Mom’s Birthday Sweater: Attempt #4
by Kalliopi Aronis

I owe my Mom one cardigan, one sweater and a vest. She never got any of them, for various reasons, but I have good excuses. Really.

Excuse 1: I knitted one sleeve in the wrong weight yarn, hence the wrong gauge. It was also acrylic. I frogged it.

Excuse 2: The vest is super boring. And I ran out of yarn. The back is done though. Only time will tell if it’ll get a front.

Excuse 3: I bought the yarn. It’s beautiful. It’s in the breakfront. It’s still in the breakfront three years later.

The garments went from being birthday gifts, to Mother’s Day gifts, to Christmas gifts to birthday gifts owed two years later.

This is Attempt #4. I decided to design Attempt #4. It’s customized with elements my Mom loves, A-line to cover her hips, ribbing and cables, which she can now recognize in my knitting and loves to point them out, saddle shoulders and a nice wide V-neck so she doesn’t feel like she’s choking. I’m also using Cascade 220 Superwash Sport so there will be no complaints about itching. I had a ton of 220 Sport. It was supposed to be an afghan, but that’s a story for another day.

Knitting the sweater is pretty simple. It may seem slightly complicated at first but it’s only to keep track of the color changes and cables. The great thing about this pattern is that you can make minor alterations to customize it to your (or your mom’s/sister’s/friend’s) taste. If you have more, or less, yarn of a certain color, you can alter the striped pattern. You can even work the whole sweater in one color. If you don’t feel like cabling, omit them! If you want more traditional ribbing simply work it as 2x2 ribbing. Sky’s the limit!

Happy Knitting!

SIZE
For women: XSS, M, L, 1X, 2X, 3X
Shown in size Large with 5 inches/12.7 cm of positive ease
NOTE My Mom lost a lot of weight while I was working on this. For a tighter fit I’d recommend a 1-2 inch positive ease.

FINISHED MEASUREMENTS
Chest/Bust: 3034, 38, 42, 46, 50, 54 inches/7686.5, 96.5, 106.5, 117, 127, 137 cm
Length: 2525, 25.5, 25.5, 25.5, 26, 26 inches/63.563.5, 64.5, 64.5, 64.5, 66, 66 cm

MATERIALS
Cascade Yarns Cascade 220 Superwash Sport 100% Superwash Merino Wool; 136.5 yd/125 m per 50 g skein;
MC1 Mint 1942; 55, 5, 5, 6, 6, 7 skeins
MC2 Alaska Sky 1914; 33, 3, 3, 4, 4, 5 skeins
CC1 Aran 817; 11, 1, 1, 2, 2, 2 skeins
CC2 Lime Sherbet 850; 11, 1, 1, 1, 2, 2 skeins
CC3 Wisteria; 11, 1, 1, 2, 2, 2 skeins

US #3/3.25mm preferred needles for working flat
US #3/3.25mm preferred needles for working small circumference in the round
US #4/3.5mm preferred needles for working flat

Notions
Cable needle, stitch markers, yarn needle

GAUGE
22 sts/30 rows = 4 inches/10 cm in stockinette stitch

PATTERN NOTES
Sweater is worked flat in pieces and seamed together.
Color changes happen on the Wrong Side.
There are 6 Lime Sherbet stripes, followed by 12 Wisteria stripes, ending with 6 Lime Sherbet stripes.
Cable is worked on every Right Side row EXCEPT on the first Right Side row of a color change. This is to prevent the previous color from pulling up into the new color on the next row.
Cable Pattern is worked between stitch markers.
Work your size where indicated. Dash symbol means you do not have something to work for that row.
Back is worked in Stockinette Stitch.