag/purl-sohos-super-soft-merino/ You might try using Super Soft Merino for Jen Geigly’s Midnight sweater, found in her book Luna. Originally knit in our Shepherdess Alpaca, the gauge should work for Super Soft Merino.
I hope that this helps!
Cassy
After round 10, it says to repeat rounds 3-10 two more times (for a small). My question is that rounds 5 and 7 have me repeat the step four times each… I am on my last ball of yarn! This doesn’t seem right. Is it? Thanks!
Hi Rebecca,
Thanks for writing in! This is correct. On rounds 5 and 7, you will repeat the steps 4 times each. However, each time you get to these rounds, you will be working with less stitches than the previous time that you worked the them as you decrease on rounds 4 and 6. That is to say that each successive repeat will be over less stitches and use less yarn. As to the amount of yarn that you have left, I am not sure at what point in the pattern we started with our last skein of yarn as we knit the original so long ago. We do pad our yardages by about 10% to allow for slight differences in personal gauge. However, especially with projects using bulkier yarn, being off by as little as a 1/2 stitch over 4 inches can result in using more or less yarn!
I hope that this helps!
Cassy
I have completed knitting 13 inches of the body.After knitting 54 stitches, what do you mean by placing the previous 5 stitches on a holder and then repeat from the * once more?
Thank you for your help.
Hello Jule,
Thank you for reaching out! When the pattern says to “place previous 5 stitches on a stitch holder” It means that you will be placing the 5 stitches that you most recently knit on a holder. You then repeat this section from* so you will K54 place previous 5 stitches on a stitch holder. I hope this helps and let us know if you have any further questions!
Happy knitting, \
Marilla
Hello,
I would like the women’s pattern but when I add to my basket it’s showing as being for toddlers and kids – is this an error or does the pattern include the women’s sizes?
Many thanks, Eimear
Hi Eimear,
Thanks for reaching out! We have two version of this pattern, one for Toddlers + Kids and the other for Women. You can select which one to purchase using the drop-down menu at the top of the product page!
I hope that helps!
Julianna