The Pattern Generator

Do knit a swatch.  The gauge you enter here, and the gauge you knit your sweater with must match, or  your sweater won't fit.  Poor fit problems are more often caused by failing to achieve gauge, rather than not knowing your size.
Enter gauge knit in stockinette.	stitches by rows.
Enter dimension measured when knitting is just taken off needles-- before washing or blocking.	inches wide by inches tall
Enter dimensions measured after washing and blocking. (If the dimension doesn't change when you wash and block the swatch, pull "same" below.) samedifferent	inches wide by inches tall.
This is calculated based on the dimensions after blocking.	stitches/inch and rows/inch.
Enter the needle diameter you used to knit your swatch.	Size needles mm.

Enter Sweater Design Data.

Design Your Sweater Shape -- body

Pick a misses dress size, and the program will recommend values for all the boxes below.  You can also pick "custom" and modify these to your liking.  (If you pick custom, you should overwrite my values. If you pick a standard size, you can't.  Be certain to click outside the box or hit return after entering values.) If you are customizing, or if you only know the wearer's claimed dress size, you can find handy size information here: Women and Men's, children & teens.	Misses's size: custom4681012141618202218" doll
Enter the chest circumference of the sweater. This should equal the wearer's chest size plus 1 to 4 inches.	inches.
Enter the Shoulder width of the sweater. Note: This can only be modified by changing the chest dimension. For this style, it will be 1/2 the chest width.	inches.
Enter the Total Length of the sweater: Sweater length is a matter of taste and current fashion. When I knit this sweater for myself, I plan to use used 23" which hits me about 7" below my waist and a bit high on my hips.	inches.
Enter the Armhole Depth for the sweater: For this sweater, the armhole depth is equal to half the sleeve circumference.  The absolute minimum value for the depth is equal to 1/2 the circumference of the wearer's upper arm measured over the clothes they plan to wear plus an 1".  Most people want even deeper armholes.	inches.
Enter the Shoulder Slope for the sweater: This affects the shoulder shaping. It is a very, very difficult quantity to measure.  I advise making it 1/2" for an adult with very, very square shoulders (or if you like shoulder pads). Make it 2" if  your shoulders slope a lot.  If I were knitting for myself, I would use a value of 1.2" for my sweater with drop sleeves.	inches.
Neck Width before adding the neck trim:	inches.

The Pattern

Estimated Yarn Requirements:

Equipment:

• 1 set of  needles in a diameter to achieve the gauge you entered for your swatch; these need to be long enough to hold the stitches for the side of the sweater.  They can be circular or straight needles.
• Optional: 1 set of needles 1 diameter size smaller to knit garter stitch.
  
• 1 circular needle, or a set of double point needles, to knit the sleeves. For the doll sweater I used double point needles, because her arms are so tiny. For my sweater, I will use a circular needle until the work gets to small, then I will switch to double pointed needles near the cuffs.
  
• Some needles to pick up stitches for the trim at the  neck and hem. You can probably make do with the set you have, but it's easier if you have an extra set with a smaller diameter.
• A tapestry needle to weave in ends.
• Some crochet cotton.
• Something to mark rows. I use safety pins, or thread crochet cotton through rows to mark.
  

Abbreviations:

Instructions

1. Work a cheater's provisional cast on.   (I've posted illustrations of this technique at this blog article for discussion and photos. )
   
1. With some type of waste yarn, cast on  stitches.  Knit 1 row. Break  yarn. Attach slippery yarn with thickness similar to sweater yarn. (Like crochet cotton used double or triple, or some sort of smooth acrylic.)  Break yarn.
2. Change to sweater yarn.  You are going to work in stockinette. 
   
