Are you looking for the perfect basic sweater pattern?
Needing some sweater knitting inspiration?
Perhaps you need the a great tutorial about how to swatch? Or measure yourself for great fitting garments?
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Sweater Knitting Patterns and Magazines
1. Ravelry
Ravelry is a community site, an organizational tool, and a yarn & pattern database for knitters and crocheters.
It is no understatement to say this website has changed my life and that of many other knitters. With over 5 million members it connects knitters, crocheters and yarnies from around the world together.
2. Twist Collective
An independent on-line magazine focusing on knitting and the sister arts.
3. Knitty
Knitty is the longest-running free knitting magazine on the web. Enjoy more than 12 years worth of free knitting patterns and free knitting tutorials!
4. amirisu
amirisu is a bilingual knitting magazine from Japan. It is published both online and in print a few times a year.
5. Pom Pom Quarterly
Pom Pom is a quarterly, collectable publication based in London, UK for smart, creative types who like knitting patterns with a modern aesthetic, great photography and interesting writing.
6. Vogue Knitting
Launched over twenty-five years ago, VK has set the bar for knitting, working with the biggest and most talented names in fashion today, including Michael Kors and Anna Sui. Led by Editor Trisha Malcolm, VK is published quarterly.
7. Interweave Magazines
Includes Interweave Knits and Knit Scene
8. Rowan Magazine
Our inspirational, biannual knitting and crochet magazine brings you three design stories along with features, what’s new section and much more.
How to Knit Sweaters – online Classes and Tutorials
9. My First Sweater
(Craftsy) If you can knit and purl, you can make an amazing first sweater you’ll love to wear. Knit along with Amy Ross to create a classic raglan pullover or a cute cardigan.
10. The Top-Down Icelandic Sweater
(Craftsy) Designer Ragga Eiríksdóttir teaches you how to knit a fun, authentic Icelandic sweater from the top down and in the round.
11. Choose Your Own Sweater Adventure with Eunny Jang
(Craftsy) Mix and match design elements to create a flattering sweater you’ll be proud to wear. Tell your style story in memorable fashion.
12. Top Down Sweater Knitting with Wendy Bernard
(Creativebug) Learn how to knit custom top-down sweaters from scratch using your very own measurements and any yarn you like with Wendy Bernard.
13. Knit a Lace Cardigan with Gudrun Johnston
(Creativebug) In this class, Gudrun walks you through every step of making a cute, vintage-style cardigan. This seamless sweater is worked in one piece from the top down, so there are no tails to weave in at the end.
14. Fringe Association
This blog by Karen Templer has a wealth of in depth knitting tutorials and knitting analysis. Including:
Pullovers for first-timers: Or, an introduction to sweater construction
Cardigans for first-timers: Or, how button bands happen
15. The Craft Sessions
Felicia Semple who was a guest on Episode 60 of the Curious Handmade Podcast recently writes in depth blog posts on a range of helpful knitting techniques accompanied by beautiful photography. Including:
Learn to Read Your Knitting series
How to Get Faster at Knitting Part 1 and Part 2
16. Ysolda
Ysolda Teague has a series on her blog called Technique Thursdays sharing a wealth of tips for sweater knitters. Including:
Joining the sleeves and body on a seamless bottom up sweater
Bust darts in sweaters with all over stitch patterns
17. Tin Can Knits
Tin Can Knits have some great free tutorials and patterns for beginners. Including:
How to get a better Sweater Fit
18. Knit to Flatter
(Craftsy) Make every sweater you knit your new favorite! Author and designer Amy Herzog shows you how to fashion knitwear that’s perfect for your body.
19. Little Red in the City by Ysolda Teague
(Book) Part pattern collection, part resource book Ysolda shares all of her tips for successful sweaters that perfectly fit your body.
20. Fit your Knits with Stephanie Japel
(Craftsy) Knitwear designer Stefanie Japel teaches you how to knit a sweater with adjustments to the bust, waist and hips to perfectly fit any body type.
21. Feminine Fit: Bust Shaping Techniques
(Craftsy) Flatter your feminine side with sweaters that embrace your bust, hips and waist. Joan McGowan-Michael teaches you how to shape knitwear to fit.
22. Sweater Surgery with Carol Feller
(Craftsy) Give your ill-fitting hand-knit garments a little TLC and a new life with help from acclaimed knitwear designer Carol Feller.
Choosing your Yarn
23. Know Your Yarn: Choose the Perfect Yarn Every Time, with Clara Parkes
(Craftsy) The fastest way to become a better, more confident knitter is to understand your fiber! Learn how to choose the right yarn for the best results with fiber guru Clara Parkes
24. The Knitter’s Book of Wool: The Ultimate Guide to Understanding, Using, and Loving this Most Fabulous Fiber
(Book) by Clara Parkes
In this complete guide to wool – the most popular yarn around – passionate wool expert Clara Parkes translates the vast world of sheep and their wool into the language and context of knitting.
