Here is a sweater you can finish in an hour… or maybe two.

What’s that? Its not a real sweater? Well… it is absurdly small and completely impractical. But its a true representative of the top-down, seamless, in-the-round sweater. If you follow this pattern, you’ll have made one and you’ll be ready to make another in a bigger size.

The One Hour Sweater Pattern

The red sample sweater was made with fingering weight yarn on size 1.5 needles. I’ve made another with worsted on size 6 needles. It may not be a cute or as “awwww” worthy but its much easier to photograph! And this is a pattern with a photo tutorial so I needed that.

You can use any yarn/needles you like. I used:

• Size 6 (4mm) double pointed needles
• Two colors of worsted weight yarn
• 4 stitch markers
• tapestry needle
• waste yarn

Overview: Top-down sweaters start… at the top of course. What you are casting on is the neck edge. After the neck cuff is a set of increases that form the shoulders. Each increase round adds a total of 8 stitches to the count on the needles. When the shoulders are wide enough, the stitches at the sides, between stitch markers, are set onto waste yarn and put on hold while you continue and knit the body of the sweater. Afterwards, the stitches on that waste yarn are picked up and you make the sleeve(s).

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kfb = knit into the front loop and the back loop of the same stitch. An increase.

To start: Cast on 12 stitches and join to work in the round.

Neck Cuff

Rnd 1: knit

Rnd 2: purl

Begin the Shoulders

Change color (if you like) and knit one round.

Then re-arrange the stitches on two needles and place stitch markers one stitch in from each end.

Rnd 1: knit to one stitch before the marker, kfb, pass marker, kfb, knit to one stitch before the marker, kfb, pass marker, kfb, k to end. DO THIS FOR EACH NEEDLE.

Rnd 2: knit

Work Rounds 1 & 2 a total of 4 times. At the end you should have 22 stitches on each needle.

Set Aside Stitches for the Sleeves

– Using a tapestry needle and some waste yarn, slip the first 5 stitches onto waste yarn. Remove the first stitch marker.

– Knit the next 12 stitches (and be sure to pull the working yarn tight past the slipped stitches). Remove the next stitch marker.

– With a second piece of waste yarn slip the next 10 stitches (five from each needle) and remove the next stitch marker.

– Knit the next 12 stitches (pull working yarn tight). Remove the last stitch marker.

– Slip the remaining 5 stitches on to the same waste yarn that is holding the first 5 slipped stitches.

You should have 12 stitches on each needle and 10 stitches on each waste yarn.

Finishing the Body

Knit 7 rounds.

Change color (again if you want)

Knit a round

Purl a round

Bind off.

Finishing the Sleeves

Slide the 10 sleeves stitches onto needles, join with new yarn.

Knit 6 rounds.

Change color (again if you want)

Knit a round

Purl a round

Bind off.

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And you’ve made a sweater! This actually is a very good way to make your first sweater. Its a fast project and you’ll understand how top-down sweaters are made. But I know what you are wondering… what do you do with an absurdly small sweater?

1. use it to teach knitting students how to make sweaters
2. give it to the first person who sees it and starts making baby talk
3. put it on your daughter’s fashion doll
4. put it on your own fashion doll
5. give it to your boyfriend/girlfriend/husband/etc and see if they breakup with you. (If they do its totally not my fault. That person was a jerkface.) How big does the sweater have to be to trigger the sweater curse?