Free Pattern for Raglan V-Neck Short-Sleeve Sweater

This is written for Rowan Handknit DK Cotton yarn (for the black and white) and Cascade Pima Tencel for the colors.  (Pima Tencel does not come in bleach white, and I felt that cream white would not be as striking for the checkered areas.)  It is a 55" finished chest.  Note that it is written for two strands of yarn held together throughout.  Directions may seem a bit simplistic but when I do color work like this, I need to be really exact to make sure I get my shaping to match my color changes.  This is done in stockinette throughout.

Note that this is a very deep v-neck which I designed to wear over a camisole.  If you want to wear it solo, then when following the neck finishing instructions, make it 2 or 3" deep instead of just 1.  This will tighten up the V and make it shallower.  (Directions for this are given at the end.)

After wearing this sweater I have realized it would have (a) looked better and (b) fit better as a crew-neck.  Check my other pattern (June 2009) for a revised version using finer yarns in truer rainbow colors.

Yarn: 

Needles:  I used a size 8 throughout.  This gave me a gauge of 4.25 stitches to an inch and 5 rows to an inch.  The finished length is 26".  You will also need a stitch marker and a stitch holder.

Checker pattern.  Each box is 2 stitches wide and 2 stitches high:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Back:

Using two strands of bleach white, cast on 117 stitches.  Work 5 rows.  Then put your row counter on the needle and mark it as 1 row completed.

For the next 10 rows, work with 2 strands of bleach white and 2 strands of black in checkers: 

Next row:  switch to 2 strands of dark purple.  Work 7 rows.  (Row 18.)

Remove one strand of dark purple and add one strand of blue.  Work 7 rows.  (Row 25.)

Remove the remaining dark purple strand and add the second strand of blue.  Work 7 rows.  (Row 32.)

Remove one strand of blue and add one strand of teal.  Work 6 rows.  On next row (same color yarns), dec 1 stitch each side.  (Row 39.)

Remove the remaining blue strand and add the second strand of teal.  Work 7 rows.  (Row 46.)

Remove one strand of teal and add one strand of dark green.  Work 7 rows.  (Row 53.)

Remove the remaining strand of teal and add the second strand of dark green.  Work 7 rows.  (Row 60.)

Remove one strand of dark green and add one strand of yellow-green.  Work 7 rows.  (Row 67.)

Remove the remaining strand of dark green and add the second strand of yellow green.  Work 7 rows.  (Row 74.)

Remove one strand of yellow green and add one strand of yellow.  Work 3 rows.  On the next row (row 78), dec 1 stitch each side.

Still working with one strand of yellow green and one strand of yellow, work 2 more rows.  (Row 80.)

Underarm decreases:

Sleeve decreases.  Please read these in numerical order and not the order they are written.  I have skipped around to keep the color changes in order, but the row numbers are slightly out of sequence.  Trust me.  It works.

Now there is a change in the decrease pattern.  You should now change to one strand of dark orange and one strand of red.

Front:

Work as for back up to row 69 (the 2nd complete row of yellow green-yellow green).

Neck decreases, front right:

On row 70, work 58 stitches, place remaining stitches on a holder.  Because of all the loose ends of yarn we already have in this project, I suggest working one entire side of the front and then going back to work the other side, instead of attaching more yarn and working both sides at the same time.  Therefore, ignoring the holder stitches for the moment, and still working with 2 strands of yellow-green, on the FRONT RIGHT side of the sweater (that is, the part that will cover the wearer's right side), as follows.  You will be decreasing the sleeve edge the same way we did for the back, but at the same time decreasing the v-neck.  The basic neck decreases are "dec 1 stitch at each neck edge every 3 rows 10 times, then every 4 rows 5 times," but because of the color changes, which made me crazy, I wrote down every single row and what needed to be done.  Here it is.

Neck decreases, front left - leave center stitch on a holder!

Sleeves (make 2, of course):

Cast on 4 stitches using 2 strands of red.

Increase one stitch each side every other row 18x:

Increase one stitch each side every row 12x:

On the next 2 rows, cast on 9 stitches each side using two strands of yellow.  This does give you an extra row of yellow-yellow but as it's under the arm of the sleeve it is not noticeable.

Decrease 1 stitch each side every 3 rows 2x using yellow-yellow green (6 total rows).

Decrease 1 stitch each side every other row 7x:

Switch to black and white yarns for the next 8 rows:

Row 1 and 5:  Using 2 strands of black held together and 2 strands of white held together, k2 black k2 white across row.

Rows 2, 4, 6, 8:  Purl across row, matching colors, so that at the end of the purl row you have checkers that are 2 stitches wide and 2 stitches high.

Row 3 and 7:  k2 white, k2 black across row.

After the 8 rows of checkers are completed, work 5 rows using 2 strands of white.  Bind off.

Seam it all together, then proceed to neckline finishing.

Neckline:

Using 1 strand of white yarn, pick up 50 stitches from right neck edge, place marker, center stitch from holder, 50 stitches from left neck edge, 35 stitches from back neck edge.  Work one round in white as follows:

K to 2 stitches before marker, ssk*, pass marker, k1, k2tog, k to end of row.

Next row and all subsequent rows:  work in established pattern for checkers.

For the standard deep V neckline work checker rows x 4, then work one row of all white, then bind off with white.

For a shallower neckline, work checker rows x 6 or x 8, then work one row of all white, then bind off with white.

Weave in your ends, and you're done.  Whew!  Congratulations.  If you make this sweater, please let me know!