Classic Elite Yarns Nashawena Jumper Knitting Pattern

Classic Elite Yarns Nashawena Sweater Pattern Summary

Project Overview

Nashawena is a summery tank top design featuring striped colorwork, originally published in the Along The Shore 1503 printed collection. This knitted garment is constructed using a bottom-up, seamless approach worked in the round, making it an ideal project for knitters seeking a cohesive, well-finished garment without seaming.

Construction Techniques

The Nashawena sweater employs several key knitting techniques to achieve its polished final appearance:

• Bottom-Up Construction: The garment is knitted from the lower body upward, allowing knitters to try on the piece as it progresses and adjust length as needed before committing to armhole and neckline shaping.
• Seamless, In-the-Round Knitting: Worked continuously in rounds using circular needles, this method eliminates the need for seaming and creates a smooth, professional finish throughout the body and sleeves.
• Provisional Cast-On: The pattern utilizes a crochet chain provisional cast-on method for the shoulder straps, allowing for later unraveling and pick-up of live stitches. This technique involves using waste yarn and a crochet hook to create a temporary foundation that can be removed and converted to working stitches when needed.
• Precise Armhole Shaping: The armholes are engineered to contain an exact number of rows, making accurate row gauge critical for achieving the correct armhole height. The provisionally cast-on shoulder strap stitches add approximately 1¾ to 2 inches to the finished armhole height, depending on size.

Stitch Techniques

The pattern incorporates specialized increase methods for shaping:

• Left Lifted Increase (LLI): An invisible increase worked by inserting the left-hand needle from top down into the purl bump (head) of a stitch located two rows below the stitch closest to the right-hand needle tip. The lifted loop is then knitted together with the next stitch on the left-hand needle, creating one new stitch with minimal visual disruption.
• Right Lifted Increase (RLI): A mirror-image increase worked by inserting the right-hand needle from top down into the purl bump of a stitch one row below the stitch closest to the left-hand needle tip. This lifted loop is knitted together with the next stitch, creating one new stitch that pairs aesthetically with the LLI for balanced shaping.

Materials and Gauge

The Nashawena pattern is designed to be worked with Classic Elite Yarns yarn in a striped colorway inspired by Santorini. The pattern is worked on two different needle sizes: a smaller needle for the lower body and a longer needle for subsequent sections. Accurate row gauge is essential for this project, particularly for achieving the correct armhole depth, making gauge swatching a crucial preliminary step before beginning the garment.

Sizing

The Nashawena is available in six sizes, with the lower body cast-on ranging from 190 stitches (smallest size) to 300 stitches (largest size), accommodating a wide range of finished measurements.