Have you been wanting to crochet a colorwork sweater, but don’t know where to begin? Maybe you’ve been eyeing the gorgeous knit colorwork sweaters, and have been wishing that there was one in crochet. If this sounds like you, then my latest crochet sweater pattern is for you! Introducing: the My Beginner Colorwork Sweater! This top down crochet circular yoke fair isle sweater is the perfect beginning point for top down and colorwork garments.
Inspiration
For a long time I’ve been wanting to create a crochet colorwork sweater pattern that would help teach people how to do colorwork, and give them the confidence to keep trying it. The design had to be made in one piece for ease of construction, and have just the right amount of colorwork to provide a taste of it without being too intimidating. I settled on a striped pattern with colorwork sections in between each stripe. As you move through the pattern, the colorwork grows a little bit more detailed so that you can start out learning it and progress to intermediate! Trust me, you can totally crochet this sweater!
Want to save this pattern for later? Save it to your favorite Pinterest board!
Construction
This crochet sweater has one of my favorite constructions to do with crochet sweaters: a top down circular yoke! The best part of these type of sweaters is being able to be made in one piece, and they create such a nice fit. They’re also perfect for color work using the waistcoat stitch with the fair isle crochet technique.
If you’ve never made one of these type of garments before, you start by chaining a certain amount, joining the two ends of the chain stitches, then crocheting in the round with increases like you do with a normal crochet circle. Once you get to a certain point, you then create armholes and begin working the body. I’ve included tutorial photos for how to do each step within the pattern, and it also will have an exclusive video tutorial for those who buy the pattern. I wanted to make sure you could get a lot of help with this pattern so that you gain confidence with doing colorwork garments!
Sizing
Like all of my patterns, this pattern comes in sizes XS-5XL with lots of customizations to adjust it to your size. It has a close fit to flatter your figure, but can be adjusted to have it have more ease if desired. The length and sleeves can also be adjusted to fit the look that you want.
Here are the sizing measurements for this sweater:
Finished Bust Measurements:
- 32 (34, 38, 42, 46, 50, 54, 58, 62)”
Finished Length Measurements:
- 22 (23, 23, 24, 24, 25, 25, 25, 25)”
Finished Arm Measurements:
- 16.5 (17, 17, 17.5, 17.5, 18, 18, 18.5, 18.5)”
The Yarn and Kit
One of my all time favorite worsted weight yarns has to be Lion Brand Heartland. This yarn line comes in a wide range of deep colors inspired by different national parks and locations in the United States. Each color has flecks of deeper tones woven throughout it, and create such a stunning finished product. It also is some of the softest yarn! When made with this sweater, it creates the softest and thickest fabric that keeps you nice and warm.
What’s super exciting is that this pattern is available as a kit through Lion Brand Yarn! It is available in each size, and you can customize any of the colors needed for the sweater. You can get your own kit from Lion Brand’s site at: My Beginner Colorwork Sweater.
Crochet Along
During most of February, I will be hosting a crochet along for how to crochet this sweater so I can help you through it! Within my Facebook group, I’ll have tutorials, posts to ask questions, and you can share you progress. There might even be some giveaway prizes as well! Each week of the crochet along, we’ll be working through a different part of the pattern. Here’s the breakdown for each week:
Week 1: Gauge and Waistcoat Stitch
Week 2: The Yoke and Fair Isle Colorwork
Week 3: The Body of the Sweater
Week 4: The Sleeves
To join the crochet along in my Facebook group, head to: E’Claire Makery Crochet Club Facebook group.
The crochet along won’t be starting till February 1st, so that you have plenty of time to get your supplies together for your sweater. This crochet along will not be having the pattern available for free. However, if you join my Facebook group, you can get an exclusive 30% discount code for the pattern! It’s also just $5.99, so it’s just the price of a cup of coffee without the discount. I highly recommend getting the kit from Lion Brand that has all of the yarn for this pattern and the digital pattern as well. It has everything you need all in one place, and you’ll be able to customize all of the colors you need with Lion Brand’s new website.
Get Your Copy of the Pattern
You can now find the My Beginner Colorwork Sweater now available in my Etsy and Ravelry shops. It includes charts, tutorial photos, and tutorial videos that help you through the pattern!
Click here to get it on Ravelry!
