I’ve not been doing much sewing/ knitting/ crafting the last week or so as I’ve been stuck in some rather big diy projects in my flat! The good news is that they’re just about done. The bad is that blogging has taken a bit of a backseat! I shouldn’t be too hard in myself except that I had a few things lined up to blog and just never got around to writing them up!

So today I’m tackling that list with this pink knitted Breton sweater!

I’d picked up a few balls of this chunky wool from Stitch and Story before Christmas in one of their sales (they have sales rather often so don’t hesitate to wait for a good deal before purchasing!). I had enough of the heritage pink colourway for a sweater and a bit of the ivory white leftover from this project. I thought the combo would make a nice thin striped pattern!

I couldn’t find exactly what I wanted pattern wise. I always struggle matching super chunky yarn to patterns as I find their weight varies so much brand to brand that although they may recommend using the same needles for a certain gauge, the resulting fabric can be very different.

I decided to just knit up a swatch and then make up a pattern as I went!

Based off the beginner Wool and the Gang patterns I’ve tackled in the past, I knew if I made it oversized enough I could get away with pretty much no shaping whatsoever and essentially make 4 rectangles sewn together to make a sweater. And it worked!

The front and backs were knitted with about 20cm of ease on each side and again plenty of ease in the sleeve. The only shaping came from the ribbing at the hems and cuffs which is did with some smaller needles to bring them in slightly.

It’s definitely a look and one that’s pretty popular at the mo. I feel like I see this oversized chunky knitted look around quite a lot right now with a balloon shaped sleeve maybe because it’s just so quick and easy to make!

To make your own just follow these instructions:

Knit a swatch with your preferred yarn and needles. I used Stitch and Story chunky wool in heritage pink and ivory white on 12mm needles (10mm for the ribbing).

Once you have your swatch you can customise your pattern. Count how many stitches there are in 10cm. Measure your bust (or widest area). Divide this in two and add 20cm. (Round up to your closest 10cm to make this even easier). Divide this number by 10 and then multiply by the number of stitches you counted earlier.

Cast on this number of stitches and knit in stockinette stitch until you’ve reached your desired length (shoulder to just shy of the hem). I added two rows of a contrast colour every six rows but it’s up to you if you’d want this! Switch to the smaller needles and add about 5cm of ribbing. Cast off.

Repeat for the back.

For the sleeve you want it to be around 40cm wide. Here you can take the number of stitches in 10cm from your gauge again and multiple by 4. Cast on this many stitches. Knit in stockinette again until desired length. Switch again to the smaller needles and add about 5cm of ribbing then cast off.

Using a tapestry needle, sew the shoulders together leaving a wide boatneck shaped opening for your head.

Next sew the sleeves to the body. Match the middle of the sleeve (fold it in half to find this point) to the shoulder to make sure it’s even.

Fold the sweater in half so it now looks like a sweater (or a big T!). Sew the sides and underarms together. I left the ribbing on the body separated and only stitched from where the stockinette started for a split hem look.

I like to do all the piecing in side out so the wrong side is face up but it’s up to you!

Weave in all your yarn ends and you’re done!