For some people, the must-have, everyday pullover is a crewneck; for others it’s a v-neck. To me, the v-neck will always feel a little bit collegiate, a little bit preppy — undeniably classic, in other words, no matter what you do with it. The two patterns pictured above happen to both by Michele Wang, and both offer opportunities for changing them up:
TOP: Cadence, from 2016, was already mentioned in Make Your Own Basics in the context of The turtleneck sweater. Given that it has options for crewneck, v and turtle, you can cover a lot of Basics ground with just this one pattern. It also has a textured stitch on the body which you could presumably replace with stockinette, if you prefer, without affecting the gauge — given that the sleeves are already stockinette. This one’s raglan sleeved.
BOTTOM: Emery, from 2012, has an allover cable pattern, which feels super classic to me. It’s written for worsted-weight Shelter, but the gauge (due to the cables pulling inward) is 24 sts / 34 rows per 4″, which is Loft gauge in stockinette. So you could likely use the same pattern to knit a stockinette fingering-weight sweater — you might just need to tweak the counts on the ribbing. This one’s set-in sleeved.
NOT PICTURED: Another option for a set-in sleeve v-neck, which you can knit at any gauge and size you like, is Amy Herzog’s Custom Fit v-neck Firth.
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PREVIOUSLY in Make Your Own Basics: The (little black) dress
Karen: I LOVE your series on making your own basics — thank you!
I’m so glad!
I had a moment of love when I saw Cadence. I said to myself: “self, why haven’t you queued that yet!?” Then I headed off to Ravelry, where I realized I HAVE queued it. I think I want to make every iteration of that sweater in a range of colors!
Definitely a pattern you can get a lot of mileage out of!
Do you think the Cadence is too advanced for a beginner? I’ve been dying to knit something for myself and this is a gorgeous pattern. With the exception of a sweater I made in college I’ve only knitted hats, scarves and mitts to date.
They rate it a 4 out of 5, but I have the sense that those BT ratings are based on how much detail there is in the design rather than how difficult the skills are. This one says it includes tubular cast-on (optional but totally worth it), sloped bind-off (nothing to it), tubular bind off (I’ve never done it) and Kitchener stitch (a very valuable skill to have or acquire). Other than that, it would just be increasing/decreasing in pattern, picking up stitches, and mattress stitch.
I haven’t actually seen the pattern, but Michele writes great patterns and BT includes every necessary detail in every single pattern — meaning there will be a full explanation of all of those skills in the pattern (not picking up sts or mattress stitch, but the others). I generally think a BT pattern is a fantastic way to learn new skills, so I’d say it’s just a matter of how patient and willing to try new things you might be! But I feel safe saying the pattern will be there for you at every step of the process if you decide to give it a try.
Tubular bind-off is very similar to kitchener stitch, so if you’ve done kitchener stitch you can do it no problem.
Thanks for the thoughtful reply Karen! It was the 4 out of 5 difficulty rating that was scaring me. I’m going to spend my Christmas money on some lovely yarn and give it a go!
Hi Carolyn, I’ve made Cadence myself and I can assure you there is nothing complicated in it.
As Karen says, there are tubular cast-on and bind-off, but you can easily use whatever technique you like.
The construction is bottom-up, which means you have to join body and sleeves and then you work the yoke. This create a huge amount of stitches and can be daunting, but is totally doable. You just have to count carefully your rows and not loose track of your decreases, as there are different sections in the yoke to create a compound raglan.
There are no short rows, the neck is shaped with a sloped bind-off, and stitches are picked up for the neckband.
Every step is very clearly explained, and all the techniques and fully detailed, as for all the BT patterns. Just follow the instructions step by step and it will be fine !
Anecolie, thank you for your insight on the pattern! I think it’s a bit ambitious for me, but I’m going to give it a try!
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