April 2007 Pattern Contest Winner - Presto Chango by Valerie Wallis

Please help us to congratulate Valerie for winning our inaugural pattern contest! We just couldn't get enough of this adorable and innovative sweater pattern -- I'm sure you'll feel the same!

About the Designer

April 2007 Pattern Contest Winner - Valerie Wallis

Valerie is a stay-at-home mother to five very interesting children. She and her artist husband live in Logan, Utah. She usually stays up way too late at night knitting, and is certain that the next best thing to holding a baby is knitting sweaters for one.
She blogs about it at http://shoelessval.blogspot.com.
She also has a website of her own at: http://www.sproutknit.com.

Sizes

6 (12, 24) months

Measurements

Chest: 20 (22, 24) inches
Length: 10 (12, 14) inches

Materials

2 (3, 3) skeins of Blue Sky Alpacas Organic Cotton in color Nut #82 (worsted weight; 100% cotton; 3 1/2 oz/100g; 150 yards)
Circular knitting needles, US size 8 (5 mm) or size needed to obtain gauge
Eight (8, 10) 5/8-inch buttons

Gauge

In stockinette stitch, 16 stitches and 24 rows = 4" / 10 cm

Seed Stitch

Row 1: Alternately K1 and P1 for number of sts specified.
Row 2: Knit the purl stitches and purl the knit sts.
Repeat rows 1 and 2.

Abbreviations

CO - Cast On
Dec - Decrease
DD - (Double Decrease) Sl 2 sts together knitwise, k1, pass 2 sl sts over k st-2 sts dec.
k2tog - knit two sts together
P - Purl
p2tog - purl two sts together
RS - Right side
sts - Stitches
WS - Wrong side
yo - Yarn Over

Directions

The sweater is knit in two pieces. The main piece is knit up the back and down the front. A detachable front panel is knit with buttonholes on both sides. Alternate panels could be knit to accommodate holidays, whims, or disastrous stains.

Back

CO 36 (39, 45) sts.
Rows 1-5: Work seed stitch, creating bottom band of back.
Row 6: P across, increasing 5 (6, 6) sts evenly across the row; 41 (45, 51) sts.
Row 7: K across.
Continue in st st until back measures 6 (7, 9) inches from cast on edge.

Add sleeves

Cast on 24 (28, 32) stitches at beginning of next 2 rows; 89 (101, 115) sts.
Work k1, p1, k1 on first 3 sts, stockinette across row and k1, p1, k1 on last 3 sts of each row until back measures 9 (11, 13) inches from cast on edge.
Begin seed stitch band for neck edge as follows: K1, p1, k1 (cuff), st st 29 (35, 42) sts, seed stitch on next 25 sts (neck border), st st 29 (35, 42), k1, p1, k1 (cuff). Repeat this row 4 more times.

Neck opening

Next row: K1, p1, k1, st st 29 (35, 42); seed stitch 4 at neck edge, Cast off 17 sts, seed st 4, st st 29 (35, 42). k1, p1, k1.
Sweater will now be worked back and forth to form one side of front. Continue in st st, maintaining 4 seed stitch border at neck edge and 3 seed stitch border at cuff. Work until sleeve measures 8 (10, 10) inches, ending at cuff edge. Piece measures 14 (17, 19) inches from cast on edge.

Side fronts

Cast off 24 (28, 32) stitches to end sleeve; 12 (14, 17) sts remain.
Work remaining stitches for side front in st st, maintaining 4 seed st border along inner edge.
When work measures 5 (6, 8) inches from sleeve cast off edge, work seed st across row, decreasing 1 (1, 2) stitch(es) by k2tog.
Work seed st 4 more rows.
Cast off remaining stitches.
Join yarn to neck edge for other side front.
Work back and forth in st st maintaining 4 seed st border at inner edge and 3 seed st border at cuff.
When second sleeve measures same as first, cast off 24 (28, 32) stitches to end sleeve.
Work remaining sts as mirror image of other side front.

Front panel with cascading leaves

Cast on 24.
Row 1 (RS): K1, p1 across row.
Row 2: P1, k1 across row.
Row 3 (buttonhole row): K1, p1, yo, p2tog, k1, p1; repeat k1, p1 across row to last 4 sts. K2tog, yo, k1, p1.
Row 4: P1, k1 across row.
Row 5: K1, p1 across row.
Row 6: P1, k1, p1, k1, p across row to last 4 sts, p1, k1, p1, k1.
Maintain 4 seed st on each side of panel. Next row begins panel pattern.
Pattern row 1 (row 7): Seed st border, p1, k3, k2tog, k1, yo, p2, yo, k1, ssk, k3, p1, border.
Pattern row 2 and every even row of panel pattern: Border, k1, p6, k2, p6, k1.
Pattern row 3: Border, p1, k2, k2tog, k1, yo, k1, p2, k1, yo, k1, ssk, k2, p1.
Pattern row 5: Border, p1, k1, k2tog, k1, yo, k2, p2, k2, yo, k1, ssk, k1, p1.
Pattern row 7: Border, p1, k2tog, k1, yo, k3, p2, k3, yo, k1, ssk, p1.
Pattern row 8: Border, k1, p6, k2, p6, k1.
Repeat these 8 rows. As the panel is knit, make a buttonhole in each side at an interval of 2 (2 1/2, 2 1/4) inches, approximately every 12 (15, 14) rows. The top buttonholes should be 1/2 inch from the top.
Repeat the 8 pattern rows until panel is 6 (7 1/2, 9) inches from cast on edge.
End with 5 rows of seed stitch (remember the top two buttonholes) then cast off. Panel measures 7 (8 1/2, 9) inches from cast on edge.

Finishing

Sew side and under arm seams.
Align front panel on sweater and mark placement for buttons. Sew buttons.
Weave in all ends.

We hope you enjoy this free knitting pattern. This free pattern and the associated photographs are only for personal non-commercial use and are not for resale.

As a winner of our pattern contest, Valerie, has agreed to the following: "By submitting a pattern to the Jimmy Beans pattern contest I certify that I am the sole creator of the work and that I have not violated the intellectual property rights of any other person in creating this pattern. This notice will serve as my written permission to allow my pattern, if selected as the winner, to be used exclusively by Jimmy Beans Wool in advertising and online. Note: Jimmy Beans Wool accepts no liability for submissions which prove to be un-original by the designer."