Oolong knits

My project for March 2026 is a gorgeous all-over cable sweater by Teti Lutsak, one of my favourite designers (at the very top of the list!). This is the Purpurea Sweater. I casted on for this project on March 1st, as planned, and I'm going to try to not neglect my February blanket, which is far from finished. I managed to do about one fourth of the bind-off last month, but this is not a simple bind-off, it's a lace border. Not too complicated, but it's still a lot of work and slow going because, even though the rows are very short, I have to turn the work twice for every stitch I bind off! I'm enjoying both these projects immensely, so: no complains at all. Addendum: remember that in January I couldn't find a sweater quantity of yarn in my stash? Well, I still can't. I frogged a sweater my husband no longer used (because I knitted him a handful of better ones in the meantime) and I'm reusing that yarn instead of buyi...

Note: I'm using a photo of PetiteKnit's Cumulus blouse as a placeholder, until I take a decent photo of my January project. My self-drafted pattern is quite different from this sweater, but I couldn't be bothered to find a better picture. I finished almost all the projects I'd started in 2025 before the end of the year and ended up unexpectedly casting on a new project on the 1st day of 2026. Throughout January, as I knitted this project, I found that I rather enjoyed knowing exactly (and without having to do any calculations) when I had started the project and for how long I'd been knitting it. This is how it occurred to me that I could challenge myself to start a new project on the 1st day of every month in 2026. My January project is a simple v-neck worked using a self-drafted contiguous recipe. The neck and cuffs are made of a double-knitted band and the hem in half-twisted rib. This is a very simple recipe, completely seamle...

I have started and never finished this cardigan . That is right, I didn't just forget to finish the series, I actually never finished the damn project I was working on along with this tutorial. And here is the most absurd part, this is not the first time, and it will probably not be the last, that this happens. This happens every single time that I knit a project that involves a lot of sewing. The second project that I ever knitted was a blanket made of squares I started in 2014. You read it right: 2014! I have knitted all the squares, assembled most of them and even used the mini blanket I obtained in my bed (I had to make the hard choice of covering my feet or my shoulder, yes, for real, I'm this ridiculous), but I still haven't finished sewing the whole thing. I love the damn blanket and sincerely it is totally gorgeous, if I say so myself. But still not finished, because I'm lazy and undisciplined. But, going back to the damn cardigan. I have been working on it la...

We are going to finish this sweater! And this is the last post on this series. I am so excited. All that is left to do is work the collar. Of course, you will have quite a few ends to weave in, but those will be easy because most of them will be at the seams (just weave them through the seams). And you may want to block your sweater before using it. OK, but let us not get ahead of ourselves, we must first work the collar. Before we start, a short explanation. The central double decrease (also known as straight decrease) is worked in three stitches, the stitch before the marked stitch, the marked stitch and the stitch after. Knit to one stitch before the marked stitch (do not knit these stitches), slip the two stitches together knitwise, knit the next stitch, pass the two slipped stitches over the knit stitch. A warning: I messed up Jenny's stretchy bind-off on this sweater. What I did was working it on the wrong side, because I thought the bind-off was reversible. It is not. ...

Sleeves The two sleeves are worked identically. We begin by picking up and knitting stitches from the armholes and then joining them in the round with the live stitches from the saddles. This is by far the trickiest part of working this sweater. After that we shape the shoulder section using short rows. I prefer using German short rows and use the abbreviation "gsr" for the special German short row stitch treatment, which includes turning the work. If using the wrap-and-turn method replace "gsr" with "wrap and turn". Note that "knit/purl this stitch" should then be interpreted as lift and hide the wrap by knitting/purling it together with the stitch. Once the shoulder is finished there is a long section where the sleeve is gradually tapered and then a short section of straight knitting that ends with a 1x1 rib for the cuff. Pick-up and knit 18 stitches from one of the sides. Pick up and knit 3 stitches from the underarm cast-on, place 1...

