The Amoroso Sweater
An beginner-friendly knitted pullover – my Amoroso Cardigan – is a free pattern here on the blog! Read through my inspiration, materials and stitch patterns used. Or scroll on down for the free pattern.
Introduction + Design
Amoroso in Spanish means "loving," and you will love knitting this sassy little sweater that will give you all the love with all its coziness! Worked in bulky weight yarn, it's a fast knit just perfect for those cold winter days! No jacket required while hanging out with friends or shopping. Pair it with jeans, cute boots, and sunglasses, and you're ready for fun!
The Amoroso sweater is worked back and forth in four pieces (front, back and sleeves) bottom-up, and is then seamed together. After the back and front are joined, stitches are picked to create the turtle neck.
The ideal first garment!
Are you looking for an easy yet gorgeous sweater to advance your knittin skills? The Amoroso Sweater is perfect for you! With it you’ll be able to put in practice all the skills you need to knit a garment: picking up stitches, seaming horizotally and vertically (mattress stitch). But it’s in bulky yarn, and in Stockinette and 1x1 Rib stitch, so you’ll finish it pretty quickly!
Sizes for everyone!
This sweater fits bust sizes from 32 (but really, even 30) to 62 inches, due to the intended ease which is meant to be worn with!
Customize it!
The Amoroso Sweater has no shaping, so you could easily customize it by color-blocking it, or doing stripes! The possibilities ar endless!
Pattern
Get the ad-free, large print, printable PDF pattern on Ravelry HERE and on Etsy HERE.
PIN this pattern to your Pinterest boards for later HERE.
Techniques Required
Knit & purl, cast-on and bind-off
Increasing
Specialty bind-off: sloped bind-off for back neck
Working from written instructions
Picking up stitches
Blocking
Seaming: Mattress stitch, Horizontal seams (join shoulders), Vertical to Horizontal seams (join sleeves).
Yarn
Approximately 21.5 (24, 27, 29.5, 33) (35.5, 38.5, 42) oz/610 (697, 768, 837, 942) (1007, 1091, 1179) g; 667 (762.5, 840, 916, 1031) (1102, 1193, 1290) yds/610 (697, 768, 837, 942) (1007, 1091, 1179) m of super bulky weight yarn (7 wpi), 100% Wool. Like this.
Materials
Needles
US size 11/8 mm needles or size to obtain correct gauge.
Notions
1 stitch holder or waste yarn.
Tapestry needle.
Gauge
11.5 sts and 16 rows = 4 in /10 cm in Stockinette stitch with US size 11/8mm needles after blocking.
Take the time to save time! Please knit a gauge swatch to check your gauge.
Sizes
1 (2, 3, 4, 5) (6, 7, 8)
Model with bust size 40 in shown in size 3 with 3 in/7 cm positive ease.
Finished Measurements
Bust at underarm: 36 (40, 44, 48, 52) (56, 60, 64) in/91.5 (101.5, 112, 122, 132) (142, 152.5, 162.5) cm
Finished Length: 20 ⅜ (21 ¾, 22 ¼, 22 ⅝, 23 ⅛) (23 ⅝, 24, 24 ¼) in/52 (55, 56.5, 57.5, 59) (60, 61, 61.5) cm
Ease intended: 2 to 4 in/5 to 10 cm.
Notes
I am a loose knitter, so usually go up a couple needle sizes to get recommended gauge of that recommended by the yarn company. If you are a tight knitter, I advise you to try gauge first with one needle size bigger that that advised in the pattern.
When BO off sts for the neckline edge, use the sloped bind-off for a cleaner and finished edge.
Please, read the whole pattern before starting to knit, and submit any questions at [email protected]
Abbreviations
BO: bind off.
CO: cast on.
k: knit st.
kwise: knitwise, as if to k the st.
LN: left-hand needle
M1L: make 1 left.
M1R: make 1 right.
p: purl st.
pwise: purlwise.
Rep: repeat
RN: right-hand needle
RS: Right Side
sl: slip st.
st: stitch.
WS: Wrong Side
wyib: with yarn in back
wyif: with yarn in front
Techniques
Make 1 Left: this is an increase method that creates a new stitch from the strand between 2 existing stitches, and the new stitch leans towards the left. To do it, insert the left-hand needle under the strand between the left and right-hand needles from front to back lifting the strand onto the needle. With the yarn in back, insert the right-hand needle from front to back into the back loop of the stitch. Knit it.
