Hello! Kate here. It’s time for another release from the Bold Beginner Knits collection – the Upstream pullover.
Seamless yoked pullovers are a great first sweater project for a beginner knitter to tackle, and I knew I wanted to include one in this collection. And loving the muted marl-y palette of Àrd-Thìr, I was keen for the yoke to combine a few shades. But I also knew that stranded colourwork can be tricky and frustrating for a beginner: because of issues with tension and technique it can be difficult to jump right in with a large project like a sweater, and shaping a circular yoke for the first time is enough to cope with without having to manage two yarns simultaneously.
Slipped stitches were the answer! This intriguing pattern is actually just a series of basic stripes, in which slipped stitches (when held at the front of the work) create an undulating effect which travels, in highly satisfying waves, around the yoke. When working the pattern, only one shade is ever in use.
This is one of those motifs where just doing something really simple lends the fabric an arresting visual appearance that makes the design appear much more complicated than it is. It also has an interestingly sculptural quality – without appearing fussy or messy (which can occasionally be the case with texture / colour combinations). I fell head over heels for this super-simple pattern the instant I swatched it!
I knew I’d got things right after I showed my swatch to Jane. The first thing she said was “OOO”, the second was that the combination of texture and colour in the slipped-stitch pattern reminded her of geology (from which she often draws inspiration in her art), and the third was “can I really knit that?” Yes, Jane, you really can!
So if you are a bold beginner knitter like Jane: if you can knit in the round, change yarns, and work stripes, you can make this sweater.
But of course, you can knit this pullover what kind of knitter you are. I personally find this pattern incredibly addictive to knit, as well as fascinating to look at. That stitch pattern just somehow says knit me!
And we now have Upstream kits in the KDD shop if you’d like to do just that!
If you have pre-ordered Bold Beginner Knits, you will have received a message letting you know that the Upstream pattern has been added to your Ravelry library.
If you haven’t pre-ordered the collection (but would like to) you can do so here (you’ll receive all 6 patterns as PDFs as they are released, plus a print copy of the book, shipped to any address worldwide, for just £15.00)
After placing an order, you’ll receive message with a code, allowing you to add the Bold Beginner Knits downloads to your Ravelry library. Please ensure you enter your code from the ebook page here.
I’ll be back tomorrow with a wee tutorial to illustrate a particular pattern instruction that can sometimes baffle beginner sweater knitters: “join body and sleeves into yoke”
Links:
Preorder Bold Beginner Knits
Bold Beginner knits ebook
Upstream single pattern download
Upstream kit to knit
Hi Kate, I bought Bold Beginners and can’t wait to knit Upstream, but how do I know what thickness of yarn to use? The pattern says 65 metres pr 100 gram but that doesn’t give me thickness as such.
Thanks so much :-)
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Hi Gro – I’d say any aran or heavy-worsted weight yarn would work for this pattern
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Super cute and impressive! The sweater looks very good on you.
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WOW, that is one ingenious stitch pattern.
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I love this design. I do have to admit- I would prefer it were in a top down design. Just my knitting preference.
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Love that dropped stitch wave
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So beautyful
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I really love this
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very beautiful!
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This is just so beautiful.
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That is just so perfect!
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Omg! I haven’t tried color work because I was timid. Now I think I have the confidence to try it! This will be my first attempt. Love the entire ensemble that Jane is wearing!
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WOW just gorgeous.
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That is SO SO clever! so simple yet so intriguing . Nice.
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This is a lovely sweater, as always. I have knit three others of your pullovers, and have become curious to know why you do not design them to be knit top-down. By knitting the body from the bottom up, and the sleeves from the bottom up, it is much harder to get the lengths exactly right, and it is also very fiddle to join all three pieces together. Even with good swatches, row gauges can be a bit unpredictable – it’s one thing to count your row gauge on a swatch; it’s another altogether when you have the full weight of an entire sweater being impacted by gravity. And sometimes, it’s just nice to be able to tweak the fit, even down the road after you have worn it for a little while. That is much easier to do when a sweater is knit top down. Is there a compelling reason for always starting bottom up?
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I have designed several top-down garments – indeed there is one included in this collection – but confess I do love the satisfaction of knitting a bottom-up yoke. As a designer, I also feel there’s something gained from the range of integrated shaping choices available when you are working bottom up. But this is just me! I know many knitters prefer to work top down.
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That is interesting. I wouldn’t have thought there would be more shaping options when working bottom up than when working top down.
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Just read an interesting piece about this on Hazel Tindall’s blog: https://www.hazeltindall.com/yokes-is-top-down-a-good-idea#.XP5HTtMzYWo
Of course don’t know if Kate feels the same way as Hazel described in this piece but I think it explains a lot about the two different ways of knitting a sweater. I myself was drawn to knitting top down because it’s easier to try on and get the length of it just right but after knitting a few garments bottom up I must admit that I think they have a better fit and a nicer finish. But I understand that this is just my changed personal preference of course :-)
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And in my favorite colors! I’m thinking about getting the Bold Beginner for my 10 year old daughter. She loves the blanket! And I love this sweater!
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This is for me as it has been so long ago I knitted my last sweater! Very beautiful!
xx from Bavaria/Germany, Rena
http://www.dressedwithsoul.com
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Order placed, I failed again!
I’ve kept telling myself I don’t need any more patterns and definitely don’t need a book for begginers, then I saw this pattern and crumbled!
It’s just stunning.
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I love it . I’m not a beginning knitter but I just have to knit this one
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Gosh! That is a clever knit!!
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Thanks, I’m going to attempt this! Yokes have always looked intimidating to me, although I’ve been knitting awhile. Take care, and have a peaceful summer.
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Genius. It may be simple but it’s really interesting and attractive to wear. I loved it!
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WOW Kate!! This is stunning!! Being the swimmer and ocean and water lover that I am, this speaks straight to my heart, body and soul!! You are an amazing designer and kindred spirit! I will never tire of looking forward to what you’ll design/create next! We are indeed fortunate to have you on this planet sharing so much, in so many ways, with all the global inhabitants! Thank you!🏊🏻♀️🏊🏻♀️🏊🏻♀️☀️
Happy Knit-in-Public Day!
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This is astounding and ever so COOL!
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Very clever and very beautiful!
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