- YARN KITS VOL.2
You can also use this guide to knit my other sweaters with round yoke.
NB: the instructions here are based on the original version of the Wilderness Sweater (polar), so always read the pattern carefully if you knit one of the other versions (mid-season, Vams, children).
The Wilderness Sweater can be knitted in a polar version with thicker yarn , a lighter but thick version in Vams from Rauma , or in a mid-season version with slightly thinner wool yarn. The Wilderness Sweater Polar is knitted in Alafosslopi , an Icelandic yarn that contains guard hairs and underwool, which makes the sweater water-repellent and perfect for harsh conditions. Sweaters knitted in this yarn can be worn outdoors instead of a jacket.
I have also made a thick version in Vams from Rauma , a 2-ply carded yarn made of 100% Norwegian wool. Vams is a rich, lightly spun yarn that contains a lot of air, which makes the sweater feel light and airy.
The Wilderness Sweater also comes in a mid-season version which is a thinner version. The yarns used for this are Luna , Varde and Vidde from Hillesvåg, or Icelandic Lettlopi (a thinner yarn than Alafosslopi).
The different patterns for the Wilderness Sweater can be found here:
Wilderness sweater Polar 🐾 Wilderness sweater in Vams 🐾 Wilderness sweater mid-season 🐾 Wilderness sweater for children 🐾 Wilderness sweater for children w/hood
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New knitters often knit either very loosely or very tightly. I can't emphasize enough how important it is to check the tension. You can easily do this by knitting a swatch, rinsing it and measuring how many stitches you get in 10 cm AFTER the swatch is dry. The reason for this is that many yarns change after washing. In the pattern for the Wilderness Sweater Polar there are 13 stitches in 10 cm, for the Wilderness Sweater in Vams there are 14 stitches in 10 cm, and for the mid-season there are 18 stitches in 10 cm, which means you should use the needle that gives you this number of stitches. Therefore: if you knit super tightly without adjusting the needle size, you will get a tiny sweater.
It is also very common to knit much tighter in patterns than solid color knits, so here you often have to increase your needle size to get the right fit. knitting tension .
The knitting tension also changes as you become a better knitter. New knitters often sit a little tense and tighten the thread on the fly. It's not just your head that has to learn all the movements and techniques, but your muscles take some time to recognize the movements before you finally do it automatically.
Strikker du stramt, vil en glattere pinne i metall eller polert tre gjøre at garnet glir lettere, slik at du unngår at pinnene «setter seg fast». Strikker du derimot løst er bambuspinner et bedre valg, fordi det gir mer friksjon som unngår at maskene sklir ut eller blir veldig løse. Men viktigst av alt: prøv deg frem og se hva du liker best.
If you knit loosely, one can Pinne with more friction (wood, bamboo) help you gain better control and avoid the stitches slipping out or becoming very loose.
Measure around your chest and add between 5-10 cm to find the right width. Choose based on how tight you want the sweater to be, and whether you want room to wear clothes underneath. If you are going to wear the sweater a lot outside in rain and snow, the wool sweater will also shrink, so it is better for the sweater to be a little too big, than a little too small.
If you knit the sweater too tight, the sweater often slips up on the yoke and you have to constantly pull it down.
In order for the sweater to be the correct size in relation to the stated measurements, it is important that the number of stitches per 10 cm is correct, also on the pattern. Therefore, you may need to increase the needle size by 0.5 to 1 on the pattern so that the sweater does not become too tight.
The sizes given are standardized, but every body is different, and you can adjust the length of the arms and torso if you want them longer or shorter. It is completely impossible to make a size that fits perfectly on absolutely every body shape, so when you have become more experienced you can play around and mix things up a bit. Maybe you want a curve in the waist? Then you can go down in needle size in the middle of the torso so that it is tighter right there. In other words, you can use both the number of stitches and the needle size ( knitting tension ) to make the sweater exactly the way you want. But as a brand new knitter, it's a good idea to stick to the pattern.
I use the “long tale cast on” method when casting on stitches. This is the most common method of casting on stitches in Norway. I usually calculate that an arm’s length (from fingertip to armpit) of yarn is about 50 stitches: if I am going to cast on 200 stitches I calculate 4 arm’s lengths of yarn plus a little extra to be absolutely sure I have enough yarn to cast on before I make a loop, which is the first stitch. Cast on the stitches on the stated needle size.
(Tip: When I count the number of stitches, I first count 50, place a marker, count 50, place a marker, etc. If you count everything at once, you will quickly lose count, especially if someone tries to talk to you while you are counting. All knitters know how annoying that is!)