Make 1 Right: this is an increase method that creates a new stitch from the strand between 2 existing stitches, and the new stitch leans towards the right. To do it, insert the left-hand needle under the strand between the left and right-hand needles from back to front lifting the strand onto the needle. With the yarn in back, insert the right-hand needle from front to back into the front loop of the stitch. Knit it.
Slip st: slip st to the right-hand needle pwise, unless instructed otherwise.
Sloped bind-off: this bind off forms a smooth curve and prevents “stair steps” to form on the following bind-off rows. To do it, work the first bind-off row as usual to define the initial part of the bind-off. Work the next row to the last st, but do not work it. Instead, turn the work so that the unworked st becomes the first st on the right-hand needle. Keeping the yarn in the back of the work, slip the first st on the left-hand needle pwise, then bind off the unworked st by lifting it over the slipped st and off the needle, as for a regular bind-off. This is your first bind-off st. Keep working in this way until you have completed all bind-off rows.
Stitch Patterns
Stockinette st
K all sts in RS rows and p all sts in WS rows.
1x1 Rib st
RS rows: *k1, p1; repeat from * to the end of the row.
WS rows: k the k sts, p the p sts.
Schematics
Let’s knit!
Back
Using size US 6 (4 mm) needles and the Long-tail CO method, CO 53 (59, 65, 71, 77) (83, 97, 93) sts.
Row 1 (RS): k1, *k1, p1; repeat from * to last 2 sts, k2.
Row 2 (WS) and all WS rows: k the k sts, p the p sts.
Work even in 1x1 Rib st until piece measures 2 in/5 cm from CO, ending by working a WS row.
Next row (RS): k all sts.
Next row (WS) and all WS rows: p all sts.
Work even in St st until piece measures 18 ⅞ (20 ¼, 20 ¾, 21 ⅛, 21 ⅝) (22 ⅛, 22 ½, 22 ¾) in/48 (51.5, 52.5, 53.5, 55) (56, 57, 58) cm from cast-on, ending by working a WS row.
Note: Read shaping instructions before continuing. Remember to use the sloped BO method on the neck edges for a cleaner look.
Neckline Shaping
The following are the instructions to create the round neckline, and the BO’s are only made on the Neckline edge of each of the shoulders.
Next row (neck BO, RS): k24 (25, 28, 29, 32) (35, 36, 39) for the right shoulder; BO 7 (9, 9, 13, 13) (13, 15, 15) sts, k to end — 24 (25, 28, 31, 33) (35, 36, 39) sts for each shoulder.
Place the 24 (25, 28, 29, 32) (35, 36, 39) sts of the right shoulder on a st holder or scrap of yarn, and put them aside to work them later.
Left shoulder
Next row (WS) and all WS rows: p all sts.
BO 2 ( 2, 3, 3, 4) (4, 4, 4) sts at the beginning of the next 2 (2, 1, 2, 1) (1, 1, 1) RS rows and 0 (0, 2, 0, 3) (3, 3, 0) sts at the beginning of the next 0 (0, 1, 0, 1) (1, 1, 0) RS row — 20 (21, 23, 23, 25) (28, 29, 31) sts.
Work even until piece measures 20 ⅜ (21 ¾, 22 ¼, 22 ⅝, 23 ⅛) (23 ⅝, 24, 24 ¼) in/52 (55, 56.5, 57.5, 59) (60, 61, 61.5) cm from CO, ending by working a WS row. BO all sts.
Right shoulder
Join a ball of yarn and pick up the sts for the right shoulder by placing them in your needle again with the WS facing you, and work as follows starting with a WS row:
BO 2 ( 2, 3, 3, 4) (4, 4, 4) sts at the beginning of the next 2 (2, 1, 2, 1) (1, 1, 1) WS rows and 0 (0, 2, 0, 3) (3, 3, 0) sts at the beginning of the next 0 (0, 1, 0, 1) (1, 1, 0) WS row — 20 (21, 23, 23, 25) (28, 29, 31) sts.
Work even until piece measures 20 ⅜ (21 ¾, 22 ¼, 22 ⅝, 23 ⅛) (23 ⅝, 24, 24 ¼) in/52 (55, 56.5, 57.5, 59) (60, 61, 61.5) cm from cast-on, ending by working a WS row. BO all sts.
Front
Work the same as the back until piece measures 17 ⅜ (18 ¾, 19 ¼, 19 ⅝, 19 ⅛) (19 ⅝, 20, 20 ¼) in/ 44 (47.5, 49, 50, 48.5) (50, 51, 51.5) cm from cast-on, ending by working a WS row.
Note: Read shaping instructions before continuing. Remember to use the sloped BO method on the neck edges for a cleaner look.
