Side-Way Ribs Sweater

I've been knitting a lot lately. It's a nice winter time activity. I finished this sweater a couple weeks ago. It is from a pattern in the Fall/Winter 2005 issue of Knitscene magazine. The pattern is called Side-Way Ribs and is designed by Norah Gaughan. I used yarn I recycled from a thrift store sweater. The yarn has a lot of variation in thickness and I knit it fairly loosely on size 13 needles. I didn't make any adjustments to the pattern except to correct for my gauge.

It's an unusual way to knit a sweater but really easy once you get going. The large needles also make it a fast project. I would have liked a schematic for the pieces of the sweater before it's sewn together. The sweater is made of two pieces, the left and right sides. It is knit from the sleeve cuff to the center back with increases made for the front and back. There are three seams in the sweater, at the center back and on the sides from the sleeve cuff to the sweater hem.

By design, the sweater does not close in the front. I was concerned that it would be uncomfortable or cold. But, I've worn it a number of times and it hasn't been a problem. For a variation, the fronts can be pulled to the center, overlapped and held in place with a pin. I'd recommend the pattern, without reservation.