Seamless knits

I really enjoy knitting jumpers but I have always been really bad at sewing them up afterwards so now I am a little obsessed with seamless knitting, I am even trying to convert a pieced jumper pattern into a seamless one - blog post to follow if successful!! 

Here are a selection of the seamless projects I have completed so far.

Talia waistcoat

This was my first experience of seamless knitting and I love this jumper. I can't wait for the autumn to start wearing it again. The pattern is available for free from Ravelry and it is really easy and flattering knit. I made mine in an aran weight wool blend but it would work in cottons too. It comes up slightly short so if you like longer sweaters definitely add a few inches to the bottom. You knit the sweater from the bottom up and it includes the button bands so no picking up stitches along the front edge to add to the neatness. 

Baileys Irish Cream

I fell in love with this pattern when I saw it on Ravelry - so much so that I even paid for it, I usually look for the free patterns! It is designed by Thea Coleman and published in Baby Cocktails. The sleeves are knit first and then added to the body at the arm holes. There are a lot of stitches at this point but the raglan decreasing soon sorts that out! I chose a DK 100% cotton in cream from Patons to make this sweater and it has come out quite heavy almost jacket like but I still love wearing it with jeans. The lace pattern at the front is really simple but looks lovely when blocked - this is the first pattern I have bothered to block and will always do so in future it makes a real difference. Because the sleeves are knit in the round from cuff upwards its easy to alter the increasing to suit your arms to get the fit exactly right - I just kept trying it on as I went and did the increases as needed. I would do the button holes differently next time as they are too loose to keep in closed, however, I don't usually wear cardigans done up so the buttons are more decorative than anything.

Allegra

This was fun cardigan to knit although it isn't truly seamless, it is worked in one piece so there is no joining in of sleeves which is usually my biggest weak spot! The wool I used was a DK cotton from Drops design. The wool splits a bit as you use it but it is still a go-to yarn for a lot of my projects (you'll see if you continue to read!) The pattern is free by Margaret Willson and very simple to follow. Basically you cast on at the right sleeve, increase to the under arm, cast on for the from and back, do some casting off to make the front opening and then reverse for the other side. The only headache for me was working out the decreases on the left sleeve so that it matched the right - I'm sure if I had just followed the pattern exactly it would have worked out but I couldn't see it in my mind so did some complicated doodling! Turned out OK in the end, although some days I feel like the roman stitch on the sleeves makes me feel like a hedgehog - on those crazy days it just goes back in the cupboard.

Sweet as Candy

An actual Drops design pattern to use Drops wool - the beautiful and super soft 100% wool, Karisma DK. It was my first attempt at colour work and I really enjoyed the adventure apart from weaving in all the ends afterwards. Keeping the tension right in the yoke took a bit of adjusting as this was my first colour work project and at first I was pulling the wool too tight. However, I am really pleased with final result and finished garment came out at a nice weight for a short sleeved cardigan to wear over long sleeved tops. I did modify the button band to a moss stitch rather than garter stitch and used the tulip buttonhole method to make really neat fitting holes I even found some colourful buttons to match the colours in the cardigan in my stash!

Crocheted Cardigan

I have crocheted several blankets and flat pieces however a cardigan was not something I had thought to try. This pattern was another Ravelry find by Milobo although the link to the pattern doesn't work anymore she gave instructions for making it in a small size that you can the modify to make it bigger or smaller I guess. Since the pattern is worked from the top down you can also keep trying it on over your shoulders until you get the desired effect. I made this in some more Drops design DK cotton light although the splitting of the strands did make crocheting slightly more challenging than knitting with the wool I still really like this wool. The cardigan is worked in double and single crochets you just have to be careful when turning for each row that you don't work an extra stitch and therefore inadvertently increase each row (personal experience!) I like the effect of the jacket and I enjoyed crocheting it rather than knitting for a change - I have another pattern to try on my project pile now.


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