A sweater is called a knitwear for the upper body, which is equipped with a fastener in front. This refers to the fastener from the bottom to the very top. The length of the jacket reaches the waist or hips. Longer items are already called cardigans.
A manually knitted warm jacket looks especially attractive and is best able to warm a person.
What should I know before proceeding with knitting?
As a rule, yarn with a high content of natural fibers (at least 50%) is used for all warm knitted products. It can be wool, mohair or angora.
Yarn can be different, its quality is affected by raw materials, processing, dyeing and other procedures, as well as the qualifications of the manufacturer. It is better to use soft yarn of Turkish or Italian manufacturers with a thickness of 200 m / 100 grams. The density of knitting should be moderate or even loose. Oddly enough, but a soft, loosely knitted fabric retains heat perfectly.
Elements of a classic warm sweatshirt
Warm women's sweaters can be knitted or crocheted. Often the list of parts does not change. It includes:
- backrest detail;
- two details are given;
- two details of sleeves;
- shelves;
- collar;
- pockets, hood, belt may be present in some models.
Some sweaters have a very specific cut. They can be made in the form of a large circle with or without sleeves, a rectangle sewn in a certain way, or have some other unusual shape.
Warm jacket with knitting needles
Knitting needles are most often used for knitting warm products. They allow you to create a really soft and pleasant to the touch canvas.
As a pattern, absolutely any motive can be used. Of course, if you plan to knit a winter product, then it is better to dwell on solid ornaments. But even dense patterns are decorated with insignificant elements of lace that do not reduce the quality of the product at all.
When choosing high-quality beautiful yarn, warm sweaters with knitting needles (patterns are not needed for this) can be connected with the most elementary patterns, right down to the front or wrong side. That is what the authors of the melange sweater in the photograph did.
Her cut is completely ordinary, there is not even an elastic band on the bottom of the sleeves, as well as on the details of the front and back. The main decoration is elite alpaca yarn and a mischievous hood.
Jacket with braids
A braid, aran or harness is the most recognizable element that has become literally a symbol of hand knitting. Its use is extremely widespread and is used to decorate all parts of sweaters without exception.
In the photo below, the braids are located across the entire width of the back part, pass a narrow strip in the center of the sleeve, and are also placed on the collar.
Such a schalke collar is usually knitted with a single piece with shelves. The correct manufacture of this part requires some skill and the ability to carefully calculate the loops and rows.
A warm jacket can be knitted using the pattern from the next photo. It offers a composition of very simple braids. Some of them include air loops, giving the ornament a slight openwork.
The optimal location of this fragment is the center of the detail of the back, sleeves and shelves. In this case, you don’t have to think about how to reduce the pattern loops for armholes and rounds, because there will be a simple surface at the edges of the canvas.
Features of crocheting warm sweaters
For those craftsmen who have crochet skills, making such a product as a warm jacket is even easier and more affordable. Often, crocheting large sizes (3.5-5 mm) and thick yarn allows you to quickly create large fabrics.
Of course, each craftswoman has her own speed, but crocheting a back detail for a day is quite realistic. The specifics of making crocheted sweaters consists in the following points:
- Too openwork patterns should be avoided. With a thread thickness of 200 m / 100 grams, the proportions of the pattern increase and the holes become too large, and a warm jacket crocheted will not be so warm.
- Do not go into the opposite extreme and try to tie a too dense pattern. It will look like a wooden board.
- You cannot plan knitting patterns with any folds. It is better to give preference to simple straight silhouettes. The fabric created by crochet is always tougher than that made by knitting needles, and beautiful folds will not work.
- Crocheting is very convenient to knit a bar for sweaters. It turns out to be moderately tough and holds its shape well. Many craftswomen prefer to sew the bar crocheted on sweaters made using knitting needles.
Crochet Sweater Sequence
The photo below shows a warm sweater, crocheted. Her model can be called universal, as it is very easy to adapt to any pattern, color and type of yarn.
An openwork ornament was chosen as a pattern, however, this will not become a product drawback if the yarn contains 50-80% of warm fibers. The figure suggests several patterns suitable for crocheting sweaters.
Details of the front, back and sleeves are rectangles. This technique is used when the scheme of a warm sweater is difficult to reduce and add loops. This is not to say that this is a very elegant product, since it turns out to be quite massive. Rather, such a warm jacket is intended only for convenience and warmth.
The hood and pockets are knitted last. The hood can also be tied in the form of a rectangle, but it is still better to calculate the pattern and follow it.
When all the basic parts are ready, they are assembled using a knitted seam or crocheted on the wrong side of the canvas.
Final stage: plank and strapping
The stitched details of a warm sweater are washed and dried unfolded. Instead, you can steam them a little from the iron, but here it is important not to overdo it and not deform the canvas.
When the jacket is leveled and takes shape, you can proceed to strapping. Its first row always consists of single crochet columns. In order not to knit ruffles instead of planks, or vice versa, not to tighten the harness, you need to knit a sample and calculate the loops. Do not ignore this rule, otherwise you will have to dissolve a lot. When tying the edges of the product, attention should be paid to the formation of angles. they should be equal to 90 degrees (formed when knitting three loops from one corner).
You can also tie the bar separately and then sew on. But you need to be very careful about the seam: it will be visible from two sides and it should be perfect.
The strap is knitted with a one-piece cloth with a hood trim. Thus, the product will receive a complete look.