I’ve long established that fun sleeves are the best thing since sliced bread when it comes to knitting, so I’m sure it comes as no surprise that my latest design, the Fineline sweater, features another vintage-y puff. The pattern is released today and I’m so excited to finally share it with the world! Over the summer this knitting project came with me to Scotland, Wales, the Peak District and the Lake District and it’s proven a firm favourite in my wardrobe through Autumn.
Scroll down for details and to download the Fineline Sweater knitting pattern
The design process
High necklines, fitted waist shaping, puff sleeves, and gathered cuffs are up there with my favourite design elements. Throwing all your favourites together at once can sometimes result in a Joey Tribbiani trifle effect, but luckily these components combined just nicely in the Fineline sweater! Beautiful as this dark teal shade is, deeper colours can be difficult to work with in knitting as textures don’t show up too well, so the silhouette was the main focus of this design. The body is worked inside out in 3×1 ribbing, since I love the appearance of purl-based rib but would rather work the majority of a sweater in knits rather than purls. A ribbed bodice just hugs the body so well, and as you’ll see from the test knitter pics, it looks great on all body shapes. Don’t mind me, just giving myself a small pat on the back for that one! Oh and everything is seamless – set in sleeves using this method fit so well.
None of these photos quite convey my happiness with this sweater – somehow the moody shots turned out decent and the smiley shots not so much. Promise I’m rather (very) chuffed with it. 🙂
The Fineline sweater would be the perfect ‘meeting up for Christmas drinks’ sweater, if Christmas drinks were to be A Thing this year. It’s looking rather unlikely at present, but one can imagine. I do love a more formal knit; whilst cosy slouchy sweaters are nice, it’s fun to wear dressier woolens sometimes too. Especially this year, when proper ‘dressy’ dresses are basically redundant… a ‘dressy’ sweater is a nice compromise. For a birthday meal with your household bubble or something along those lines. That said, I do find fitted sweaters pretty versatile – they work as well with casual denim as they do layered over dresses with boots, or with a collar peeking through the neckline.
test knitter roundup
As always, I want to say a huge thank you to the test knitters who did such a fabulous job of road-testing and showcasing this pattern. Every time a new batch of photos came in or someone showed their sleeve taking shape I did a little happy dance (and genuinely sometimes squealed a bit). Seeing the sleeves take shape is a mighty satisfying process, I might add. I love how the silhouette stands out in dark shades, and how the stitches pop in lighter shades. I honestly couldn’t be more thrilled with how these sweaters look, or more grateful to my wonderful test knitters! Just feast your eyes on these:
Fineline Sweater knitting pattern details
YARN: DK weight yarn, approx 825 (909; 1007; 1118; 1196) [1301; 1432; 1481; 1561] metres / 900 (991; 1098; 1219; 1305) [1420; 1562; 1615; 1703] yards.
Sample shown in The Fibre Company Knightsbridge, a blend of 65% baby llama, 25% merino wool, and 10% silk.
NEEDLES & NOTIONS: 3.75mm circular needles for the main body, either 24” or 30” depending on size. 4mm and 3.5mm needles of your preferred length for working sleeves (ie. magic loop, 2 circulars, DPNs).
You will also need scrap yarn for holding stitches, lockable stitch markers (with one marker different to the rest to denote the beginning of round), and a tapestry needle.
GAUGE: 22 sts and 28 rows to 4” / 10cm in stocking stitch on 4mm needles. 29 sts and 30 rows to 4″ / 10cm in 3×1 rib on 3.75mm needles, unstretched.
SIZING: Sizes 1 (2: 3: 4: 5) [6: 7: 8: 9] detailed below, designed to be worn with 8 – 10 inches / 20 – 30 cm negative ease. Sample shown is a size 2 worn on a 34” bust with around 8 inches / 20 cm negative ease. This sweater is designed to be very fitted in the body, and the ribbed fabric has lots of stretch, hence the finished measurements that may seem alarmingly small.
To fit bust: 28-30 (32-34; 36-38; 40-42; 44-46) (48-50; 52-54; 56-58; 60-62) inches / 71-76 (81-86; 91-97; 102-107; 112-117) (122-127; 132-137; 142-147; 152-157) cm.
Finished bust (unstretched): 21.5 (25.5; 29.5; 33.5; 37.5) (41.5; 45.5; 49.5; 53.5) inches / 55 (65; 75; 85; 95) (105; 116; 126; 136) cm
NOTES: the Fine Line sweater is worked seamlessly from the top down. It begins by casting on across the shoulders and working back and forth in rows on the upper back down to the armholes. The back stitches are then set aside to work the front. Stitches are picked up across each shoulder and stitches are cast on to create the front neck, before the upper front is worked identically to the upper back. The held back stitches are then replaced on the needle to work the main body in one piece from the armholes down to the hem, working in rounds.
The sleeves are worked by picking up around the armhole edge then filling in the set-in sleeve ‘cap’ with short rows. The rest of the sleeves are worked from the top down in rounds in stocking stitch, which is gathered into deep ribbed cuffs.
I LOVE seeing people knit my patterns and make them their own – if you could tag @lilykatemakes and #FineLineSweater on Instagram that would be great!
The Fineline Sweater pattern is also available via Ravelry and Etsy.
Lily Kate x
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1 Comment
Mhelle
20th November 2020 at 9:19 pmHi! I really want to knit this pattern and bought it! However, I have noticed that the yarn used is discontinued 🙁 Do you have any recommendation for substitution?
Love your patterns!
Kind regards!