Mary Ann Raglan

Inspired by attire worn by "Mary Ann" from Gilligan's Island.

Hand knit sweater pattern by Lucia Liljegren, The Knitting Fiend.

AKA: Seamless raglan sweater, hand knit top down.  Knitting completed April 15, 2005. (Note: I will be refining this code to knit a full size sweater. This sweater captures all the "hard part" of calculating a sweater top down.  In a month or so, I'll have the button front raglan knit top down.)

If you like raglan sweaters, you'll probably want to see my Husband Sweater, or Ball Game Sweater, which which are knit from the bottom up. Other sweater styles are illustrated at my sweater pattern index page.  Get updates about my new patterns and generators at The Knitting Fiend blog. 
needs buttons
Here is a list of features available with this generator:
  • The toggles are preset for the style and size shown.  
  • As always, you enter your stitch and row gauge.  You can knit out of any yarn weight, from fingering to chunky.
  • Shape: Raglan bolero pull over knit top to bottom.
  • Sleeves: These sleeves are 1 row of stockinette and a few rows of garter stitch. I don't let you change that yet.
  • Length: I let you change the length, but I strongly advise not making this longer than waist length using this code.
  • Neck: V neck, just slightly less deep than the armholes.
  • The yarn estimator is set to stockinette. You can change that to Broken Rib Stitch. 
  • The size is set to Woman's size 8. You can change that to Women's 2-22
  • Garter stitch cuffs and hem.
  • It's free. Of course, you can donate to maintain the site.
  • Click this pop up pattern button to get your pattern. (I advise clicking it now. Really.)
  • If the window doesn't pop up, scroll to the bottom and read the final instructions about pop-up windows.
  • This pattern generator is a program that creates a pattern.  If you want to customize for your size, your yarn or anything else, click the go-away box on the pattern window that popped up. Then, scroll down, and make changes. Then click any the pop-up window button you find on this page. opening. That will create your customized pattern.
If you've used my pattern generators, you know you can get directions in nearly any gauge and use the needle diameter you think is appropriate. But, some of you may want to imitate my sweater. Here is what I used for the sweater illustrated on this page:
  • 4 100 gram skeins of Sinfonia mercerized cotton, knit double stranded.  I bought mine at Hobby-Lobby in Naperville.  I knit mine double stranded with size 9 needles and got a gauge of about 3.5 stitches per inch.  It shrunk approximately 8% when I washed it; so do remember to measure before and after you wash your swatch.
  • Denise circular needles with size 9 tips attached for main stitch and size 7 for trim.  This let me change the length of the cable.  It needs to be very long when you put all the stitches on the yoke; smaller is better when you knit the top of the sleeves.
  • Tapestry needle to weave in ends.
  • A crochet hook to fix occasional mistakes.
  • Women's size 8.
 Blog pages discussing aspects of this sweater.  They are tutorials for beginners working their first top down raglan:
  • Using yarn double stranded.  Using yarn double stranded often saves money because you have more yarns to select from.
  • Paired increases for a raglan; this shows how to work the 'M1' increases so the raglan line is decorative and beautiful.
  • Dividing for the body; this just shows how the sleeve stitches are put on strings.
  • Increasing stitches at the underarm.  If you do it this way, it's really easy, and you don't need to seam later.
  • Decreasing evenly across rows.  (This is a calculator.  You will probably want to decrease stitches this at the hem.)
  • Short rows at the hem of the sweater.  I knit these to make the back longer than the front. Busty gals can do the opposite and make the front longer than the back.
  • Knitting i-cord (idiot cord).
Lucia

Donation Requested

If you like and use my patterns, consider donating so I can maintain the site, buy yarn and make more generators. (I may also use it for chocolate.)

The Pattern Generator

Enter your specifications to create your pattern. Just type over my numbers, the directions will automatically change.  After reviewing your entry, click "pop up pattern" below.  Your full pattern will appear.

Enter Your Swatch Data
Knit a swatch in the stitch pattern you plan to use for the body of the sweater. Measure the length and width both before and after washing the swatch, and enter them here.