25. The Knitter’s Book of Yarn: The Ultimate Guide to Choosing, Using, and Enjoying Yarn
(Book) by Clara Parkes
Not all yarns are alike. Some make our hearts and hands sing, some get the job done without much fanfare, and some cause nothing but frustration and disappointment… If only there were a way to read a skein and know how it would behave and what it wanted to become before you invested your time, energy, and money in it. Now there is! With The Knitter’s Book of Yarn, you’ll learn how to unleash your inner yarn whisperer.
26. The Fleece & Fiber Sourcebook: More Than 200 Fibers, from Animal to Spun Yarn
(Book) by Carol Ekarius and Deborah Robson
This one-of-a-kind photographic encyclopedia features more than 200 animals and the fibers they produce. It covers almost every sheep breed in the world — from the longwool breeds of the United Kingdom to the Tasmanian merino, the Navajo churro, the northern European Faroese, and dozens and dozens more.
Sweater Designers I Love
27. Jared Flood – Brooklyn Tweed
In his own words:
“I am owner and creative director at Brooklyn Tweed.
I have secret fantasies about a perpetual winter that would facilitate year-round wool wearing.”
Favourite design: Hawser
28. Bristol Ivy
In her own words:
“I grew up hating fiber. To put it mildly, things have changed. 🙂 Now I’m a knitwear designer, work behind the scenes at Brooklyn Tweed, teach knitting, spinning, weaving, dyeing, and felting, photograph knitwear, and keep myself all-around extremely busy. I still dream of eventually marrying a sheep farmer and happily living the rest of my life knee-deep in wool.”
Favourite design: Offshore V-Neck
29. Joji Locatelli
In her own words:
“I am just an Argentine girl who really likes to knit. 😀 ”
And wow, can this girl knit (and design)!
Favourite design: Japan Sleeves
30. Veera Välimäki
Best known for her garter stitch, short row shawl designs, Veera also has a very modern, wearable collection of garment designs.
Favourite design: Coal
31. Thea Colman – Baby Cocktails
In her own words:
“I design mostly women’s garments and accessories, and love using cables, lace, and little details to make designs that are classic and wearable, but just a bit unique.”
Favourite design: Baileys Irish Cream
32. Kate Davies Designs
In her own words:
“I live in a small steading just off the West Highland Way. Scotland’s landscape is beautiful and ever-changing, and I love to create designs inspired by what I see around me.”
Favourite design: Frost at Midnight
33. Nora Gaughan
In her own words:
“I’m a newly independent designer after almost nine years as the design director at Berroco. It was time to live in one state and enjoy hanging the laundry out on the line in New Hampshire.”
Favourite design: Chainlink
34. Jane Richmond
In her own words:
“Jane’s designs are classic and simple. Her minimalist approach to knitwear design is paired with a dedication to cleanly written pattern instructions. Being both a process and product knitter, Jane’s goal is to create knits that are enjoyable to knit and easy to wear.”
Favourite design: Ladies Classic Raglan Pullover
35. Justyna Lorkowska – Lete’s Knits
In her own words:
“My true passion are unique garments that catch the eye with their intricate details and beautiful finishing. And if they can be seamless that’s even better.”
Favourite design: Mrs Skyler
36. Isabell Kraemer
Isabell is based in Germany and creates clean, modern designs.
Favourite design: Paulie
37. La Maison Rililie
In her own words:
“Not only do I love constructing garments that fit in the style I like and the colours I choose myself (who wouldn’t) but I adore finding new – or stumbling on old – ways to construct something in a different way. It is like sculpture: a three dimensional work that allows you to produce an object (with the proper calculations), that not only might be practical, but also is an expression of creativity and design!”
She also has some excellent tutorials on her website.
Favourite design: BeauB
38. Ankestrick
In her own words:
‘Top-down, seamless techniques opened up a new knitting world to me. Thank you ravelry!
I love to experiment with necklines and sleeves knitted top-down in one piece. All patterns are related to that love and my design credo: Let the construction design the sweater!!!”
Favourite design: Mrs Garter
39. Carol Feller
In her own words:
“Carol Feller is an independent knitwear designer and teacher. Her design approach combines her training as both an artist and a structural engineer, emphasizing seamless construction and clever shaping techniques to create flattering, tailored garments with interesting shapes and textures.”
Favourite design: Adara
40. Suvi Simola
In her own words:
“Hello! I’m Suvi, a knitwear designer from Finland. I’ve been designing knitwear since 2008 and besides self-publishing, my designs have been published in Vogue Knitting, Twist Collective and in several books. Besides knitting, I love to take photos.”
