CLASS IS FULL: Say Yes to Yoke Sweaters!

Whether you’ve been dreaming of your first sweater, or you’ve never made a garment that fit right, with this class you can learn how to transform a gauge swatch into the perfect handknit: PetiteKnit’s Anker Sweater. Join Stephanie for a six-part class that will take you through all the steps of making a masterpiece—and learning not one but two sweater constructions in one project! The Anker Sweater begins as a classic yoke sweater (the same constructions as all those dreamy Icelandic colorwork sweaters) and then shifts into a raglan construction. If you can knit and purl confidently, cast off and cast on, you can knit this sweater. If you can increase and decrease already, great, but we’ll cover more ways to do that, too. And if you can knit a hat, you can definitely knit a sweater. Over eight weeks, we will cover:

• 3/7 – Measuring a gauge swatch, calculating size, and casting on: Come to class with your gauge swatch finished.
• 3/14 – Yoke increases: Come to class with the first rib segment (10 rounds) knit.
• 3/28 – Raglan increases: Come to class with all five rib segments knit.
• 4/4 – Sleeve separation: Come to class with remaining raglan increases knit.
• 4/18 – Picking up sleeves: Come to class with body complete and bound off (do not weave in ends).
• 5/2 – Weaving in ends, showing off our knits, lingering questions, & picking your next adventure in sweater knitting: Come to class with both sleeves complete and bound off, but ends still loose.

You can choose to knit either the adult or baby/child Anker Sweater. If you feel nervous about the amount of knitting we are doing in eight weeks, pick a cotton/wool blend (or whatever fiber you want—just a suggestion for spring!) and go with short sleeves (we’ll cover this modification in class). Or, choose the baby/child size of the pattern. You should have plenty of time to complete an adult sweater and classes are spaced out by either one or two weeks depending on how much knitting you are expected to complete by the next class.

Materials for the first class to bring from home or purchase in shop:

•  Purchase pattern: PetiteKnit Anker’s Sweater (adult) or Anker’s Sweater (child) on Ravelry.
• Yarn: this pattern is knit in either two strands of fingering yarn held double or one strand of DK yarn. See pattern for size measurements; the yarn requirements are listed in grams on the patterns for the fingering option with the yarn held doubled. Here are the yardage conversions. For two strands of fingering yarn held doubled, you will need: XS: 2,056 yards (S: 2,313 to 2,570 yards) M: 2,570 yards (L: 2,827 yards) XL: 3,084 (2XL: 3,341) 3XL: 3,598 yards. For one strand of DK yarn, halve these amounts. If the idea of holding two strands together terrifies or confuses you, go with the DK option!
• Circular needles: 4 mm [US6] in 16” and either 24” or 32” or 40”, depending on the sweater size (hold off buying these until the first class if you’re unsure what length to get or if you want to be sure about your gauge; all sizes will use a 16”) AND 3.5 mm [US4] in whatever larger size you’re getting in the US6.
• Double-pointed needles: 4 mm [US6] and 3.5 mm [US4] if magic loop isn’t used (we’ll explain this concept in class too).
• Stitch markers, darning needle, and scrap yarn or barber cords.

***Homework for the first class on 3/7:***
Please come to class having knit and blocked a 4″ x 4″ stockinette gauge swatch. If you don’t block it, it won’t be accurate! We’ll measure and calculate your size in class. Since the gauge we’re aiming for with Anker is 20 stitches & 28 rounds, you can cast on 26 stitches on US 6 needles. Knit three rows in garter to anchor the bottom edge of the swatch, then switch to stockinette (knitting on the RS, purling on the WS) but keep working the first 3 and last 3 stitches of every row in garter (knitting both RS and WS). Knit 30 rows in stockinette and then finish with three rows in garter before binding off. For more guidance and photos, Ysolda has a lovely in-depth explanation on how to knit and block your swatch here.

To register, please call the shop at 202-714-5667. For all additional class info, go to our FAQ page. Thanks!