Hi Spud & Chloë Friends,

I am starting with a quick side note before I dig into today’s topic. Please pop over, if interested, to see a few video interviews I did on Yarn on the House. I talk a lot about Spud & Chloë and the best part is that there is a huge Spud & Chloë giveaway running through Sunday, Aug. 22! The prize is enormous!  Click here to watch and enter!

Okay, today’s the day! Do you see who that is up there in that tiny thumbnail? Our special guest contributor to the Easy Top-Down Raglan Knitalong is none other than the fabulous sweater designer/author Wendy Bernard! I am so excited to get to tell you this. I am sure you all know who Wendy Bernard is but just in case I will tell you a little about her. Wendy is an accomplished top-down sweater designer who has designed many of today’s most popular sweater patterns. If you look at the top 100 sweater patterns on Ravelry her designs pop up over and over again. In fact, right now she is filming a new DVD on top-down sweaters in Denver at the Interweave headquarters. I can’t wait for that one.

I feel so good about having her by our sides as we work. Wendy has written a completely awesome book which I am sure many of you are familiar with called Custom Knits. Now, let me tell you how this all came to be….

This summer I have knitted four (and a half) adult size sweaters for myself. All of them have been top-down and are varied slightly in styles and stitches. I have also been reading lots of patterns and formulas and recipes for top-down sweaters. I’ve had the book Custom Knits for a long time but haven’t had time to knit myself sweaters for literally years. I have had about 7 sweaters from this book ear-marked as must knit sweaters for some time now! I love everything about Custom Knits especially all of the technique and teaching aspects included in the book. Wendy is a great instructional writer as well as a talented designer.

I turned to the back-end material of the book to find formulas or as I like to call them recipes for a variety of top-down sweaters and cardigans and sleeve types. I kept thinking about how I wanted to do a knitalong on Spud says! so I had my eye out for a simple, no-nonsense recipe. On page 154 in Custom Knits I found the simplest 10 step formula for a top-down raglan sweater I have ever seen. I fell in love with the 10-steps to the perfectly and personally fitted sweater. I grabbed my tape measure, a ball of Grape Jelly and my size 7 circular needles and dug in. I had so much fun making my own sweater using Wendy’s formula.

Here’s where it gets good. I emailed Wendy to see if she minded if I used her basic formula for the top-down raglan as our general recipe for this knitalong. Not only did she say yes, she said she could help out as well. I couldn’t believe my good luck and your good luck. She really and truly is THE expert on this area of knitting in my opinion. She knows the pitfalls, the easy way out of trouble, how to solve fit issues, what looks best and where, techniques, tips and tricks, etc. The list goes on and on.

Wendy is currently working on her second book of top-down sweaters where she delves even deeper into the subject. I highly recommend Custom Knits (click here to see all of the projects in the book), Wendy’s first book, for anyone wanting to knit top-down sweaters.  You may want to get a copy of your own especially after we knit this sweater together. You will want to branch right out and try another sweater immediately.

Here is the link to Knit and Tonic, Wendy’s ultra-fantastic blog. It has been one of my favorites for years now.

Here is the link to Wendy’s book Custom Knits.

Here is the link to Wendy’s ravelry designer page.

Go and enjoy her talent, her humorous and fun blog and her spectacular photography! Wendy is a gem.

One last thing, I am joining right in the knitalong with you to knit another sweater. I am gathering my stray balls of Sweater to make The Collector a sweater of her own. She loves mine so much that she wants one for herself. I will take photos along the way including the measuring and figuring out as I create her own “custom knits” top-down raglan.

Isn’t this great? I have heard from so many people gathering their skeins of Sweater in almost every color available, Cider, Firecracker, Watermelon, Toast, Moonlight, Grass, Pollen, Firefly, Chipmunk…. Will there be a Turtle, an Ice Cream,  and a Rootbeer? We’ll have to wait and see! I know that a few stores are trying to get yarn for customers. I know a few stores that have been inundated with orders, too. We will move slowly at the beginning so everyone can get settled so don’t worry about it. The information will always be available and you can join in at any time, even after it is over!

This is all so exciting!

Hi Spud & Chloë Friends,

Finally! I finished the top-down raglan yesterday. Last week got so hectic that I didn’t quite get it done and I was so close. As I bound off the second sleeve, my daughter (The Collector or TC) was sitting right next to me. I wove in a few ends as she watched. As soon as I snipped off the final end she promptly snatched the sweater and threw it on. It looks so good on her even if it is a little big.

I told her now that she had it on she had to let me take a few photos. That’s the price you pay.