Favourite design: Light Trails
41. Heather Zoppetti
In her own words:
“Heather Zoppetti is a knitwear designer, teacher, and author of Everyday Lace (Interweave, 2014). She lives in Lancaster, Pennsylvania with her husband and yarn collection. Her patterns have been published in many Interweave publications and by yarn companies such as Manos del Uruguay, Baah!, Reywa Fibers, The Alpaca Yarn Company, and Universal Yarns.”
Favourite design: Dahlia Cardigan
Useful Techniques for Knitting Sweaters
42. 40 Ways to Cast On & Bind Off
(Craftsy) Choose and use the best cast-ons and bind-offs for every knitting need. Start and finish all your knitting with a look you love and the perfect amount of stretch.
43. Mattress Stitch – Finishing your knitting
(Creativebug) One of the most common ways to join the edges of knit pieces is with a technique called Mattress Stitch. Learn how to do this invisible stitch from a true knitting pro: Debbie Stoller. With just a tapestry needle and yarn tails, you’ll be able to neatly finish up the edges of your knitting in no time.
44. Button Bands and Buttonholes
(Craftsy) Live life on the edge with designer and lifelong knitter Anne Hanson as she teaches you how to incorporate beautiful finishes on your hand-knit garments.
45. Blocking Handknits with Kate Atherley
(Craftsy) Blocking is the easiest, fastest way to take your knitting to the next level. Finish knitting projects so that they look, fit and feel as wonderful as you imagined.
46.The Essential Guide to Finishing Handknits with Anne Hanson
(Craftsy) Finish any hand-knitting project with finesse. Learn the best techniques for edge finishes, weaving in ends, blocking, seaming, button and neck bands, zippers, hemming and more.
47. Weaving in Ends – Ysolda Technique Thursdays
If only you could wave a hand over your finished object and make all the little ends tuck themselves away neatly.
Sweater Knitting Kits
48. Wool and the Gang
Wool and the Gang was born … pioneering fashion production that’s made in a sustainable way, bringing back knitting as a viable means of production for generations to come.
49. TOFT
If you haven’t knitted or crocheted before then a TOFT DIY knitting kit is a great place to start making your own knitwear. Each of our patterns is marked with a ‘SKILL LEVEL’ to give you an indication of how challenging a project may be. We have made some knitting and crochet videos to help you find your feet with the basics, or if in doubt join us at one of our knitting workshops. TOFT knitting kits include the yarn of your choice and come presented in a natural TOFT cotton tote bag.
50. We are Knitters
Choose your knitting kit with the type of yarn that you want. It contains yarn balls, needles and the pattern.
51. Purl Alpaca
Purl Alpaca Designs specialise in desirable knitting kits and are the Field-to-Fashion Company that offers you an exclusive collection of designer garments to make from 100% pure British alpaca yarn.
Taking it to the next level
Customising and designing your own sweaters
52. Custom Yoke Sweater
(Craftsy) Join Amy Detjen from Vogue Knitting and learn dozens of useful knitting tips as you create a custom-fit sweater with stranded colorwork.
53. Handknit Garment Design
(Craftsy) Shirley Paden, author of Knitwear Design Workshop, brings her concepts to Craftsy! Learn her comprehensive yet simple process for beautiful fabric and knitwear.
54. Sizing Knitwear Patterns
(Craftsy) Whether your goal is to sell online, get published, or knit a sweater to fit, with Faina’s expert grading tips, you’ll be on your way to pattern success!
55. Elizabeth Zimmerman
Elizabeth’s “EPS” (Elizabeth’s Percentage System) is still widely used by designers: it consists of a mathematical formula to determine how many stitches to cast on for a sweater, given that the sleeves and body are usually proportionate no matter what yarn or gauge is used. She wrote many excellent books including:
Knitting Without Tears: Basic Techniques and Easy-to-Follow Directions for Garments to Fit All Sizes
56. Up, Down, All-Around Stitch Dictionary: More than 150 stitch patterns to knit top down, bottom up, back and forth, and in the round
Stitch dictionaries are to knitters what Webster’s is to a writer. Within the pages of these inspiring reference books are the endless variations of knit and purl stitches that produce the fabrics of all knitting. But in the Up, Down, All-Around Stitch Dictionary, designer Wendy Bernard does something no other author has done before— she presents instructions for working 150 popular stitch patterns four different ways: top down, bottom up, back and forth, and in the round.
57. Harmony Guides: Lace & Eyelets (The Harmony Guides)
There are many, many stitch dictionaries available and I have many in my library. Although this one does have some errata it is the one I return to again and again for design inspiration.
