Flirt by Christina McNamee
This is a seamless, steekless Fair Isle sweater in bulky weight cotton. It's a great first Fair Isle project, even if it does require two color purling. Be brave and try a swatch flat. It's not as hard as you think! It's also a good way to check your tension, which may shift between two color knitting and two color purling. The inspiration for the sweater came from the yarns, which I got for a song at the Maryland Sheep & Wool Festival. I wanted a flirty, end of summer sweater, and after poring over my stitch dictionary, I decided this eight stitch peerie was perfect. This project is a great way to flirt with Fair Isle. With bulky yarn and simple seamless raglan style, it's meant to be a breezy, quick knit that still flatters your shape.
The Fair Isle chart was found in The Harmony Guide to Fair Isle and Aran Knitting by Debra Mountford. Difficulty level Intermediate
Materials
Takhi Cotton Creole ( $100\%$ cotton; 109 yards / 100 meters per 100g skein); (MC) color: pink; 4 (5, 5, 6, 6) skeins (CC) color: wine red; 1 (1, 1, 1, 1) skein Note: This yarn has been discontinued. Substitute approximately 440 (495, 550, 605, 660) yds / 405 (455, 505, 555, 605)m bulky weight yarn for MC, and 55 (55, 55, 110, 110) yds / 50 (50, 50, 100, 100)m bulky weight yarn for CC. 1 set US #11/8mm double-point needles 32 inch US #11/8mm circular needle (6) 1"/2.5cm buttons 4 stitch markers tapestry needle scrap yarn for stitch holders needle & CC matched thread (optional) Sizes S (M, L, XL, XXL) Finished bust 32 (36, 40, 44, 48)" / 81 (90, 102, 112, 118)cm Length 18 (19, 20, 21, 22)" / 46 (48, 51, 53, 56)cm
Gauge
11 sts/18 rows $=$ 4" / 10cm in stockinette stitch
Abbreviations & Stitch Patterns
CC--contrast color Kfb--knit into the front and back of the next st (1 st increased) Pm--place marker SSK--slip 2 sts individually as if to knit, then knit them together through the backloop Tbl--through the back loop YO--yarn over
With circular ndl, cast on 88 (97, 108, 122, 129) stitches in CC. Work 4 rows seed stitch.
Using MC and working a selvedge stitch, knit 22 (24, 27, 30, 32) stitches, pm, knit 44 (49, 54, 62, 65) stitches, pm, knit remaining 22 (24, 27, 30, 32) stitches. Work in stockinette stitch for 7 more rows. Shape waist as foll: Dec row (RS): \*Knit to 3 sts before marker, k2tog, k1, slip marker, k1, SSK; repeat from \* once, knit to end. Rep dec row every 8th row twice more; 76 (85, 96, 110, 117) sts. Work 7 rows stockinette. Inc row (RS): \*Knit to 2 sts before marker, kfb, k1, slip marker, k1, kfb; repeat from \* once, knit to end. Rep inc row every 8th row twice more; 88 (97, 108, 122, 129) sts. Work even until piece measures 13.5 (13.75, 14.25, 14.75, 15)" / 34 (35, 36, 37, 38)cm from cast on. Cast off at underarms as foll: \*Knit to 3 (4, 5, 6, 7) sts before marker. Cast off 6 (8, 10, 12, 14) stitches. Repeat from \* once, knit to end. Place remaining stitches on holders and set aside.
Sleeves (Make two)
(Note: I cast on and did the Fair Isle work for each sleeve on DPNs, worked a row and then switched to the "two sleeves, two circs" method. If all your sweaters have one sleeve longer than the other, give this method a shot!) Cast on 18 (18, 27, 27, 27) stitches in CC. Join, being careful not to twist, place marker for the beginning of the row and work 4 rounds seed stitch. Using MC, work 3 rounds stockinette stitch. Begin Fair Isle chart, working 2 (2, 3, 3, 3) repeats of the chart over the sleeve. When finished, cut CC color. Work three rounds stockinette in MC. Inc rnd: K1, kfb, knit to last 2 sts, kfb, k1. Rep inc round every 4th round 8 (9, 7, 9, 11) more times; 36 (38, 43, 47, 51) sts.
