You can find a video walk through of the pattern here. (Please note this is not a step-by-step tutorial, rather an explanation of the steps involved with particular focus on how the sleeves are done.)
There is also a video tutorial for seaming the sleeves here, and a video tutorial for the corded stitch in the lower border/edges here.
The Shweater is simply, as the name suggests, a shawl-sweater. I designed it because while I adore knitting shawls, I rarely wore them; if I wore them over my shoulders in the traditional style they’d constantly fall off or get in my way, and many were too bulky or the wrong shape to wear around my neck like a scarf. What I needed were some sleeves! Cue lightbulb moment.
The construction of the Shweater is simple, but unusual. It is worked just like a half-circle/half-hexagon shawl, worked flat and seamlessly with three identical panels. The only difference is that when you want your sleeves to start, you’ll add pairs of double yarnovers for the front and back seam of each sleeve. Then you’ll continue to work it exactly like a normal shawl. The real magic happens on the bind-off row. That’s when you’ll finally drop those stitches all the way back to those double yarnovers, and use a crochet hook to turn those loose strands into tidy decorative seams.
If that sounds a bit intimidating, don’t worry - there are detailed instructions for each step of the process, and video tutorials for both the unusual corded stitch in the borders and for the sleeve seaming. And the hardest part, the sleeve seams, are essentially foolproof; each seam only takes a few minutes once you get the hang of it, and if you make a mistake you can undo your seam and start over in only moments (with zero risk of messing up any other part of the work). So dive in, cast on, and enjoy your Shweater adventure!
Yarn requirements
8 skeins Eco Merino Fingering:
- 1 skein Color 1 (shown in Rock Garden)
- 1 skein Color 2 (shown in Cloudlight)
- 2 skeins Color 3 (shown in Wisdom)
- 2 skeins Color 4 (shown in Sunlight On The Riverbed)
- 2 skeins Color 5 (shown in Midnight Fairy Dust)
Kits are available here, or create your own beautiful combination!
Needles and Notions
US #7 (4.5 mm) needles, or size to obtain gauge
10 stitch markers
US G/4 mm crochet hook, or larger (for seaming sleeves)
Gauge
17 stitches = 4 inches (10 cm) in stockinette st
Gauge may be altered, but will affect yardage requirements and finished size
Finished Size
26 inches ( cm) from neck to lower edge, by 57 inches ( cm) at its widest point when laid flat, relaxed after blocking