Neckline Shaping
The following are the instructions to create the round neckline, and the BO’s are only made on the Neckline edge of each of the shoulders.
Next row (neck BO, RS): k25 (27, 29, 31, 34) (37, 39, 41) for the left shoulder; BO 5 (5, 7, 9, 9) (9, 9, 11) sts, k to end — 25 (27, 29, 31, 34) (37, 39, 41) sts for each shoulder.
Place the 25 (27, 29, 31, 34) (37, 39, 41) sts of the left shoulder on a st holder or scrap of yarn, and put them aside to work them later.
Right shoulder
Next row (WS) and all WS rows: p all sts.
BO 1 ( 2, 2, 3, 3) (3, 3, 3) st at the beginning of the next 5 (1, 1, 1, 1) (1, 1, 1) RS rows, 2 sts at the beginning of the next 0 (0, 0, 1, 0) (1, 2, 2) RS rows, and 1 st at the beginning of the next 0 (4, 4, 3, 6) (4, 3, 3) RS rows — 20 (21, 23, 23, 25) (28, 29, 31) sts.
Work even until piece measures 20 ⅜ (21 ¾, 22 ¼, 22 ⅝, 23 ⅛, 23 ⅝, 24, 24 ¼) in/52 (55, 56.5, 57.5, 59) (60, 61, 61.5) cm from cast-on, ending by working a WS row. BO all sts.
Left shoulder
Join a ball of yarn and pick up the sts for the left shoulder by placing them in your needle again with the WS facing you, and work as follows starting with a WS row:
BO 1 ( 2, 2, 3, 3) (3, 3, 3) st at the beginning of the next 5 (1, 1, 1, 1) (1, 1, 1) Ws rows, 2 sts at the beginning of the next 0 (0, 0, 1, 0) (1, 2, 2) WS rows, and 1 st at the beginning of the next 0 (4, 4, 3, 6) (4, 3, 3) WS rows — 20 (21, 23, 23, 25) (28, 29, 31) sts.
Work even until piece measures 20 ⅜ (21 ¾, 22 ¼, 22 ⅝, 23 ⅛, 23 ⅝, 24, 24 ¼) in/52 (55, 56.5, 57.5, 59) (60, 61, 61.5) cm from cast-on, ending by working a WS row. BO all sts.
Sleeves
Repeat these instructions twice to make 2 sleeves.
Cast on 29 (31, 33, 33, 37) (39, 39, 41) sts.
Row 1 (RS): k1, *k1, p1*; repeat from * to * to last 2 sts, k2.
Row 2 (WS) and all WS rows: k the k sts, p the p sts.
Work even in 1x1 Rib st until piece measures 2 in/5 cm from cast-on, ending by working a WS row.
Sleeve shaping
Next Row (increase row): k2, m1R, k until there are 2 sts left, m1L, k2 — 31 (33, 35, 35, 39) (41, 41, 43) sts.
Repeat the increase row every 10th (10th, 8th, 6th, 4th) (4th, 4th, 4th) row 1 (1, 1, 8, 5) (8, 12, 13) time more, and every 12th (12th, 10th, 8th, 6th) (6th, 6th, 6th) row 4 (4, 5, 1, 6) (3, 1, 1) times more — 41 (43, 47, 53, 61) (63, 67, 71) sts.
Work even until piece measures 17 ¾ (18 ¼, 17 ¾, 17 ¼, 17 ½) (17, 17, 18) in/45 (46.5, 45, 44, 44.5) (43, 43, 45.5) cm from cast-on, ending by working a WS row. BO all sts.
FINISHING
Block pieces to measurements. Align the back and front with the RS facing up, and sew the right shoulder seam. With the RS facing you, and starting with the front’s left shoulder edge, pick up as many sts around the front and back’s neck as you comfortably can, you should end up with an uneven number of sts.
Work in Rib 1x1 until the band measures 8 in/20 cm from picking up edge. BO sts loosely, or with a bigger needle size.
Sew the left shoulder seam and the turtle neck seam. Sew sleeves to armholes. Sew sleeves and body sides. Weave ends in.
And now your Amoroso Sweater is ready for you to rock it!
You can share your handknits with the KBD community tagging me and using the hashtags #AmorosoSweater and #katebarriosdesigns
Credits
Many thanks to my tech editor, Nin Leavitt; and to my test knitters for helping me make this the best possible pattern: Joy Burkart and Maryanne Cleary.
Copyright
Copyright Kate Barrios Designs, 2021. You are welcome to sell finished items of this pattern, but please give credit to my design linking my website and social media.
You are not allowed to alter this pattern and sell a similar one.
Version 2, December 2020.
