Knitted Flax pullover

One of my favourite things about Autumn is digging out my wool and needles to work on new projects! This time I wanted to make a jumper. I’ve made a couple of owl jumpers and am confident with that pattern so I decided it was time to try something new. We go for lots of country walks and I tend not to wear the jumpers I’ve knitted in case I snag them on brambles and trees. I wanted this jumper to be something I wouldn’t be afraid to wear. No cables or button details, just something simple.

I found a pattern for the Flax Pullover by Tin Can Knits on Ravelry. It’s a raglan jumper worked from the neck to the cuff and the sleeves are knitted onto the garment using stitches placed on hold.

I struggled to choose wool for this project. I set myself a small budget and was looking for something machine washable. In the end I chose Rowan Pure Wool Worsted in Rich Red (shade 124). The wool is nice and I love the colour but I wish I’d chosen something that didn’t look so flat. Tin Can Knits use gorgeous, slightly variegated wool in their photos.

I made a slight whoopsy with the garter stitch sleeve panel. I was tired when I started working on this and misread the pattern. Instead of alternating between garter and stockinette stitch I worked the whole lot in garter stitch! By the time I realised what I’d done I’d knitted quite a few rows. I didn’t mind the look of it so instead of frogging it, I carried on. There’s slightly more curl at the edges of the sleeve panel but you don’t really notice once it’s on.

Despite my sleeve panel error and not being bowled over with the look of the wool knitted up, I really love this jumper! It’s warm, fits well and is extremely comfortable. Most importantly, I’m not afraid to wear it outdoors and get dirty! I went on holiday to Norway last week and I wore this jumper hiking up 4 mountains. Its been rained on, had crumbs all over it and sat scrunched up inside a rucksack.

I’m going to make another version; this time, a fancier one with the correct sleeve panel and nicer wool. The pattern calls for worsted weight – can anyone suggest something nice I can buy in the UK?

The Flax pattern is really well written and has illustrations showing each major knitting stage. It’s a good pattern for beginners or people like me who want something simple occasionally.

Project notes

• Pattern: Flax Pullover by Tin Can Knits
• Wool: Rowan Pure Wool Worsted – Rich Red (124)
• Cost: £30
• Balls: 4 for size S (small)
• Knitting needles: 1x 4mm circular needle and 1x 5mm circular needle. The pattern specified a smaller lengths (16″ and 32″) than I had to hand so I used the Magic Loop Method with 100cm needles
• Dividing for sleeves on a raglan sweater: I found this YouTube video by Roxanne Richardson helpful
• Thanks to Scott for being jumper photographer!

P.S. It’s nice to look back at this jumper coming together! I might start using my Instagram account for more of this sort of thing.