It all started with Musica: The Hat. The hat was followed by the mitts and socks. These were also popular, so I designed the cowl and then the felted bag and purse. All of the Musica patterns can be found in my Ravelry store. Music lovers wanted more, so finally, after months of pondering, I came up with Musica: The Sweater. The pattern is gender-neutral, and it contains multiple sizes for both men and women. The construction is uncomplicated. The pattern employs drop shoulders, so there is no sleeve shaping! If you don't want to knit a ribbed crew neck, simply knit several rounds of black stockinette stitch and let it roll naturally. Few rules make this a fun, fast knit. And because the sweater is stranded, it has double the wool for extra warmth. Also, because it is stranded, there is a lot of give in the knitted fabric, allowing it to block readily and easily for shaping and sizing to accommodate the knitter's specifications. Size: Women's S/M Chest measurement blocks to 42"- 44" Sleeve length blocks to 20"- 22" Body length blocks to 23"- 25" Women's M/L Chest measurement blocks to 45"’ - 47"" Sleeve length blocks to 22" - 23" Body length blocks to 25" -26" Men's S Chest measurement blocks to 42''- 44" Sleeve length blocks to 20"- 22" Body length blocks to 23"- 25" Men's M/L Chest measurement blocks to 49" - 51" Sleeve length blocks to 23" - 25" Body length blocks to 25" - 27"
Materials: NOTE: Women’s size S/M and Men's S are the same. These yarn requirements appear in bold, followed in parentheses by Women's M/L, Men's M/L.
Gauge: 6 sts per inch before blocking Instructions: NOTE: Women's size S/M and Men's S are the same. These instruction numbers will appear in bold, followed in parentheses by Women's M/L, Men's M/L. For a Women’s XS, simply use the instructions in bold with a smaller (#3) needle. Note that, because both body and sleeves are worked from the bottom up, you can easily adjust body length and sleeve length by simply adding rounds of the black and cream generic part of the design (as seen in rounds 26- 31 of CHARTC). Note: The rounds begin and end at the side of the sweater body, under the left arm. The pattern will not line up perfectly here on some sizes, but this will not be obvious. Note: Be careful to keep your yarn dominance consistent. Always keep your background and foreground yarns in the same positions to keep an even look throughout your work. Also, remember LEO when carrying yarn across the back of your work: float Loosely, Evenly and Qften. Body: CO 252 (268, 292) sts, using Black. Join to work in the round, placing marker at beginning of round taking care not to twist sts. Work 2x2 corrugated ribbing for 14 (14, 16) rounds according to CHART A (A, B). After the ribbing is complete, on first round of chart, increase st count, if needed, so you will be working on 252 (271, 294) sts. Follow CHART C, placing marker at the halfway point after st 126 (135, 147) Work 3 ( 3.25, 3.5) repeats per round for 77 (102, 102) rounds. CHARTs D and E reflect the additional sts needed per round for larger sizes. The charts only show the additional sts through round 55, but continue the pattern with the additional sts all the way up. order to keep working in the round, the armholes will be formed using steek? A WORD ON STEEKS: Steeks are additional waste stitches (usually 10 to 12) added to a piece that allow the knitter to keep working in the round. (See Sample chart below.) The steek stitches will be cut after the knitting is completed, allowing the piece to open up or lie flat. Steeks are the perfect innovation for knitters, like me, who don't want to purl or read a colorwork chart “backward." Steeks allow you to knit the entire body of a sweater in one tubular piece. After the body of the piece is constructed, the steek stitches are secured with a machine stitch or by hand, then trimmed. The sleeves, knitted separately, are then added to the newly-formed armhole.
On round 78 (103, 103), work chart to center marker, slip marker, CO 5 steek sts (backloop CO to right-hand needle),place another marker, CO 5 more steek sts, place a marker. Continue round per chart until the end. Slip marker. CO 5 stek sts, place marker, CO 5 more steek sts, place marker. Continue with next round of chart, and each subsequent round, knitting additional steek sts as you go, alternating colors per steek chart example above. On rounds with solid colors, simply knit the solid color; there's no need to carry extra yarns in these rounds. Continue body, working through round 136 of CHART C. Then begin working pattern as shown in rounds 26- 31 for an additional 6 (12, 12) rounds---OR MORE FOR DESIRED BODY LENGTH. Remember, if you add additional rounds for length, you will have to add additional sleeve width to match increased armhole size later.
