This past week I got a chance to make myself the ever popular Shalom Cardigan. Working in bulky yarns made this a quick knit and the twisted rib yoke made it interesting while still being an easy pattern. Colorwise, I wanted a fairly neutral sweater that would work with khakis or jeans but had a bit of interest. So I worked with a base of cream, adding a varigated tan and blue yarn in the yoke. My other mods included working on size 10 needles and adding an extra 5 stitches on either side of the lapel. It is a fun addition to my winter wardrobe that I’m sure will get lots of use. Check out the pattern on Ravelry to see how so many knitters have tweaked this simple and free knit and made it their own.
Can you give me your definition of easy? Lots of patterns I’ve seen say easy but when I go to work them I am lost. I know I’m new, and maybe if I had a friend that knitted and could help me, I wouldn’t be as shy to try. Is this REALLY easy, or pro knitter doing it and saying it’s easy. I love this little sweater and wouldn’t mind owing a few of them. Thanks !
The twisted rib might be a bit trickier (you have to knit and purl into the back of stitches… not hard but could be confusing to a newer knitter). You could just do a traditional rib instead to make it easier. You also need to be able to increase and decrease and cast on in the middle of a row.
More formally on a scale of Beginner 1(all knitting, little to no shaping), Easy 2 (knits, purls, little to moderate shaping), Intermediate 3 (some cables/lace, knitting in the round, moderate shaping) Advanced 4 (detailed color-work, fancy cables/lace, advanced stitches)… I would give it a 2.5 rating with the fancy rib. 2 with a standard rib in the yoke. HTH
One thing I find that helps alot with keeping your place in a knitting pattern is index cards.
write each row onto an index card. number them in order if you use more than one, ring them together with a hole punch and a piece of scrap yarn or a ring, and presto, instead of all the instructions jumbled and hard to keep your place you have each line written how you can understand it. use abbreviations and words that you know what they are, make a note what a certain stitch is and how it is done. develope your own knit short hand if it helps make a pattern easier for you.
typically one of my cards will say something like this:
—–
project name/stitch name
4x + 1 {stitches multiple of 4 plus 1 for number to bind on}
R1: RS: K1 *yo, k2tog,p1,k1* RPT**2E
r2: ws: p1 *yo, p2tog,k1,p1* rpt**2e
rpt R1-2 until desired length ending on a rX or however many rows ending on right or wrong side
——
Another thing that may help some people is to bind on and off with needles 1 size bigger than you intend to knit. some people have the tendency to make these stitches very tight, and the bigger needle helps control this with out making these stitches too loopy.
I have been knitting for years but still claim to be a beginner who experiments, Most patterns tend to be knit and purl with a few fancies thrown in and the cards have helped me and I hope they help you too.
Thanks so much, Michele, for the great knitting tips. I do exactly the same thing with the index cards when I’m working on intricate patterns. I knit Celtic Aran sweaters for my boys, and I’d be lost without the index card system!