1. To avoid having an two extra end to weave in at this critical point in the knitting-- right on the front of your sweater -- I advise winding off  enough yarn for the number of rows  indicated in step 12 a plus the reduction row plus the bind off,  don't break, but tie it in a little bow and leaving that dangling.  Then begin the knitting with yarn at that point.  Later, you can just pick this yarn up and work the trim.   (Don't worry if you wind off a bit too much, you can use that to sew the shoulders! ) This is especially useful if you use variegated yarn, since the color change pattern will remain consistent.
2. Row 1: With  main  yarn, knit across row. ( I will refer to the bottom of this row as the cast on.  "length from cast on" refers to the base of this row. )
   
3. Row 2: purl all stitches.
   
3. Work even in stockinette until work measures inches from waste yarn. ending with a purl row. (Note:  If you entered your row gauge precisely, you work approximately   rows from cast on when you reach this length. Regardless, knit as close as possible to the correct length, but end with a purl row.   Hang a marker in the middle of the row to permit measuring later and record the number or rows worked since the beginning of step 3 here  . The number in the box must be an even number for the rest of the directions to work out. )
   
4. Shape neck: Mark previous row.  Knit side must be facing you. 
   
1. Do the following  times** Row 1: Increase 1 stitch, knit across row.  Row b: Purl back.**
   
2. Use backward loop method to increase 2 stitches, knit across row. (Hang a marker on this row.  The edge of this row is on the shoulder seam.)
   
3. There are now stitches on the needle.
   
5. Shape shoulders.  Mark previous row.  Purl side is facing.
   
1. Row 1:  Work rows.
   
2. Do the following  times:  Knit side facing, SSK then work rows, counting this one. 
   
3. Do the following  times:  Knit side facing, SSK then work  rows, counting this one.
   
4. Knit side facing, SSK, then work straight until total length is inches from cast on ending knit side facing.  (Probably  more rows, but if necessary,  knit extra to make sure the length is sufficiently long.  Note the number of rows you actually worked here_____; subtract 1 enter in box .  When you mirror, work the number of rows you actually worked. )
5. There are now  stitches on the needle.
   
6. Create armhole: Mark previous row.  Knit side facing. 
   
1. Row 1: Knit across row.
   
2. You're at the underarm, you are now beginning to mirror the shaping. 
   

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3. Row 2:  Purl  stitches.  Attach crochet cotton and purl  remaining stitches onto crochet cotton.  Pull a long tail; break yarn. Slip stitches on crochet cotton back to empty needle.  Pick up sweater yarn and purl stitches on crochet cotton until you reach the end of the row.
   
7. Mirror previous shoulder shaping (step 5).  This means work in reverse order, but increasing rather than decreasing stitches at the shoulder edge instead of decreasing.  That is, call the first row 1, begin knit side facing:
1. Row 1: Work the number of rows you noted the box in 5d . On next row, begin purl side facing; work across until only 1 stitch remains. M1 stitch, p1. (You've increased a stitch.).
   
2. Mirror 5c:  Do the following  times:  Knit side facing; work  rows; purl side facing; purl across until only 1 stitch remains, M1, p1. 
3. Mirror 5b: Do the following  times:  Knit side facing; work rows, purl side facing; purl across until only 1 stitch remains, M1, k1. 
4. Mirror 5a: Work rows.
8. Mirror neck shaping in step 4.  This means:
   
1. Row 1: Purl this row. Slip last stitch.  Turn, SSK. Slip stitch on right needle back to left needle. SSK again.  (This mirrors 4b as best as possible.)
   
2. Do the following  times** Row a: Knit across row.  Row b: Purl back until only two remain, p2 together.**
9. Work to center back.
1. Row 1: Begin knit side facing; work even until piece measures inches from cast on. (This should require approximately more rows than the number you worked in step 3a. Write down number of rows you knit since starting 9a here: .  This can be even or odd.)
   
2. You have reached the center back.   Fold the sweater along the crochet cotton, and verify that the front and back are the same width. (The picture shows the sweater; I forgot to snap a photo when I knit the doll's sweater.  Your sweater will not have that cut out area at the armhole; at this point, it will look a lot like a rectangle with just a little shaping at the neck and shoulders.  By the way, I pinned the edges down. They will curl.   )
3. This is the second mirror!
   

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10. Mirror all shaping. Beginners: Believe it or not, many patterns would just stop here-- or they'd use the term "reverse shaping".  This saves paper.   Having read numerous posts on email lists, it seems large number of knitters don't understand. By the way, if you are using thick yarn, row counts are useful for making sure the sections are exactly the same length.  So, here's what you do:
    
1. Mark center back.  That's the top of the previous row, and the bottom of the next one. Note: many measurements are roughly   inches longer from the measurements from the cast on. This is because you are going to add a trim to the cast on last.
   
