Sweater Weather! Two New Patterns

Here in coastal North Carolina, the weather has finally turned, and I can confidently declare that it is “sweater weather.” Whatever your skill level or climate calls for, the Farm & Fiber Knits Library is sure to have a pattern to meet your needs.

Two lovely patterns just added to the Farm & Fiber Knits Library illustrate this perfectly—the Rakaia Pullover and the Zig Zag Tunic. Each has beautiful design and details, with thoughtful finishing touches that make them a pleasure to knit!

Rakaia Pullover

Tayler Harris’s Rakaia Pullover is soft and fluffy, with gorgeous undulating cables inspired by the Rakaia River, one of the largest braided rivers in New Zealand.

The Rakaia Pullover is knit in Biches & Bûches Le Gros Silk & Mohair, a luxurious blend of super kid mohair and mulberry silk. It’s worked from the bottom up, starting with my favorite cast-on, the Long-Tail Tubular cast-on, which creates a professional, seamless-looking edge in 1x1 and 2x2 ribbing. The shoulders and neckline of the Rakaia Pullover are shaped with a sloped bind-off, making seaming and picking up stitches for the neckband easier. The sleeves are worked top-down so you don’t have to increase in the pattern stitch.

Full of thoughtful design details, the Rakaia Pullover is a timeless classic that will keep you cozy and warm for many seasons to come.

The Rakaia Pullover is luxurious and cozy.

Zig Zag Tunic

Amy Tyler’s Zig Zag Tunic is a roomy, easy-wearing pullover with a fun zigzag stitch running down the center. Knit in Madeline Tosh’s Wool + Cotton, a blend of 50/50 superwash Merino and Pima cotton, it’s a great layer for cool days in any climate.

The Zig Zag pattern can be worked from charts or written instructions—take your pick! This drop-shouldered sweater is designed for a range of sizes, with thoughtful accommodations made in the larger sizes to ensure a good fit.

Knitters will find the sloped bind-off in this pattern as well, and will marvel at how easy it is to work with. You can find Sandi Rosner’s brief but comprehensive tutorial on the sloped bind-off on the Farm & Fiber Knits website.

The Zig Zag Tunic is the perfect layering sweater, no matter your climate.

Scared of Seams? We’ve Got You Covered!

Many knitters avoid sweaters with seams, but I think there are a lot of reasons to love seams! Seams add structure to a garment, helping it to hang better on the body. That structure helps balance out any bias that might exist in the yarns, keeping the sweater from twisting uncomfortably while you wear it. Seams also help to distribute the weight of the garment, preventing it from sagging over time. My favorite reason to knit seamed sweaters, though, is portability. It’s much easier to carry a sleeve or sweater front in my bag than it is to lug around three-quarters of a sweater!

One of the reasons seams get a bad reputation is that it can be difficult to match them up—especially at curved edges, such as armholes and sleeve caps. This is where the sloped bind-off comes into play. Both the Rakaia Pullover and the Zig Zag Tunic use the sloped bind-off at critical shaping points to make your seaming smooth and easy. For a detailed explanation of the sloped-bind-off, be sure to see Sandi Rosner’s tutorial.

The sloped bind-off makes seaming easy. Photo by Sandi Rosner

Cast On Today!

Whether you choose the Rakaia Pullover or the Zig Zag Tunic (or both!), you’re sure to enjoy sweater weather this year!

Subscribers can find the Rakaia Pullover and the Zig Zag Tunic in the Farm & Fiber Knits Library.