Little Crystals - Knitting Pattern
Little Crystals - Knitting Pattern
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Ever wanted to knit a traditional colorwork sweater, but steeking put you off? Say hello to Little Crystals. Get the traditional look, with a modern seamless construction. Perfectly oversized without compromising on fit.
Construction:
This English tailored modified drop shoulder garment is worked from the top down seamlessly. The shoulders are carefully shaped to end above the bicep for all sizes. The pattern starts by shaping the upper back, then stitches are picked up and knit for the fronts. The fronts are joined after the neckline shaping is complete, the armholes are shaped, and then the piece is joined in the round. Once the body is finished stitches are picked up for the sleeves and the sleeves are knit in the round. Most of the colorwork is done in the round, but there is a small portion of colorwork on the fronts and the back that is worked flat.
The colorwork for each size is fully charted.
As with all my size inclusive garment patterns, you can use the code ANTIFATTAX to get 20% off the pattern, intended for sizes 6-10 to help combat the extra costs incurred by knitting larger sizes.
Difficulty: Intermediate
Not ideal for your first colorwork project, but a great transition into colorwork sweaters. The longest float is 6 stitches, and that’s only on one row in the large motif.
You will need to work colorwork flat for a small portion of the sweater. The sleeves and body are worked in the round.
This pattern has been professionally tech edited and test knit.
Details
Sizing
10 sizes graded to fit a full bust of 30” to 66” / 75 cm to 165 cm.
Full bust circumference:
36.5”, 42.75”, 45.75”, (48.75”, 54.75”, 58”) {61”, 67”, 70”, 73.25”} / 91.5 cm, 106.5 cm, 114.5 cm, (122 cm, 137 cm, 145 cm) {152.5 cm, 167.5 cm, 175 cm, 183 cm}
Little Crystals is meant to be oversized, super cozy, with long roomy sleeves with loose cuffs. I recommend 6-8” / 15-20 cm of positive ease at the bust. For better fit consider choosing the size graded for your Upper Chest measurement.
See photos 9 and 10 for the schematic and size chart.
Samples are size 2 worn by Céline with ~7.5” / 19 cm of positive ease, and by Pierre-Yves with 4.75” / 12 cm of positive ease.
The shoulder is graded to drop 2.5” / 6.5 cm past the shoulder tip, accounting for the weight of the sleeves. Please note that Superwash yarn will stretch more and result in a bigger drop (see blue Cascade 220 Superwash sample vs. the ginger Cascade 220 sample). If you have broad shoulders you may wish to size up to achieve the intended shoulder fit.
The large motif is uninterrupted at the bicep, so several sizes share bicep circumferences. In most sizes the lower arm is then gently tapered to the wrist. Little Crystals has oversized, cozy, and super long sleeves, but that may not be your preference. A few test knitters added additional shaping to the wrist, and/or shortened the sleeves to suit their preferences. I highly recommend using the schematic to help you decide if you’d like to make modifications.
Gauge
Needles & Notions
(Colorwork) US 8 / 5.0 mm circular needles, or size needed to obtain gauge after blocking.
(Ribbing) US 4 / 3.5 mm circular needles for the ribbing.
A few stitch markers (including some removable ones), darning needle, scissors, waste yarn or extra cables for putting stitches on hold.
Yardage
Cascade 220 (220 yards / 200 meters per 100 g), 100% Wool, or comparable worsted weight yarn.
MC (Natural): 4, 5, 5, (5, 6, 6) {6, 7, 7, 7} skeins
OR 865, 933, 978, (1073, 1141, 1180) {1278, 1346, 1449, 1483} yards / 787, 858, 889, (976, 1038, 1072) {1162, 1224, 1317, 1348} meters.
CC (Ginger): 2, 2, 2, (3, 3, 3) {3, 3, 3, 3} skeins
OR 375, 405, 419, (458, 485, 506) {546, 573, 613, 634} yards / 341, 369, 381, (417, 441, 460) {496, 521, 558, 576} meters.
Blue sample is knit in Cascade 220 Superwash, in the colors 910 A and Westpoint Blue Heather.
Techniques
Long Tail CO
Backwards Loop CO
Italian BO
Colorwork flat and in the round
K2tog
K3tog
M1L / M1Lp
M1R / M1Rp
PU and K
SSK
SSSK
German Short Rows (optional)
Duplicate Stitch (if working bust short rows)
What’s Included
-Main pattern PDF
-At least 5 bust dart options per size
-Illustrated construction overview
-Links to video tutorials and explanations of special techniques, including one for how to work fair isle without a jog
-Tips for colorwork, and recommendations on where to switch color dominance
-Chart for swatch
-Prompt pattern support
Related Blog Posts
Check out this blog post for a walkthrough of the pattern schematic, which may help with choosing a size.
Little Crystals Schematic Breakdown
For test knitter photos check out this blog post instead.