2. Row 1: Work number of rows you wrote down in  step 9a. Work should measure   inches from center back.
   
3. Begin with knit side facing. Work exactly as step 4. (Shapes neck.)
4. Repeat step 5. (Shapes shoulder.) When you knit the last row, work should measure inches from center back.
5. Repeat 6. (Armhole).  
6. Repeat 7 by row count, not length. (Shoulder).
7. Repeat 8 by row count, not length. (Shapes neck.)
8. Knit even, but work the number of rows you noted in the box in step 3: , or if you are using lengths, until work measures  inches from center back.
11. Reduce stitches across row as follows: Begin knit side facing.
    
1. Knit stitches,
   
2. **k2tog knit stitches ** times,
3. **k2tog knit stitches ** times,  
4. **k2tog knit stitches ** times,
   
5. k2tog  knit stitches.
6. There should be stitches on the needle. )
12. Garter stitch trim.  Optional: You may wish to use a smaller diameter needle for the trim.
    
1. Work rows, knitting all stitches in all rows. (garter stitch.)
   
2. SSK, put stitch back on left needle, repeat, to bind off across row. 
   
13. Turn work over. Pick up garment stitches at cast on edge with  a needle.  (See blog for pictures of picking up stitches from cheaters cast on.)  Pull out crochet cotton and throw out waste yarn. There will be stitches on the needle.  Attach garment yarn on the same side where the yarn is dangling. The purl side will be facing you.  Work a reduction row as follows:
    
1. Purl stitches,
   
2. **p2tog, purl stitches ** times,
3. **p2tog, purl stitches ** times,  
4. **p2tog, purl stitches ** times,
5. p2tog,  purl stitches.
14. Trim:
1. Work garter stitch-- purling all rows-- for rows.
2. Bind off in purl. (**p2 tog, slip stitch on right needle to left needle**, repeat across row.)
   
3. Before anchoring last stitch and cutting the yarn, compare the trim knit in all purl to the trim knit in all knit.  If it is obviously looser or tighter, rip back the garter stitch, and change needles to adjust. (My purling is looser than my knitting.)
   
15. For reference the body of the sweater with garter stitch trim added has roughly stitches; if knit in stockinette it is expected to use  yds of yarn.
    

Sleeve:

Trim.

1. Hem: Pick up about stitches at hem, distributing evenly. (It's ok to be off a few. Your goal is to have a trim that doesn't draw in or pull out the hem.  For reference, the hem is approximately   rows long. Usually, you'll find you need to pick up about 5 stitches every 9 to 10 rows. ) Attach yarn at an edge. If you attached with knit side facing,  work rows in garter stitch knitting all rows, bind off. (If you begin knitting with purl side facing work garter stitch in purl. Why? Since you are picking up a side edge of stockinette, beginning with a knit row when the knit side is facing counter the rolling better than beginning with a purl row.)
   
2. Pick up stitches at neck edge, distributing evenly.  Work    rows garter stitch, bind off.
3. Decide where you want to attach the ties.  Using crochet hook, attach yarn from the front side, make a chain the length you like. Break yarn, anchor and tidy loose ends.  Make a second tie.
4. Remove all markers.  Weave in all loose ends, block as recommended by yarn manufacturer, fold over neck line. 
5. Take a photograph of yourself wearing the sweater, blog about it and send me the link!  Or send me a donation. Or email me a picture and let me blog about it. Or...
   

1. The numbers in the three boxes for the sweater in the first row of the table above.
2. The weight of the sweater you actually knit. (Weigh it at the post office, or any place reliable. Send the data in grams, ounces, kg, lb. etc.  You can use any units provided you tell me which you use.  )
   
3. The yardage and weight of one skein or cone of your yarn. (You can read this on the ball band. Send me the yardage in meters or yards and the weight.  If you list the brand of yarn, that would be nice too.  If it's hand spun,  let me know; it's possible hand spinners don't know their yardage as well as manufacturers or vice versa.)
   
4. Tell me if your sweater was knit in stockinette. (If you decided to substitute another stitch, tell me what the stitch. I'll compare outcomes.)
5. Tell me the brand of yarn, or yarn "type".  "I don't know" is an acceptable answer.  I just want to keep track of whether the yarn is "plain old ordinary smooth yarn", "boucle", "ribbon" etc. just in case that makes a difference.