Work even until sleeve measures 17 (17.5, 18, 18.5, 19)" / 43 (44, 46, 47, 49)cm or desired length to underarm. Cast off for underarm as foll: K to last 3 (4, 5, 6, 7) sts. Cast off 6 (8, 10, 12, 14) stitches. Place rem sts on holder and set aside.
Yoke
From the body of the sweater, knit 19 (20, 22, 24, 26) stitches from the left front, pm, knit the 30 (30, 33, 35, 37) stitches of the first sleeve (make sure the cast off stitches from the sleeve are facing the cast off stitches from the body!), pm, knit the 38 (41, 44, 50, 51) stitches from the back of the body, pm, knit the 30 (30, 33, 35, 37) sts of the second sleeve, pm, knit the remaining 19 (20, 22, 24, 26) stitches from the right front; 136 (141, 154, 168, 177) sts. P 1 row. Knit Raglan Decrease Row: $^{\ast}\mathsf{K}$ to 3 sts before marker, k2tog, k1, slip marker, k1, SSK; rep from \* 3 more times, k to end. Purl Decrease Row: ${}^{\star}\mathsf{P}$ to 3 sts before marker, p2tog, p1, slip marker, p1, p2tog tbl; rep from \* 3 more times, p to end. Rep these 2 dec rows twice more. Sizes M, XL, XXL, skip to \*\*\* Sizes S, L only: K to 1 st past 1st marker, SSK, knit to 3 stitches before 2nd marker, k2tog, k to 1 st past 3rd marker, SsK, k to 3 sts before last marker, k2tog, k to end. P 1 row. Proceed to \*\*\*. \*\*Work pattern as foll: Work the selvedge stitch, K1, work the FarIse chat 9 (10, 11, 13, 14) repeats] across the yoke, work selvedge stitch. Fair Isle chart ends on a knit row. Purl across wrong side. Work in stockinette for 6 (6, 8, 8, 10) rows, resuming raglan decreases on knit rows only. Shape neck as foll: (Continue the raglan decreases while doing this shaping!) Cast off 3 (4, 3, 3, 4) stitches at the beginning of the next two rows. SSK at the beginning and k2tog at the end of every right side row 1 (1, 2, 3, 3) more times. Next Right Side Row: Slip 1, k2tog, psso, k21, slip marker, k1, SSK, knit until 3 stitches before marker, k2tog, k1, slip marker, k1, slip 1, k2tog, psso. There should be two stitches remaining before the first stitch marker and after the last stitch marker. P 1 row. Cast off all sts.
Neck bands and border:
Left Front Pick up 41 (47, 47, 53, 53) stitches along left front in CC. Work 3 rows seed stitch and bind off in pattern. Right Front Pick up 41 (47, 47, 53, 53) stitches along right front in CC, starting at the bottom of the sweater. Work 1 row in seed stitch. Row 2: \*K2tog, Y0, work 5 (6, 6, 7, 7) stitches in seed stitch; Repeat from \*\* four more times. Work 4 (5, 5, 6, 6) stitches in seed stitch, k2tog. Row 3: Increase, then work the remainder of the row in seed stitch Bind off in pattern. Neckband Starting on the right neck edge of CC band, pick up 1 stitch in CC, cast on 1 stitch, and then continue picking up stitches along the collar of the sweater. Knit three rows seed stitch and bind off in pattern. The cast on stitch coupled with the final k2tog act as the sixth buttonhole.
Finishing
Sew sleeve seams and weave in ends. Attach buttons at their corresponding positions on the left front. You may need to whipstitch the buttonholes with needle and thread to keep them sturdy.
