How to Pick Your First Knit Sweater Pattern

Now that you have learned how to knit, and made scarves for every member of your family...including the dog...its time to knit a sweater. Don't get me wrong, scarves are beautiful and they can make a wonderful accessory, but not many people can use the industrial quantities that many new knitters are turning out. It is time for a change, time to take a walk through your local yarn shop, or just browse through the internet for an EASY sweater pattern. Easy can be a loaded word, and I am going to walk you through the windmills of my mind (scary) to define just what "Easy" means. As a new knitter, you will want something that moves fairly fast. In knitters terms I would look for a pattern that uses needles no smaller than a size 9. You may really like that fair isle pattern with all of the color changes and minute details. Will you still like it five years later when it is hanging on your knitting needles like a beacon in the night? Also look for a sweater that uses the stockinette stitch. knit 1 row purl one row for flat knitting, and knit every row for circular knitting. Learn how the sweater evolves on your needles before you tackle some complicated pattern. Start out easy at first, then after you've finished that first sweater...try something that will make you want to hurl it across the room once or five times. Thats why experienced knitters have those highly developed biceps...but I digress...Gauge is another very important consideration when knitting anything that needs to fit specific measurements. It can determine wether your hard labor will produce a well fitting garment, or something that resembles a piece of modern art...that no one will buy. The easiest way to get the correct gauge is to use the yarn the pattern maker recommends. Personally I would only do this on my first pattern. My favorite haunt for yarn is my local second hand stores, or my yarn store's version of a bargain basement. Since the new patterns are not designed for yarns that were discontinued back in the stone age, I knit a gauge swatch (theoretically) and work with the needle sizes until I get the correct gauge. Okay, thats what I should do, what I really do is eyeball the yarn and say something to myself like..."looks right to me!" and start knitting. There are several places you can go to find that elusive pattern. The internet is always a good place to find knitting patterns. Knitty, the online knitting magazine archives their patterns and they have an outstanding collection. Family Circle Knits is a good place for easy patterns, but be very careful about Vogue. What is easy to Vogue is not easy to everyone. While most of there magazines have a few easy patterns you may need to know something about garment construction when its time to sew up the pieces. If you have sewn garments, then you will be okay using Vogue's easy patterns. One of the best books I've seen for easy sweaters is called The Yarn Girls Guide to Simple Knits by Julie Carles & Jordana Jacobs. So go ahead spread your wings ...and your needles and try knitting up a few good sweaters...but remember...lets be careful out there.