About

BARN member: $120*
Non-member: $150*
* Class fee includes an autographed copy of "Sweater 101.

Knitting a sweater is a commitment. You put a lot of time and money into it and you want to be delighted with the results. In this small, hands-on class you will create a pattern for a custom crew-neck, set-in sleeve, classic-fitting sweater. This pattern will be based on your yarn, worked at your gauge, made to fit your body measurements. It is your Master Pattern that will become the template for many variations.

Even if you don't have a particular yarn in mind for making a plain sweater or don't want to make a plain, crew-neck, set-in sleeve sweater, it is valuable to create a Master Pattern for a hypothetical sweater from a yarn that you have swatched. You'll learn how you can use this as a starting point to create many different personalized sweater patterns and how you can use it to adapt commercial patterns.

Students should bring:

• a notebook
• pencil(s)
• a good eraser
• a hand-held calculator
• a vinyl tape measure that's new or newish (they stretch out over time)
• a gauge swatch, made according to directions below.
• (optional but a very good idea) a basic pullover sweater that fits you well. It can be a commercial knit.

1. Cast on 36 stitches with the needles you plan to use for the sweater.
   
2. Work in garter stitch for 3 rows, then work 6 inches of stockinette keeping the 3 stitches at both edges of the swatch in garter stitch.
   
3. Work 3 more rows of garter stitch and bind off loosely.
4. Wash and dry the swatch the same way you intend to launder the sweater. Block as you would the sweater. We want the swatch to be as flat as possible without “killing it.”