If you find it difficult to put on, I can happily tell you that most fresh knits think that this is the most difficult part of the whole sweater. Note! try to cast on so that you can pull the yarn back and forth on the needle, not too loose, but also not too tight.
Now you are going to start knitting rib. The purpose of rib is to create a kind of “knit” at the bottom, but also to prevent the body from curling.
The sweater is knitted in the round so the first stitch you knit is the very first stitch you cast on. Make sure the stitches are not twisted on the needle. If you start knitting with the stitches twisted you will end up with a kind of pretzel that is impossible to save.
In the turn-up of the Wilderness Sweater, you knit 1 knit stitch and 1 purl stitch. The knit stitches are shaped like a V, while the purl stitches are just a reverse knit stitch, and it has a kind of “pearl”. Many new knitters find rib difficult and a bit confusing. If you feel like you are losing all motivation from rib, knit it a little shorter than what is written in the pattern.
Tip: If you tend to knit very loose rib, you can knit “twisted knit” or “twisted purl” to make the rib tighter. I like the ribs really tight so I often knit twisted purl .
After ribbing, you should change to thicker fabric as stated. Pinne . You do this by knitting over the stitches in stockinette stitch on a circular needle. Stockinette stitch just means that you will knit only straight stitches. And now you are ready for diagram A. The diagram is read from right to left. You can put a post-it note over the rows you have not yet knitted to get a better overview of where you are in the diagram. Move the post-it note up as you finish a round.
There are many different methods for knitting patterns. Some people like to hold the threads on their index fingers, while others like to hold one in each hand. Find the method that works best for you. It is very common to knit much tighter with more threads, so try relaxing your hands. You may also want to increase the needle size in the pattern to get the right knitting tension .
Be constant with where you have the colors. The dominant color should be closest to the knitting so that it is highlighted and "pops". If you change the space on the threads, the result will be uneven. I usually have a skein lying to my left, and one to my right so that they do not spin together.
If you are completely fresh and have not quite gotten the knitting into your fingers yet, I recommend that you drop the pattern at the bottom and knit body and sleeves in one color so that you get the straight stitches into your fingers before you start on the pattern on the carrier piece.
See HERE for tips on how to knit patterns with thread in multiple colors.
Hooray! You are now done with the tiring part. Now you only need to knit solid-colored stitches for the body when you reach the specified measurement.
PS: It is common for new knitters to lose stitches, or to make new stitches along the way. Count over to make sure the number of stitches is correct. If the number of stitches differs: if you have lost stitches without picking them up again, you must take a small needle and a thread of yarn and pick up the stitch. Then sew the stitch together with the stitch above and sew the thread to the inside of the sweater. However, if you have managed to increase the number of stitches by accident, you must decrease these by knitting stitches together evenly distributed on the next round. You decrease stitches by knitting two stitches together.
You start with double pointed needles in the specified needle size. Double pointed needles are also called set needles. The first thing you do is cast on stitches. A set of double pointed needles consists of 5 needles where you cast on stitches divided over 4 needles and use the fifth needle to knit with. There are so few stitches at the bottom of the sleeves of the Wilderness Sweater that I usually only use 4 needles for the rib (I cast on 3 needles and use the fourth to knit with).
There are two different ways to cast on stitches on double pointed needles: you can either cast on all of them in one Pinne and distribute them over 3 needles afterwards, or you can cast on the stitches evenly across the needles at once (I usually cast on the stitches evenly across the needles at once).
The sleeve is knitted round and round, just like the body. Make sure nothing has twisted before you start! The first few rounds are a bit tough, and here the needles often fly around a bit and it feels a bit chaotic, but it gets better as you go! When you have finished knitting the stitches on a Pinne , you just continue knitting on the next Pinne . Be sure to tighten a little when you start knitting a new one. Pinne . It is easy to get a little loose in the transitions and you want to avoid that. Continue around and around until the rib measures the correct length.
When you have finished knitting the rib on the sleeves, you should both change needle size and increase stitches.
You do this by knitting the stitches onto thicker double pointed needles in the specified size, while increasing the number of stitches stated in the pattern evenly. Here you have to knit over the stitches on 4 needles (and not 3 as in rib) as there are more stitches on the needle. You increase stitches by lifting up the small “bridge” between two stitches and knitting this twisted. It is important that you knit the stitch twisted so that it has a little “twist” to avoid holes in the knitting. If you are unsure how to increase stitches, you can watch this video for example.