Body Join back and front (row 32): at the end of row 31 of front, cast-on 6 st using knitted-CO, knit back stitches, cast-on 6 st using knitted-CO, knit front stitches. 140 st. Knit straight, in the round, until piece measures 33cm from underarm. Except for the following optional improvements: Row 33, if the direction of your knitting is forcing you to purl every st, at the end of back, turn work, using German short-rows, in order to change knit direction; false seam: mark the stitch in the middle of each underarm and slip it on alternate rows; Using a central double decrease, decrease 2 stitches around the aforementioned marked stitches, 5, 15 and 25 cm from the underarm. 136, 132, 128 st total (always do this after a row where the central st was knitted, not slipped, if you are working a false seam); work 2 short rows in the back stitches, 10, 20 and 30 cm from the underarm (if you are working a false seam, always do this after a row where the central st was knitted, not slip...

Front Front is worked as back except for v-collar. This includes: 1st garter stitch selvage, shoulder shaping using short-rows, and armhole shaping. V-collar Just like for back, pick-up 16 st from side of saddles, but instead of CO 20 st, work right and left front separately; shoulder shaping and 1st garter stitch selvage are worked simultaneously with collar shaping; collar shaping : increase 1 st every knit row. The stitch is increased just before the last stitch on the left for the right side and vice-versa (i.e. in the collar); when 10 stitches have been added on both sides (row 20), join them (52 st) and continue to knit as back.

Armhole shaping Do not forget to keep working the 1-stitch garter stitch selvage throughout. Every knit row, 4 times, increase one stitch after the 2nd st and before the last 2 st of the row (use stranded increases, M1L and M1R). End at row 29, 60 st; Using knitted CO: cast-on 2 st at beginning of next two rows. End at row 31, 64 st.

Back pick-up and purl 16 st from the side of one of the saddles, start from the end side and end at the CO side; Using knitted cast-one: CO 20 st in between saddles; pick-up and purl 16 st from the side of the other saddle, starting from the CO end; total: 52st; 1st row (WS): knit straight; rows 2-5: Shoulder shaping using German short-rows rows rows 2-3: 10 st less at each side; rows 4-5: 5 st less; work up to row 22, knitting straight, but with a 1-st garter stitch selvage; start armhole shaping.

Last December was dedicated to pressure cooking, without any guilt or shame, and before that there were many posts about my garden. I cannot remember my last post on knitting, so I wanted to start the year going back to what is supposed to be the main subject of this blog. I know I have not yet worked the sleeves of that cardigan and it has been over a year. I know, it is unbelievable I can be so disorganized. But I have just started a saddled-shoulder v-neck sweater for the big man in my life and I wanted to share the pattern I am following. A warning: the instructions I am providing are quite sketchy, so you may have problems following them if you have never knitted a similar pattern before. I am knitting from a pretty standard recipe for a sweater knitted seamlessly and top-down. The collar rib will be knitted at the end from picked-up stitches. I am using Malabrigo Mecha (colourway: Paris Night) and 7 mm needles and I have a gauge of 12st/10cm in stst (stockinette stitch). H...

Last week I've published the pattern for the front of the cardigan. The back of the cardigan is pretty much the two front pieces glued together without the collar shaping, which makes it even simpler. For this particular cardigan, I've chosen not to knit a cable, but instead add a bit of texture for interest. This means the knitting begins with some ribbing, continues in stockinette stitch and ends in reverse stockinette. Pattern Cast-on 68 stitches + 2 selvedge stitches (optional) 2x2 rib (rows 1-11) odd rows (WS): SE, (p1, k2, p1) repeat up to last st, SE even rows: SE, (k1, p2, k1) repeat up to last st, SE stockinette (rows 12-77) From rows 12-63: Even rows: SE, knit all stitches, SE Odd rows: SE, purl all stitches, SE Armhole shaping Rows 64-65: Bind-off 4 stitches, ES and continue to work in established pattern Rows 66, 68 and 70: SE, k1, ssk, knit up to 4 stitches, k2tog, k1, SE All other rows: work in established pattern reverse stockinette (rows 78-9...

16st horseshoe cable (8 row repeat) purl side version Odd rows (RS): knit 16 st Rows 2, 6, 8: purl 16 st Row 4: RC8, LC8 RC8/LC8: slip 4 st to cable needle and hold in front/back, purl 4 st then purl stitches on cable needle. knit side version Rows 1, 3, 7 (RS): knit 16 st Even rows: purl 16 st Row 5: LC8, RC8 RC8/LC8: slip 4 st to cable needle and hold in back/front, knit 4 st then knit stitches on cable needle. In my swatch I'd worked both a 12st and a 16st horseshoe cable and I've decided I prefer the 16st one. I'm going to knit a panel of this cable on the front pieces. The 16st horseshoe is a 8 row repeat pattern with one single row with two cable crosses and all other rows in stockinette stitch. So this is a very simple cable and you can find the details in the yellow panel on the right (I like working the crosses on the purl side, but most people prefer to work them on the knit side, I include instructions for both). I've mentioned selvedge stitc...

