You are here because you signed up for our Forestland Sweater-a-long. Here you will find the details of the Sweater-a-long, the materials you will need, the homework before the first gathering and Frequently Asked Questions...

The Details...

This 5 session get-together is structured to help you along and answer any questions as they come up, but it is not a class in the sense that everyone is doing the exact same thing at the same time with lecture/presentations. It's a fun social atmosphere, with the first meeting discussing the fit of the sweater. You will need a knit swatch before the first meeting.
 
Pre-req: Must know how to knit in the round, purl, increase, decrease, cast on and bind off.

The first meeting is MANDATORY, as we will discuss fit and gauge, after that all meetings are up to you and there are no make-up sessions available. Remember, this is more social/accountability than it is instructional!


There are many different yarns you can use for this pattern...Malabrigo Rios, Yarn Citizen Harmony, Rambouillet , Etc. Be sure to special order your yarns early if they aren't currently in stock! We used Malabrigo Rios in Paris Night for the Main color and Cascade 220 Waves for the colorwork and only needed 1 skein! We have 8 colors in stock currently!

Saturday, January 10th 2pm to 4pm **MANDATORY MEETING**
Saturday, January 17th 2pm to 4pm
Saturday, January 31st 2pm to 4pm
Saturday, February 21st 2pm to 4pm
Saturday, March 7th 2pm to 4pm


Materials...

THE YARN
These are the bust sizes for the sweater 36.5 (38, 40, 42, 44.75, 47.5, 50)(54.5, 57.5, 60, 62.75, 64.75, 67.5)” 

This is how much DK or worsted weight yarn you will need:
MC: 950 (1100, 1150, 1200, 1250, 1400, 1450)(1500, 1550, 1600, 1700, 1800, 1850) yds 
CC: 140 (145, 150, 160, 170, 180, 185)(190, 195, 200, 205, 210, 215) yds 

THE NEEDLES

Needle A: US 4 / 3.5 mm DPNs or 16” / 40 cm circular needle for neckline.
Needle B: US 5 / 3.75 mm, 32” / 80 cm (or longer) circular needle or matching set DPNs for cuff, 24” / 60 cm or longer circular needle for ribbed hem.
Needle C: US 6 / 4 mm DPNs and 32” / 80 cm or longer circular needle for yoke, body and magic looping sleeves.

 

THE GAUGE SWATCH

Using the yarn you selected and the larger needle (US6) CO35 stitches and knit a stockinette swatch. After an inch or two, change to another needle size (I highly recommend putting a row of purls or something to mark the change in needle size). If the fabric feels too loose, go down a needle size or two....if the fabric feels too stiff, go up a needle size or two. It never hurts to gauge with 2-3 needle sizes to make sure you get the fabric that you love!!

We highly recommend gauge swatching in the round because the sweater is knit in the round. This is not mandatory, but we have found with larger gauge yarn/superwash yarn you gauge can be different flat than in the round.  Here is a video that might help: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wsn5DqmXA-w

Also, I found a cool new way from Laura Nelkin that you might like https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4A59F9L4P-E

After you have bound off your gauge swatch, put it in water for 15 minutes, then take out and dry in a towel and lay flat to dry. You don't need to pin out your swatch, but spread it out like you would a finished sweater. 

**BRING THIS SWATCH WASHED AND BLOCKED TO OUR FIRST MEETING**

Things to bring to our first meeting:
- Your washed and blocked gauge swatch
- The knitting needles you used to make your gauge swatch AND 16" circulars 2 sizes smaller. Yes, this may mean bringing a lot of needles. If you don't want to, we have them in stock as well!
- One ball of your yarn wound
- Calculator (chances are you have one in your cell!) :)

Frequently Asked Questions...
Q: Why is there 1 week between the first two sessions and others are far apart??
A: After doing this quite a few times, I have found that things move fast and furious at the start (hello, less stitches) and later there are just long stretches of stockinette. I have found more success in putting the first two classes close together then spacing future classes further apart. Sometimes things like Red Alder Fiber Festival hit where I would schedule a session, so I pushed that meeting out a bit. I also made this Sweater-a-long a little longer because this sweater takes a bit more time than others.

Q: I can't make it to the 2nd meeting, can I schedule an extra session to get caught up?
A: No, unfortunately there are no make up sessions. We do have private lessons on Tuesdays and Fridays if you need them. This gathering is more of an accountability, fun group, and not a lecture type class. There is nothing to get "caught up" on as what goes on during each gathering is organic and comes from questions/issues that you guys encounter. 

Q: I like a different Jennifer Steingass pattern, can I knit that instead of Forestland? 
A: At first I had planned to structure it this way, but I ran into a logistical nightmare. I think Jennifer's patterns are PHENOMENAL and I encourage you to knit them all...but this class/worksheet will only discuss Forestland. 

Q: Do I have to knit to a certain point each gathering?
A: No! You will knit at YOUR speed. Whatever point you are at for each gathering, is exactly where YOU should be. If you run into something that stops you up, just bring it to the next gathering and we can work through it together. 

Q: What will you be teaching?
A: On the first gathering we will do the most "class work" as we will be measuring our gauge swatch and determining the size of sweater that we would like. I will step you through the process and we will cast on the sweater. After that we will discuss topics as you need them, especially different ways to do Colorwork and managing floats. If you have questions about weaving in ends, ask it! If you need help putting your sleeves on hold, we got you! If you don't understand the pattern, we will walk you through it. Each one of these sweater-a-longs take on a different feel depending on who is taking it and what questions arise. Sometimes people have NO questions and just knit the sweater and socialize. Everyone is on their own journey and we will meet you where you are at!

Q: What if I already know how to knit a sweater?
A: That's fine! This gathering is more social/accountability than it is instructional. We are here for you if you need us!

Q: What if I don't finish the sweater in the time we have together
A: That's no problem. You can finish it on your own schedule. If you need assistance after the final gathering, we can set up a private lesson time (they are $25/hour)

Q: Can I use yarn from my stash?
A: You bet!!! But if you don't have a sweaters quantity in your stash...we are happy to help! If you want to special order, do it SOON!!! Sometimes yarns are out of stock or on back order!

Q: Can I do this if I have never knit a sweater?
A: If you have knit a colorwork hat, you are ready for this. I would say the pattern is Adventurous Beginner. You should feel very comfortable knitting and purling. 

Q: What if I can't knit?
A: We recommend our Knitting 101 class or our learn to knit kit!

Q: I don't want to swatch, can I still attend?
A: Nope, you must swatch...even if this is the ONLY time in your life that you do it!!

Q: Ok, I'll swatch but I won't bind off so I can use the yarn later.
A: Nope, it needs to be bound off, washed and blocked to know how the yarn will behave when you finish your sweater. This is SOOO important if you are using Superwash!