by Melissa Lim

This simple cropped sweater was inspired after seeing some vintage Marc Jacobs shirts in a fashion magazine. Additional stripy inspiration came by way of a brightly colored sweater designed by Becky Delgado.

It is a good beginner's project that knits up quickly. Design your own stripe patterns and place them wherever you want!

model: Melissa Lim     photo: Bart Coghill

XS [S, M, L, XL]
32 [34, 36, 38, 40]

MATERIALS

[MC] Rowan Cork [95% extra fine merino/5% nylon; 119 yards per 50g skein]; color: Hearten [red] 041; 5[6 6 6 7] skeins
[CC1] Rowan Cork; color: Sable [black] 034; 1 skein
[CC2] Rowan Cork; color: Turbid [grey] 033; 1 skein

1 set US #10.5/6.5mm straight needles
1 set US #11/8mm straight needles
1 16-inch US #10.5/6.5mm circular needle

14 sts/19 rows = 4" in stockinette stitch using US #11 needles

Back
With smaller needles, CO 60[62, 66, 68, 72] sts in MC.
Work 1x1 rib for 4 rows.

Rib-to-Body Increase Row
Increase 6[6, 6, 8, 8] stitches evenly across row.
Change to larger needles.
Work in st st until piece measures 9[9, 9.5, 9.5, 10] inches.

Stripes
Start working sleeve stripe pattern for a total of 10 rows as follows [see chart]:
3 rows Turbid
2 rows Sable
1 row Hearten
2 rows Sable
2 rows Turbid.

Piece now measures 12[12, 12.5, 12.5, 13] inches.

Armhole Shaping

[32] BO 5 sts at beg of next 2 rows. Dec 1 st each side, every other row 4 times. Continue in st st until piece measures 17 inches from the start.

[34] BO 5 sts at beg of next 2 rows. Dec 1 st each side, every other row 5 times. Continue in st st until piece measures 17.5 inches from the start.

[36] BO 6 sts at beg of next 2 rows. Dec 1 st each side, every other row 5 times. Continue in st st until piece measures 18 inches from the start.

[38] BO 6 sts at beg of next 2 rows. Dec 1 st each side, every other row 6 times. Continue in st st until piece measures 18.5 inches from the start.

[40] BO 7 sts at beg of next 2 rows. Dec 1 st each side, every other row 7times. Continue in st st until piece measures 19 inches from the start.

Shape Shoulders

[32] BO 4 sts beg of next 4 rows. BO 5 sts beg of next 2 rows. BO 22 back neck sts.

[34] BO 4 sts beg of next 6 rows. BO 24 back neck sts.

[36] BO 4 sts beg of next 4 rows. BO 5 sts beg of next 2 rows. BO 24 back neck sts.

[38] BO 4 sts beg of next 2 rows. BO 5 sts beg of next 4 rows. BO 24 back neck sts.

[40] BO 4 sts beg of next 2 rows. BO 5 sts beg of next 4 rows. BO 24 back neck sts.

Front
Work as for back, including all shaping, and, at the same time, when piece measures 15 [15.5, 16, 16.5, 17] inches, begin neck shaping.

Neck Shaping
On next row, work 16[15, 17, 18, 17] stitches, attach second ball of yarn, BO center 16[18, 16, 16, 18] stitches, and work across row.
Working both sides at once, dec 1 st at each neck edge, every other row 3[3, 4, 4, 4, 3] times.
Continue in st st until piece measures 17[17.5, 18, 18.5, 18.5, 19] inches from the start.

Shape Shoulders
Work shoulder shaping as for back.

Sleeves
With smaller needles, cast on 28[28, 30, 32, 32] sts. Work 1x1 rib for 4 rows.

Rib-to-Sleeve-Inc Row
Increase 2 stitches evenly across row.

Sleeve Increases
Change to larger needles, work in st st.
Inc 1 st on each side every 4 rows 1x[7x, 2x, 7x, 5x].
Then every 5 rows 12x[8x, 12x, 8x, 10x].

Stripes
After working rib and approximately 6 rows of sleeve, start working sleeve stripe pattern, total of 10 rows, using the motif below:

Continue in st st until piece measures 15.5 [16, 16, 16 16.5] inches.

Cap Shaping
BO 5[5, 6, 6, 7] sts each side.
Dec 1 st each side, every row, 8x[12x, 8x, 10x, 6x].
Then every 2 rows, 5x[3x, 6x, 5x, 8x].
BO remaining 20[20, 20, 22, 22] sts.

Block sweater pieces to pattern measurements.
Seam shoulders.
Sew in sleeves.
Seam sleeves.
Seam sides.

Neck
With US #10.5 16-inch circular needle or dpn set, pick up 56[60, 62, 62, 64] sts around neck edge.
Inc or dec as necessary on the first row to balance pattern.
Work 1x1 rib for 4 rows.
BO loosely.

Melissa Lim lives in Portland, Oregon, where she is a teacher.

Her mom taught her how to knit in her pre-teen years, but she seriously picked up her needles again five years ago. Only recently has she been designing things for herself, her family, and her friends.

She documents her crafty endeavors on her knitting weblog, Action Hero.