Neck Shaping:
front: Knit steek sts. Knit per design pattern 38 (43, 48) sts. Move center 50 sts to a stitch holder. Knit 38, (43, 49) sts. Complete round. Next round: Knit steek sts and 38 (43, 48) sts. Place marker, CO 4 steek sts, place marker, CO 4 more steek sts, place marker, then complete the round. Next round, and every other round will be a dec round. Knit steek sts, and knit to last 2 sts before marker, knit 2 sts together. Slip marker, complete steek, slip marker, Knit 2 sts together (shaping of front neck has begun!). Complete round. Next round, knit per pattern, including all steeks. Next round, decrease as the round before last. Follow this pattern for 6 rounds total (6 dec sts so far). And now, continue this pattern but adding back shaping. back: While working front per established pattern, continuing to dec at neck edge every other round, begin back neck shaping as follows. Complete side steek. Knit first 35 (40, 45) sts across back. Place center 56 sts on stitch holder. Knit final 35 (40, 46) sts across back to end. Knit across front, per established dec pattern, work side steek sts. On back, knit 35 (40, 45) sts across back. Place marker, CO 4 steek sts, place marker, CO 4 more steek sts, place marker, then complete the round. Next round, and every other round will be a dec round. Knit steek sts, and knit to last 2 sts before marker, knit 2 sts together. Slip marker, complete steek, slip marker, knit 2 sts together (shaping of back neck has begun!). Complete round. Next round, knit per pattern, including all steeks. Next round, decrease as the round before last. Follow this pattern for 6 rounds total. Because dec rounds occur every other round, the back has 3 dec rounds and front has 6 dec rounds for a total of 18 dec sts all together. ON FINAL ROUND, BO all steek sts as you work, including armhole steeks. Cut open steeks carefully and, by hand or, preferably, by machine, secure steek sts by sewing as closely to the piece as you can. Shoulders: The stitches you have remaining on the needles comprise your shoulder stitches. Line these up and Kitchener each shoulder seam separately, front to back. Sleeve: Make 2. Using DPNs, CO 52 (56, 60) sts, using Black, taking care not to twist sts. Work 2x2 corrugated ribbing for 14 (14, 16) rounds according to CHART F (G,H). After the ribbing is complete, continue following CHART F, ( G, H) , increasing on the first round to 60 (66, 70) sts evenly around. Continue the established pattern per chart increasing for the number of rounds needed to get you to 156 (192, 192) rounds, switching from DPNs to 16” circular needle when appropriate. Remember, if you added additional rounds to the body for extra length, you will have to add additional sleeve width to match increased armhole size now. When you hold the top of your sleeve next to the armhole, you should see a fairly close fit. If not, you will need to adjust increases. There is plenty of give in the wool, so if you are within an inch, you are fine. Now check sleeve length. If you want the sleeves longer, simply do more rounds, per pattern, without increases. BO loosely, leaving a long tail for attaching to sweater. Crew Neck Ribbing and Facing: Starting at the back, move the sts from your stitch holder to your 16-inch circular needle. Now, using Black, pick up and knit 19 (19, 21) stitches around the neck edge to the sts on the front holder. Move the stitches from your front st holder to your needle and pick up and knit an additional 19 (19, 21) sts from the second neck edge side. Work 2x2 corrugated per CHART I for 7 rounds. Switch to #3 circular needle, PURL one round, then work stockinette for an additional 8 rounds. BO loosely. Finishing: Tie and trim all yarn ends. Trim all steek threads close to stitching. Tack down neck facing, making sure steek remnants are enclosed in facing. Soak and block to desired shape.
CHARTA Body Ribbing and Sleeve cuff for Women's Sweater
CHART D Additional round sts added to CHART C for Body Woman's M/L and Men's S (only shown here through round 55, but keep going!)
CHARTE Additional round sts added to Chart C for Body Men's M/L (only shown here through round 55, but keepgoing!)
CHARTF Sleeve (Women's S/M) Cuff uses 52 sts, then first round of sleeve inc evenly to 60 sts
CHARTG Sleeve (Women's M/L, Men's S) Cuff uses 56 sts, then first round of sleeve inc evenly to 66 sts
CHART H Sleeve (Men's M/L) Cuff uses 60 sts, then first round of sleeve inc evenly to 70 sts
Copyright 2014 by Deborah Tomasello All rights reserved. This pattern or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the publisher. WARNING: Giving or accepting a free copy of this pattern to another, without permission of the designer, is stealing.
