Knitting for Olive – Astrid Sweater – Knitting Kit
Designed by Pernille Larsen – Knitting for Olive
Astrid is a plain stocking stitch sweater with a curved hem and a split at each side, which sounds like a small detail and is actually the thing that makes it. The hem sits away from the body instead of gripping it, and the splits let it move. It is the sort of sweater that gets worn until it wears out.
It is worked from the bottom up. You begin with the two lower edges back and forth, then join them onto one needle and carry on in the round up to the underarms. There the work divides and the front and back are finished separately, flat. Stitches are then picked up for each sleeve, which is worked in the round from the top down. Ribbed edges that echo the hem finish the neckline and both cuffs.
It is knitted with one strand of Knitting for Olive Merino held together with one strand of Soft Silk Mohair throughout. The merino carries the stitch definition and keeps the fabric from going shapeless; the mohair adds warmth, a soft halo and a depth of colour that a single yarn cannot give you. Held together they knit at 20 stitches to 10 cm on 4.5 mm needles.
Skill Level: Intermediate ★★★
Plain stocking stitch, no chart and no colourwork, so the knitting itself is undemanding. What makes it intermediate is the construction: you move between working flat and working in the round more than once, join the two hem pieces onto a single needle, divide at the underarms, then pick up and work each sleeve in the round from the top down. None of that is difficult on its own, but you do need to keep track of where you are. The generous fit means gauge is forgiving, which takes a lot of the pressure off.
Sizes: XS (S, M, L, XL, 2XL, 3XL, 4XL, 5XL). Designed with a good deal of positive ease; please read Choosing your size below before you pick.
Gauge: 20 stitches and 29 rows = 10 cm (4") in stocking stitch on 4.5 mm / US7 needles, measured after blocking, with one strand of Merino and one strand of Soft Silk Mohair held together.
The Kit Includes
- Knitting for Olive Merino in your chosen colourway, in the quantity for your size
- Knitting for Olive Soft Silk Mohair in the matching colourway, in the quantity for your size
- Printed pattern in English
You'll Also Need
- 3.5 mm / US4 circular needle, 40 cm and 80 cm
- 4.5 mm / US7 circular needle, 40 cm and 80 cm
- Double-pointed needles or 30 cm circulars in both sizes, for the lower sleeves and cuffs
- Stitch markers
- Waste yarn, stitch holders or a spare cable
A note on the needles
Both sizes in two lengths, because the sweater is worked at very different circumferences. The body goes round on the longer needle: 80 cm suits most sizes, and 100 cm is more comfortable at the top of the range where the finished chest reaches 152 cm. The neckband and the tops of the sleeves want a 40 cm needle or the magic loop method. The sleeves are worked top down and decrease as they go, so by the time you reach the cuff there are too few stitches for even a 40 cm cable; you will need to move to double-pointed needles or a 30 cm circular to finish them. The smaller needle size is for the ribbed hem, cuffs and neckline, the larger one for everything else.
Choosing your size
Astrid is designed with a good deal of positive ease. A size XS finishes at 104 cm around the chest and is intended to fit a chest of 76 to 83 cm, so the sweater is roughly 25 cm bigger than the body inside it. Choose from the to fit chest circumference column in the size table rather than the finished measurement, or you will end up with something several sizes too large. If you prefer a closer fit than the photographs show, sizing down one band is a reasonable thing to do.
Techniques used
- Knitting and purling, flat and in the round
- Joining two pieces onto one needle
- Working a curved hem with side splits
- Dividing for front and back
- Picking up stitches for the sleeves
- Working sleeves in the round from the top down
- Working on double-pointed needles or a short circular
- Ribbing at hem, cuffs and neck
- Holding two yarns together
Why You'll Love It
- A plain sweater is the one you actually wear. No pattern to get bored of, nothing that dates.
- The merino and mohair pairing gives real warmth without weight, and a colour with depth to it that a solid yarn cannot match.
- The curved hem and side splits mean it hangs properly rather than clinging at the hip.
- Nine sizes from XS to 5XL, and enough positive ease that you are not fighting your gauge to get a fit.
- The right two yarns in the right quantities for your size, so there is no working out how many balls of each to buy.