Posting date: 27 October 2021
Today’s sweater suggestion is the Halmstad sweaterby Todd Gocken. It is available as a free pattern from Knitty.com. Men are notoriously difficult to knit for. Maybe your favourite man is an exception, but they do have a reputation for not liking anything that’s actually fun to knit. This pattern is the answer!
The colourwork patterns are conservative enough for average male preference, but interesting enough for average knitter interest. Plus, there’s a surprise in the construction. A fun surprise. You work the sleeves and body together in one piece, then cut it open at four steeks. And then sew side and arm seams. Take a look at the pattern to see how it’s done. If you’ve done any stranded colourwork before, you’ll know that this makes the knitting very, very easy. And the stripes are guaranteed to line up.
A steek, for those unfamiliar, is an area of a few stitches on every row that form a bridge between different parts of the garment. It becomes a safe place to cut the knitted fabric for a seam to be added later. With a nice, ‘sticky’ yarn like BC Garn Bio Shetland, it is easy to stabilize the fabric before cutting – any method will work, without special precautions.
BC Garn Bio Shetland is a slightly lighter weight yarn than used in the original pattern. You can use it without modification at the specified gauge, just be sure to check your tension before you start, and modify needle size if needed. The finished sweater will be lighter in weight, but still warm and comfortable..
