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I found this awesome, soft viscose yarn on sale, and knew I wanted to make something for my daughters. Problem: I hate sewing pieces together! So I decided to design something that required NO sewing!

It really is an easy piece to knit. You start at the bottom, working up the front, but instead of binding off at the shoulders you continue over the shoulders and down the back. People may wonder about your long piece of knitting with a hole in the middle, but you'll have the last laugh when you don't have to do any sewing! As an added bonus, the side panels and "seams" are very decorative!

There are many, many variations you can make: longer sleeves, wider sides, etc. You can make the whole piece longer or shorter with ease – it would also look cute as a belly-baring shirt!

models: Lynnaea & Lynessa photo: Gunilla Leavitt

SIZE
7 years [9 years]
 
FINISHED MEASUREMENTS

Chest: 14.5[15.5] inches
Length: 17.5[18.5] inches

 

MATERIALS

KFI Rio [100% viscose; 93yd per 100g skein]; color: 02[01]; 4[4] skeins

1 set US #10/6.5 mm straight needles
1 29-inch US #10/6.5mm circular needle

 

GAUGE

14sts/20 rows = 4" in stockinette stitch

 
DIRECTIONS

This yarn lends itself especially well to geometric patterns (squares, diamonds, etc) made by simply knitting on the wrong side and purling on the right. You can see a diamond with a line going through it on the sweater below. Let your imagination be your guide!

Front and back

Holding two straight needles together, cast on 40[50] sts.
Pull one needle out and start knitting with your circular needle.
Note: You'll be working back and forth on your circular, not in the round.
Work 5 rows in garter st (knit all rows), then start working in St st.

When piece measures 9 inches, start pattern if desired.

Making the V-neck

Note: Here you'll be knitting from two balls while making the hole for the head, and then rejoining in the back when the hole is big enough.

When work measures 14[14.5] inches, K 17[22] sts.
K the next st, and place it back on the left needle.
Slip the next st over it and then put the 18th[23rd] st back on the right needle -- like a backwards bind off.
K the next st, and voila -- you have decreased 1 to begin the neck.

Now start another ball of yarn and k 1 st.
Lift the next st onto the right needle, k the 3rd one, and then slip the 2nd off over the third (as to bind off), and you've mirrored what you just did on the first part.
Finish the row normally.
P the next row on both pieces, and then repeat this little number with the last three and the first three sts respectively, then purling a row plain until you have decreased 10 times and are left with 15 sts for each shoulder.
Work 5 rows without decreases, and then start increasing at the neck.
From the right side, k to 4 sts from end of row.
K in front and back of the next st, k1, k in and front and back of the next st, k1.
On the left piece make increases in the first 3 sts as follows: K in front and back of next st, k1, k in front and back of next st, k to end of row.
On the WS, p all sts.
Repeat RS inc row and purled WS row 3 more times.
Next row: Make increases as above on right side, then continue onto left side making increases but using yarn from the right side to join the two halves. Cut off yarn from the second ball and weave in end.
Continue down the back until you are 14/14.5 inches from where you joined.
Work 5 rows in garter st, then bind off loosely.

Sides and armholes

On the RS, with a long circular needle, pick up 150[174] sts along one side [if you end up picking up a different number of stitches, it's fine, as long as it's NOT a multiple of 4].
Work the next row in *p2, k2*.
Work 3 rows, knitting the knit sts and purling the purl sts.

FINISHING

Joining and binding off

Grab a straight needle for binding off. Position your sts on the circular needles so that when you hold the two tips together facing the same way ["fold" the needle], you can k 1 st from each point at the same time.

Bind off with a three-needle bind off in this manner:

With the straight needle, K1 by going through 1 st from each point of the circular needle. K another the same way so you have 2 sts on the right [straight] needle. Slip the 1st over the 2nd and off the needle - i.e. standard binding off.

BO 56 sts in this manner [or until you reach the point you would like the armhole to start]. Let go of the rear needle and continue binding off along the armhole, over the shoulder, until you get to the end. Cut your yarn, pull the tail through the last st to secure it and then weave in your end.

Do the same on the other side, and presto! Side seams and armholes all at once!

Variations: if you want the sleeves to stick out a little further, knit a few more rows after joining the sides, but before binding off the last stitches. You can knit long sleeves, too, if you don't mind sewing up the sides once you're done.

Neck

Starting in the middle of the back, pick up 56 sts around the neck opening.
Work back and forth if you want it open in the back; work in the round if you're using short circulars.

K2, p2 for 2 rows.
On the next row, decrease 5 evenly separated, by knitting (or purling) 2 sts together. This looks best when done on the sts that are purled on the right side.
On the next row, decrease 2 evenly spaced.
You should be on the WS now, so work one more row and BO fairly loosely.
This yarn does not have a lot of give, so you'll need to pay attention that you don't make the hole too small!

ABOUT THE DESIGNER
Gunilla is an expatriate Swedish babe, dwelling in faraway Santa Cruz, California, and frightfully homesick.

She learned to knit from her grandmother at a young age, usually knits on the fly, and is trying to figure out exactly how grandma made those neat mohair shrugs. Writing her patterns down is completely new and alien, but curiously cool!

When not knitting, Gunilla is very craftsy, working relentlessly to lead her daughters down the path of rubber stamping, scrapbooking, and whatnot (especially whatnot). She's a webdesigner, a fourth-generation goldsmith, and loves getting e-mail.