My Knit for Kids Crocheted Sweater

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As promised, I have been working on a crocheted sweater that could be used in addition to the one offered by Guideposts’ Knit for Kids charity.  I believe there are at least three different knit sweaters that one can make, so why not more than one crocheted sweater, right?

My Vision of a Knit for Kids Crocheted Sweater

My vision has been a crocheted sweater that looks like the 10th anniversary knit sweater that I’ve been making.  It’s essentially a T-square, with a stockinette lower body and garter stitch yolk and sleeves – very easy and fun to make.

Here is what I came up with.  The bottom section of my sweater is crocheted vertically.  It’s a technique I learned from the book Modular Crochet by Judith Copeland, one of THE BEST crochet techniques out there for making sweaters and dresses.  Thankfully, the book has been as been re-issued and can now be purchased as a Kindle eBook for under $15!!

The bottom half of my version of the Knit for Kids sweater is crocheted vertically.

The “Modular Crochet” Technique

Sweaters are crocheted vertically, in sections or modules, using simple  stitches – single, half double and double crochet mostly.  And you crochet in the FRONT loop only.  This creates a more flexible fabric than occurs when you crochet vertically.  You can easily create ribbing by varying the height of the stitch.  In my sweater, the ribbing at the bottom is created with single crochet and the rest of the lower portion uses half-dobule crochet.

The top portion of the sweater crocheted horizontally in simple single crochet.  How easy is that?

Some Adjustments to the Pattern I Need to Make

I still have to make some adjustments where you crochet the first horizontal row across the vertically-crocheted bottom portion.  I think I need to apply some increases in a couple of key points so there’s more give where that joining occurs.

I also want to try a smaller hook.  I used an ‘I’ hook to do this one; I want the bottom section to be a tad more tightly crocheted.

I also might try doing the ribbing effect at the bottom, created by crocheting in the front loop only, and simply crocheting in both loops for the body.

The yellow and turquoise version of my Knit for Kids crocheted sweater is done!

Pattern Grading (sigh)

Finally, I need to create the different sizes as well for the final pattern.  I think I know how to do this.  It’s a matter of determining gauge, then doing the math to come up with the new sizing.  But if anyone knows an easy way to do this, I’m all EARS!  Oh, and I need to figure out how much yarn to use for each size.  I’ll have to make a monochromatic sweater to figure that out.

So you see, I still have some more work to do before I can say it’s done.  Let me know what you think.

UPDATE: I finished creating the pattern. You can find it in this blog’s Free Crochet Patterns section.

I've been crocheting for over 40 years and blogging since 2004 - two of my favorite things in the world to do besides walking the beaches of windward Oahu, Hawaii.

6 comments On My Knit for Kids Crocheted Sweater

  • Oh, that looks much better than the original GFK crochet pattern! Thanks for working so hard to come up with an easy alternative. I’m eagerly awaiting the pattern.

  • Hey Tutorgal! I am working on a monochromatic sweater using an “H” hook, which I’m liking better. The pattern instructions are just about complete. I just have to calculate the different sizes and make adjustments accordingly. Hopefully, it won’t take me too much longer. I’m not sure how to approach Guidepost about the new pattern. I think I will just include it with the final sweater I send. Thanks for hanging in there!

  • Hello, I am just now noticing the dates, 2008, on these entries. Maybe by now, 2013, you have this pattern all figures out. How can I get in touch with you?

  • Where is the written pattern for this crochet version you created. I am trying to work on sweaters for charity. Also, do you have a pattern for the sweater made of hexagons?

    You do very neat work. It looks so even.
    Thank you.

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