PURE Knitted Sweater-Pattern and tutorial

Also available in: Español

Hi Creative! In today’s post, I want to show you how to make a knitted sweater, which although it is a basic pattern and very simple to knit, it has some points of interest that make it different.

• First of all, its dropped sleeve, which we will get by working increases in the armholes to form part of the sleeve while we knit the body.
• Secondly, the buttoning on the shoulders. An essential detail for baby sizes
• Thirdly, the chain stitch details on the neck, bottom and sleeves. You can make them in the same color or with a contrasting color, combine several tones and even make a rainbow.
• And finally, the most striking is the gradient. Using a suitable yarn, you can knit a beautiful gradient sweater.

Of course, since this is a basic pattern, you can knit it in gradient or plain, using various colors or any combination of stitches you like.

It is also an ideal pattern to apply embroideries and drawings by working duplicate stitches.

Gauge

10 x 10 cm = 17 stitches x 24 rows in Stockinette Stitch

Available sizes

In addition to the free size (6-8 years) that you will find in this tutorial, the PURE knitted sweater is available in the following sizes

1-3 months
3-6 months
6-12 months
12-24 months
2-4 years
4-6 years
6-8 years
8-10 years

As usual with my patterns, you can buy the sizes separately, or get the pattern containing the 8 available sizes for a super reduced price, click here to choose!

The PURE DEGRADE Sweater is knitted in one piece, starting at the front, shaping the shoulders and neckline and continuing on the back. Once the body of the knitted sweater is finished, we will pick up the sleeve stitches and knit them. We will conclude our garment by adding the buttons and the decorative chain stitches on the collar, hem and cuffs..

1. Knit the front of the sweater

Knit the hem of the sweater

Cast on 71 stitches. If you are using Pure Degradé yarn for your project, use the outer strand of the ball.

As shown in the image below, I have reserved a very long strand of purple yarn. This purple yarn will be used later to crochet the decorative chain stitch at the bottom once the sweater is finished. If you are using a plain coloured yarn, you don’t need to have this forethought, as you can use the leftover cotton at the end of the sweater.

Knit 10 rows in 1×1 rib stitch.

Knit the front part up to the armhole

To form the body of the sweater, knit 48 rows in stockinette stitch (approx. 25 cm ).

Shape the armhole

From this point on, we will start shaping the armhole area by working symmetrical increases at the beginning and end of each odd-numbered row (right side row)

Row 61. k2, M1L, knit until you have only 2 stitches left, M1R, k2.

Row 62. Purl all the sts.

Repeat rows 61 and 62 until you have increased a total of 8 stitches on each side. At the end of row 75 you will have 87 stitches on your needle.

Once the armhole increases have been completed, knit 17 more rows in stockinette stitch (approximately 7 cm).

In the next right-side row (row 93), we will bind off the stitches at the base of the neck to start shaping the neckline. To do this, knit 35 stitches, bind off 17 stitches, and knit to the end.

Shape the neckline and left shoulder

From here, we will knit the left shoulder and start shaping the left neckline area. We are going to work only with the last 35 stitches. The rest of the stitches belonging to the other shoulder can be left on the working needle without any problem, or you can place them on hold in a stitch holder or waste yarn.

Row 94. Purl all the sts.

Row 95. k1, s1k1psso, knit to end.

Repeat rows 94 and 95 until you have decreased a total of 6 stitches in the neckline area. At the end of row 105 you will have 29 stitches on your needle.

To finish the left shoulder, we are going to knit the button placket. This time, as I’m working with a thick yarn, I’m not going to open buttonholes, as the buttons I’m going to use will pass easily between the stitches. If you are going to knit your sweater with a thinner yarn, or if you plan to use larger diameter buttons, it is recommended that you open some buttonholes in this button placket.

To form the placket, knit 6 rows in 1×1 Rib Stitch and bind off all the stitches.

Shape the right shoulder

Go back to the stitches you have on the needle for the right shoulder.

Row 94. Purl all the sts.

Row 95. Knit until you only have 3 stitches left, k2tog, k1.

Repeat rows 96 and 97 until you have decreased a total of 6 stitches in the neckline area. At the end of row 105 you will have 29 stitches on your needle.

Knit these 29 stitches on the right shoulder for 5 more rows

Shape the neck area

Now that you have formed the neckline and the left and right shoulder, let’s join both sides.