I've cast-on 24 stitches for a swatch in order to test my stitch choices: reverse stockinette, 16 stitches horseshoe cable, 2x2 ribbing. That went well and I liked the look of my swatch. Of course, in addition I've got my gauge : 16 rows and 11.5 stitches per 10cm (4in). Now that I have gauge, I want size. Despite having a limited amount of yarn, I want a comfortable cardigan with lots of positive ease . I've decided to go for a large size with 112cm of bust circumference. That makes a 64 stitches cast-on for the back and 32 stitches for both fronts. Don't forget to add two stitches to the cast-on for selvedges! I may be mistaken, but I don't think that waist shaping makes sense with so much positive ease. I also think that super-chunky yarn will never provide the right drape for an A-shape piece. Therefore, I'm knitting a standard square shape (or no shape if you prefer). Because I'm seaming and picking up stitches, I want to add selvedge stitches to m...

I'm making a cardigan and I'm documenting the process in a new series. I know what you're thinking... "Didn't she start a series on making a sweater that never went beyond the first post?" I know, I know. But this time is for real. Promise. In this first post I'll discuss my design options and choices. My cardigan started, as is often the case, as yarn. A while ago I'd bought quite a good amount of Rowan Thick 'n Thin yarn in order to make a sweater. This yarn has been discontinued, but hopefully I own enough that I'll be able to finish my project. This yarn, being of the thick and thin variety, is actually quite hard to design for. Choose the right stitch and design and you'll love the result, choose anything else and you'll get a non-descriptive ugly thing. The problem is with the bad stitch definition, as I'll discuss bellow. Having chosen the yarn, I have a tentative size for my needles , the recommended one, which is 9mm...

Picking the right yarn for a project is often the most challenging part of knitting one. I say this because I think that knitting is a lot more pleasant than difficult, and as for picking a pattern, Ravelry has made it really easy. There are so many beautiful patterns available for any type of project to choose from, that, even if you don't get the perfect pattern, you're sure to get something you'll love to wear with only a bit of effort and time. Sure some patterns are badly written or too difficult for your skill level, that is where again Ravelry comes to the rescue. I highly recommend checking the comments, the ratings, and even read through some of the project notes other ravelers have written on any pattern before you cast-on. Now you've picked your project, what yarn to use? That lovely yarn you've just added to your stash? The one recommended by the designer? The many substitution recommendations, based on what other people have used for this pattern, y...

Here is my second post on the sweater I'm making. As promised on the first post. I've worked on a swatch and, in this post, I'm going to summon up my conclusions. Third step: first swatch The 4x2 ribbing looks fantastic on this yarn. Definitely a keeper. I've used alternate cable cast-on (yes, I did it in pattern) but I must find a better cast-on method, I don't like the look of it. After some research on this subject, I've concluded that plain long-tail cast-on is the best for this kind of ribbing. My gauge (so far, before washing and blocking, which I absolutely must do before starting the sweater) is 18cm/24st, ie. about 13st/10cm. I haven't finished the third step, as you may realize. I need to knit a much larger swatch and block it to get the right gauge. More importantly, I still need to find a nice cable for the sleeves, the Durrow cable I've been flirting with takes about the entire number of stitches on the sleeve, and that simply doesn...

I know I should be finishing one of the many work-in-progress projects I have, but inspired by my previous post I've decided to start a new sweater for my husband. Don't ask yourself why am I always knitting sweaters for him, against the advice of so many knitters who never knit large projects for other people, and considering that he has never been too enthusiastic about it. I'm not a wise person when it comes to my husband and knitting. So here I'm again... set on knitting him a sweater he truly loves. Here I must clarify that he does wear the sweater I've knitted him a lot, but I feel he doesn't love it enough. I know I don't, that sweater is far from perfect. So here I begin documenting the whole process of knitting a sweater. Something a lot of other knitters have attempted and that I, although not explicitly, had promised not to do on one of my first posts, the one where I stated my intentions on writing this blog (the one about not adding more usele...