I can’t begin to describe the squish and warmth of the Grape Jelly Sweater yarn. I made my sweater roomy because I live in a cold climate and I will wear layers underneath. In the fall I will wear this to soccer games as a jacket. Can’t wait to throw it on and run out the door. Although it is so soft I wouldn’t need to wear layers at all.

TC has her own fairy garden in the back corner of our yard. She tends to it daily although some of her plant selection didn’t fare well in the shady spot. Live and learn.

Here’s the scoop. I am running a very casual knitalong so you can all make your own Easy Top-Down Raglan with me. You can join in at any time, no worries. When we finish as a group I will gather all of the information and put it up here on Spud says! as a free pattern so you can start any time even after we are done.

The difference for this knitalong is that we are using a formula or recipe to make our sweater. That means I will be giving you simple, easy to follow guidelines to make a sweater that will fit you! You will have to use your calculator and your tape measure along the way. I promise it is not difficult. One of the greatest benefits to making this type of sweater is that you can try it on as you go. Trying the sweater on tells you how long to make the body and sleeves, where to stop on your armhole increases and when to join the body, how long to make the neck scoop, etc.

I will be writing out exactly how I made my version of the sweater with all specifics on how I made it to fit me. If you are about my size you can make the same sweater I made but I want you to make a sweater that is perfect for your body.

I kept it simple and straightforward. I believe you can’t get any simpler than a stockinette stitch body and arms with a garter stitch edging on a top-down raglan.

Lookin’ good!

The Easy Top-Down Raglan Knitalong will officially start next week, Monday, August 23rd. This week I want you to gather your materials and to make a swatch to check your gauge. The wound skein above is the Grape Jelly that is the left over 6th skein that I just broke into. I didn’t use much of it.

Here is the yarn requirement for Spud & Chloë Sweater in skeins and bust measurement in inches.

Bust measurement in inches – number of skeins of S&C Sweater:
32 inches – 5 skeins
34 inches – 5 skeins
36 inches – 6 skeins (This is the sample size that fits me perfectly!)
38 inches – 6 skeins
40 inches – 6 skeins
42 inches – 6 skeins
44 inches – 7 skeins
46 inches – 8 skeins
48 inches – 8 skeins
50 inches – 8 skeins
52 inches – 8 skeins
54 inches – 9 skeins

There you have it! I worked up my sweater in US size 7 needles using 24-inch circulars and a set of 4 double-pointed needles. The gauge is at 5 stitches per inch. Please make a swatch to make sure you are getting the correct gauge.

Other things you’ll need:

Tape measure

Yarn needle

Scissors

That should do it! I’ll be back soon to announce who our special guest sweater expert is. I am so excited she is joining us for this project. You won’t be disappointed, I promise.

Hi Spud & Chloë Friends,

The second sleeve is almost done! I should have the starting information for the top down raglan knitalong together by the end of the week. That means yarn amounts and other basic information you’ll need to work along. Plus you’ll want to swatch before starting to make sure you are getting the gauge for the project.

I also have some new toy ideas I’m working on. The materials above are for two new toys. My daughter and I were out at an adorable local toy shop last week and we saw the Hi-Bounce Pinky balls. She quickly informed me that these balls are the favorites of all the kids in her gym class. Apparently Pinkies are the best bouncy balls around. I bought a couple to have on hand to include in some new toys.

Now I can’t stop thinking about the Hi-Bounce Pinky balls. I know just the toys to make around these! You never know what will inspire you.

The colors may be a hint for the animals I am going to work up… or maybe not. Stay tuned. I am going to cheat a little and use some Blue Sky Worsted Cotton in Ink (black) for one of the toys. This character definitely needs a tiny touch of black.

So that’s Spud & Chloë Sweater in Watermelon and Popsicle and Ice Cream and then the Ink in the Blue Sky Worsted Cotton if you’re interested. You won’t need much of any of it. I am hoping to squeeze two toys out of one skein of each with Watermelon as the main color in both toys. The Hi-Bounce Pinky balls can be found right here!

Oh, and you have to check out this gorgeous hooded cardigan knitted up by Peggity on Ravelry. The charted designs are from from a vintage pattern and the yarn is Spud & Chloë Sweater. I love the result (plus I always love old stuff). Here is what Peggity writes on her project page:

This yarn is wonderful – so soft and squishy!! Charted designs are from 1977 Dover Needlework Series book “Charted Peasant Designs from Saxon Transylvania” which is an unabridged republication of “Folk Cross-Stitch Design” originally published in Germany in 1964.

Click here to see the sweater! Anyway, I thought you might enjoy seeing Peggity’s work! What a treat.

I’ll be back soon with more!