I don't force you knit a ribbing swatch or garter stitch swatch; I estimate the gauge based on the stockinette swatch.  However, I discuss the ribbing at the blog.
Enter number of rows and stitches knit in stockinette.
stitches by
  rows. 		swatch
Enter dimensions measured after washing and blocking.
These are used to calculate the number or rows and stitches required to knit the sweater.

 inches wide by
  inches long (or tall).
If this yarn shrinks (or grows) after washing and blocking, select "different" in the pull down menu here:  . 
If it doesn't shrink or grow, toggle "same".  (If you didn't measure before washing, click the "same" but you'll need to count rows when you knit.)  

If you picked "different", enter  dimensions measured before washing and blocking in the boxes to the right.
 inches wide  by
  inches long (or tall).
The program has calculated the gauge of your swatch after washing and blocking.  This is shown to the right.
stitches/inch and
rows/inch.
Select stitch multiple:
The program has to round when calculating the number of stitches to cast on. It can either round to make the number of stitches across then neck even or odd.  This matters if you need to center a fancy stitch pattern.
  • Select "odd" if you want the number of neck stitches to be odd. (I recommend this if you knit the sweater is broken rib.  )
  • Select "even" if you want the number of neck stitches to be even.
  • If you are knitting in stockinette, you probably don't care, toggle that for best fit.




Select stitch type for yarn estimate:
So far, I only have data for two stitch types.  If you use a different stitch type, you'll need to use your judgment to guess if the stitch uses more or less yarn than the ones I have tested.



Pick the sweater size.

Pull down to select the size range, then use the appropriate menu below.  The program will recommend values for your sweater.
You may also select 'custom' within any size range. If you want to customize, I suggest you first pick the size that fits best, for example "Men's 42". Let the form fill the boxes; then go through the form and set the toggles to the value you want. That will fill in all my recommended values for that size and style.  Afterwards, scroll back up,  toggle back to 'custom' and modify the body or sweater measurements you wish to modify.  

 If you are customizing, you can find handy size information here: Women and Men's, children & teens.
Pull down size range to the right:  
After you select the range to the right, pull down the size from the appropriate menu below.
 Misses's size:
According to the standards table, the a person who wears the currently selected size is about inches tall and weighs about lbs.
(If the boxes say '??' it means the standards table didn't suggest the height and weight for the size you selected.)

Schematic

raglan schematicRefer to the schematic for the basic sweater dimensions.  Note  that when the sleeve is knit and worn,  the top of the sleeve contributes to the sleeve length and yoke depth.  The knitted lengths are a bit shorter.  The values in the design boxes here correspond to the longer lengths as worn.

This is a generic schematic. The bolero is very short; otherwise, it's just a generic raglan. (I also forgot to add the V neck!)

Sweater Design Data.

Body
Enter the chest circumference of the sweater.
For a typical sweater should equal the wearer's chest size plus 1 to 4 inches.
The default for the bolero is about 1.5" smaller than for a normal raglan, but if you want something as tight as a boob holder, pick a size that gives about 1" of ease or less.
 inches.
Enter the Total Length of the sweater including garter stitch trim at hem:
Sweater length is a matter of taste and current fashion. 		inches.
Stitch type for trim sweater:  This sweater has garter stitch trim.

Enter the depth of the trim and decide if you want the trim snug. If you select snug, the instructions the trim will have approximately 10% fewer stitches for the ribbing compared to the body of the sweater.  Super snug makes the trim have 20% fewer stitches than the body of the sweater. I recommend this for the bolero; the trim draws the body in, which looks better.
inches deep and

Enter the Raglan Armhole Depth:
The absolute minimum value for the depth is equal to 1/2 the circumference of the wearer's upper arm plus another inch to account for the shoulders.  Other than that, you can adjust.
 inches.
Neck Width before adding any trim or button band neck trim:
 inches.


Design Your Sleeves
Sleeve Circumference: Enter your choice to right. 
Based on the current chest dimension and neck width, the minimum sleeve circumference is:  inches. If you need a narrower sleeve, you must either make the chest smaller or the neck wider. (Or wait for me to code a generator with shoulder shaping.)
 inches
Select whether you want the trim on the sleeve to be snug. (I recommend snug for the bolero.)
Back neck depth. (For information only.)
This is calculated based on the chest dimension, the sleeve dimension and the neck width. 

inches.
Front neck depth. I don't let you make this more shallow than the back neck depth or deeper than the armhole depth.
inches

Get your pattern:


Copyright Lucia Liljegren 2005