Knit pattern at the bottom. Knitting pattern with double pointed needles can be a bit tricky and it can easily get a bit tight. Make sure the threads on the inside are not too tight. Try them on as you go.
As you get a little more stitches on your double pointed needles, you can switch to a small circular needle size 6 (40 cm long). Knit the sleeve to the stated, or desired, length.
Many people think that it is super difficult to put the sleeves on the body. It is absolutely insanely easy! The sweater now looks like this: sleeve, front, sleeve, back. The beginning of the round is behind the left sleeve.
Here's how: when you have finished knitting the sleeve, place the specified number of stitches, from the underside of the sleeve, on a thread as shown in the picture.
The sleeve is finished knitting and stitches are set aside for armholes.
Take out the body and put the specified number of stitches on a thread. Then knit over the sleeve on the same Pinne as the ball.
Stitches from sleeves and body are set off. The sleeve is now ready to be knitted over on the same Pinne as the ball.
Now continue knitting to the other side of the body and place the stated number of stitches on a thread. Knit over the next sleeve in the same way and continue knitting until you reach the beginning of the round.
The beginning of the round is behind the left sleeve. So to find out where to start to center the pattern, you first need to mark the center front of the sweater.
The easiest way to get the pattern centered is to mark each and every stitch to be knitted in pattern color from the middle of the front of the sweater until you get to the beginning of the round.
The repeat is 6 stitches, so you mark a stitch, count 5 and mark the 6th stitch, count 5, mark the 6th stitch, etc. until you reach the beginning of the round. Now you know exactly which stitch to knit first in the pattern color.
When you knit the paws you do the same. The repeat is 16 stitches so you mark 16 stitches mid front, mark 16 stitches again etc. until you reach the beginning of the round.
Here I have marked where the paws should be.
After you have finished knitting the first part of the diagram, decrease evenly:
If I have 200 stitches on the needle and I need to decrease 40 stitches, I divide 200 by 40. Then I get 5. That means I need to decrease every 5th stitch. Then I start by knitting 4 stitches. Decrease. The stitch I now have on the right Pinne counts as 1 stitch since it was the previous stitch you decreased, not the one you now have on the needle. So then I count 1 (the one you have on the needle), 2, 3, 4 and decrease the fifth stitch. Repeat.
If you are told that you should decrease, for example, every 4.3 stitches, it might be a good idea to note how many stitches you have counted with a row counter.
You can also use stitch markers and mark every 5th stitch so you know exactly where to decrease, and you don't have to count while decreasing. This takes a little longer, but then you are sure to decrease the correct number.
When you knit the paws, the threads can get very long on the inside. I don't normally twist the threads that often when I knit with flea yarn because it feels good on the inside of the sweater, but behind (and between) the paws the distance is so long that it is necessary here. It is as easy as it sounds. You just need to make a small twist at the back so that the thread stays close (as shown in the picture). Be sure to tighten it a little when you continue knitting with the yarn you have picked up. If the thread gets too loose, it may be visible on the outside of the sweater.
When knitting the paws you should decrease in the diagram. A “V” represents 1 stitch so you just knit these two stitches together.
Now you put the stitches under the sleeve onto 2 double pointed needles. I usually pick up 2 stitches on each side so that there are no holes. Then you turn the sweater inside out and join the stitches under the sleeves from the wrong side – as shown HERE .
When sewing in threads afterwards, use a little thread and “seal” any holes. Sew in loose threads.
Newly knitted garments made of wool (not super-wash) should be rinsed after they have finished knitting.
There are several reasons for this. Newly knitted sweaters are very stiff and uncomfortable to wear. The pattern is also often a bit dented. After washing, the fibers "relax" and the wool becomes softer and the pattern becomes completely even. When the wool is wet, you also have the opportunity to stretch in shape. I usually stretch the support piece so that it is completely even.
The yarn can also contain remnants of excess color that are a good idea to get out.
I usually put the sweater in a bucket or in the bathtub with lukewarm water. Then I squeeze all the air out of the sweater. Then I let it drain a little and squeeze the excess water out of the sweater. Finally, I put the sweater on a towel and roll the towel into a sausage. I usually do this a couple of times (with a new towel) before finally drying the sweater flat. You dry wool garments flat because wet wool stretches, which is quite nice to know if you actually want it to last longer in some places. Alafosslopi takes a while to dry, so if you have a warm bathroom floor you can dry it there.
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