On the next right side row, knit 29 stitches and then cast on 29 stitches at the edge. These new stitches will form the base of the back of the neck.

Knit a new piece for the closing placket

Now let’s leave the stitches on your needle on standby to work a small piece that will help us form the left shoulder placket.

If you are knitting with the same degradé cotton, I propose in the tutorial, knit this new piece using a new strand from the inside of your other ball of PURE Degradé. If you are knitting with plain cotton or wool, use a new ball to knit it.

On your free needle, cast on 29 stitches and work 6 rows in 1×1 Rib Stitch.

Once you have formed this small piece, we will join it with the 58 stitches we have on the main needle.

It would be best if you made sure the strands are as shown in the picture. Take the yarn you have on the right needle and knit the stitches of the new piece with it; this way, you will have joined the two parts and you will have 87 stitches on your needle.

2. Knit the back of the sweater.

Knit the back of the armholes

Now that we have 87 stitches on our needle again, we will knit the upper back area.

If you are knitting with the degradé cotton, cut the yarn and weigh the excess. Take the second degraded ball and cut off a similar amount to the leftover from the first ball. Continue knitting with that yarn.

If you are knitting with a plain cotton, you will not need to make any changes. Continue knitting with the same plain color yarn as normal.

Work 31 rows in stockinette stitch to form the back of the armholes (approximately 12 cm).

From here, we will start working the armhole decreases.

Row 143. k1, s1k1psso, knit until you have only 3 sts left, k2tog, k1.

Row 144. Purl all the sts.

Repeat rows 141 and 142 until you have decreased a total of 8 stitches on each side. That is until you have 71 stitches on your needle.

Knit the back of the sweater and the hem.

Work 54 rows in stockinette stitch to form the entire back of the sweater.

Now it’s time to form the back hem. To do this, knit 9 rows in 1×1 rib stitch and bind off all the stitches.

3. Knit the neckline

With the right side facing you, pick up the stitches around the neck. This time I have decided to knit the stitch as I pick it up. You can learn how to pick up the neck stitches by watching this video.

When finished, you will have approximately 77-79 stitches on your needle. Make sure it is an odd number of stitches.

Starting with wrong side row, knit 5 rows in 1×1 rib stitch and in the 6th row, bind off all stitches.

4. Knit the sleeves

Once the whole body of the sweater is finished, it’s time to knit the sleeves. Let’s start with the left sleeve.

With the right side of the sweater facing you, start picking up the stitches on the back of the sleeve. When you reach the placket area, overlap one side with the other and pick up the stitches on both sides simultaneously. Continue picking up stitches until you reach the other armpit.

To pick up the stitches on the sleeve, you must pick up 4 stitches, skip 1 stitch without picking up and continue this scheme (pick up 4, skip 1 without picking up) until the end. At the end, you will have 55 stitches on your needle.

Knit these 55 stitches for 60 rows or until the sleeve is the length you want (not counting the cuff). 25 cm. approx.

Once you reach the cuff area, knit some decreases to adjust it to the wrist. In right-side row, *k1, 2tog*. Repeat from *to * until the end. You will have 55 stitches on your needle to form the cuff.

Knit 9 rows in 1×1 Rib Stitch and bind off all the stitches.

Knit the other sleeve in the same way.

5. Finishing touches

It’s time to put the finishing touches on our sweater!

First, fold the sweater at the shoulders and sew the sides and under the sleeves using an invisible seam.

Sew the buttons to the closing placket.

Finally, we will add a decorative chain stitch under the collar, on the sleeves and at the bottom of the sweater.

You can learn how to make this finishing using a crochet hook by watching this video:

Turn on English subtitles by clicking the CC icon at the bottom right corner of the video

I love to come up with basic garments so that you can completely customize them to your liking and make very different sweaters with the same pattern. You can knit it in a gradient version, in a plain color, alternating stripes, etc. I can imagine this sweater with a plain base, in an ecru or tan color and the decorative chains with contrasting colors 💕 There are a thousand options! 🤗

Remember, if you liked this tutorial, and it has inspired you, I would love to hear your opinion and read your comment below! and if you share your discovery will reach more people.

Once you have finished your PURE Knitted Sweater, share it with the world!. Show off the result on social networks with the hashtag #PUREsweater and #creativaatelier, so we can all enjoy your creation.

A big hug!