As someone who is cold almost all the time, I LOVE sweaters. No matter how hot is it, I always take a sweater with me because I know the second the sun goes down or the wind picks up, I’m going to get cold. With that being said, you would think one of my favorite things to design would be sweaters, but I don’t think that is the actual reality of the situation. I have narrowed this fact down to two reason, 1) I always convince myself I can make a sweater in one day and it will be a fast project, but then that doesn’t happen, and 2) designing sweaters intimidates me, I’m not entirely sure why, but it does haha.
So late one night, I decided I wanted to make a super basic sweater that I was sure I could get done in just a day or two and would therefore have no excuse to not make it and that is how The Harvest Sweater came to be. I was talking to my boyfriend trying to decide what to name the design and he actually came up with The Harvest Sweater because it’s a CROP top… get it??? There was absolutely no way I could name it after anything else after that pitch.
Like I said before, I wanted this sweater to be really easy to make, so that is exactly what it is! It is basically 4 squares of the same size stitched together (and a couple rounds for the turtle neck) and that is pretty much it! Another construction aspect is the stitch used, there is a possibility that I made this stitch up, but with the amount of stitches out there it probably exists somewhere, I just don’t know what it is called haha. Ultimately it is a Half Double Crochet Stitch, alternating working in the back loop and the front loop for every other stitch, I really enjoy the texture that it created. You get the ribbing effect that HDC created, but with added textured!
Now moving onto a different, but still related topic, in the past, almost everything I have designed has not had the instruction for multiple sizes, but could be made depending on personal measurements. While I still think working based on personal measurements is highly effective to get a garment that will fit you specifically, I have been getting more and more requests to have stitch counts and standard sizes in my patterns, so I am going to start experimenting more with that, starting with this design! The pattern below covers sizes XS – 3XL, and you can use the gauge to make more specific changes if you’d like. So let’s dive in shall we?
Materials:
- Approx 3 (3,3,4,4,5,5,6) Skeins of King Cole Big Value Chunky in Spice
- Approximately 500 – 1,100 yards (Chunky Weight Yarn)
- 10.00 Crochet Hook
- I used a Furls Odyssey Hook
Gauge: 2 Stitches x 2 Rows = 1″ x 1″
Sizes: XS, S, M, L, XL, 1XL, 2XL, 3XL
Final Measurements:
- Bust: 34 (36, 38, 40, 43, 46, 49, 52)“
- Length: 12 (13, 14 , 15, 16, 17, 18, 19)“
- Armhole: 6 (7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13)“
- Sleeve Length: 19 (20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26)“
Abbreviations:
- CH – Chain
- SC- Single Crochet
- HDC – Half Double Crochet
- BL-HDC – Back Loop Half Double Crochet
Squares (Front/Back Panels and both Sleeves)
As I mentioned, this is a cropped sweater, so if you wish to make it longer just note that you will have to work more rows for the Front and Back Panels to get your desired length. Additionally if you wish to make the circumference of your sleeves larger, add rows to those panels as well. But note that the number in the sewing instructions will not be accurate if you choose to make adjustments.
The texture of this sweater is created by alternating stitches between Back Loop Only HDC and regular HDC.
Foundation
Chain 34 (36, 38, 40, 43, 46, 49, 52) + 1
Row 1:
- Work a HDC into the second chain stitch
- Work a HDC into each chain stitch till the end
- Chain 1 and turn
Row 2:
- Work a HDC into the first stitch
- Work a BL-HDC into the next stitch
- Work a HDC into the next stitch
- Repeat steps 2-3 till the end of the row
Row 3:
At this point you will want to note that you will be working a HDC into the BL-HDC stitches below and a BL-HDC into the HDC stitches below.
- Work a HDC into BL-HDC stitch
- Work a BL-HDC into the following HDC stitch
- Work a HDC into the next stitch the following BL-HDC stitch
- Repeat steps 2-3 till the end of the row
Row 4:
You are still going to be working a HDC into the BL-HDC stitches below and a BL-HDC into the HDC stitches below. You will continue this pattern for the rest of the section.
- Work a BL-HDC into HDC stitch
- Work a HDC into the following BL-HDC stitch
- Work a BL-HDC into the next stitch the following HDC stitch
- Repeat steps 2-3 till the end of the row
X Small – Repeat Rows 3 – 4 until you have 25 rows total
Small – Repeat Rows 3 – 4 until you have 27 rows total
Medium – Repeat Rows 3 – 4 until you have 29 rows total
Large – Repeat Rows 3 – 4 until you have 31 rows total
XL – Repeat Rows 3 – 4 until you have 33 rows total
1XL – Repeat Rows 3 – 4 until you have 35 rows total
2XL – Repeat Rows 3 – 4 until you have 37 rows total
3XL – Repeat Rows 3 – 4 until you have 39 rows total
Repeat all steps 3 more times, this will create your other body panel and both sleeves.
NOTE: If you want your sleeves to be shorter, when making each of your 2 sleeve panels, trim off 2 stitches from your starting chain for each 1″ that you want to take off.
Sewing your squares together (Front/Back Panels and both Sleeves)
So now that you have made your 4 panels, 2 of them are going to be turned into sleeves, and the other 2 are going to stay as is to act as the front and back of the sweater.
In order to to turn your 2 sleeve panels into actual sleeves, all you need to do is simply fold them in half length wise and sew up the edges as shown below. Do this for each sleeve.
Now that you have sewn up your sleeves, you will prep your front and back panels.
Lay your Front and Back Body Panels on top of each other, also lengthwise. The following instructions will vary depending on size.
X Small
- From the bottom, sew up each side for 13 rows and tie off.
- On the top of the panels (lengthwise) sew up 10 stitches (from edge to center) on each side, to create a neck hole.
Small
- From the bottom, sew up each side for 14 rows and tie off.
- On the top of the panels (lengthwise) sew up 11 stitches (from edge to center) on each side, to create a neck hole.
Medium
- From the bottom, sew up each side for 15 rows and tie off.
- On the top of the panels (lengthwise) sew up 12 stitches (from edge to center) on each side, to create a neck hole.
Large
- From the bottom, sew up each side for 16 rows and tie off.
- On the top of the panels (lengthwise) sew up 13 stitches (from edge to center) on each side, to create a neck hole.
XL
- From the bottom, sew up each side for 17 rows and tie off.
- On the top of the panels (lengthwise) sew up 14 stitches (from edge to center) on each side, to create a neck hole.
1XL
- From the bottom, sew up each side for 18 rows and tie off.
- On the top of the panels (lengthwise) sew up 15 stitches (from edge to center) on each side, to create a neck hole.
2XL
- From the bottom, sew up each side for 19 rows and tie off.
- On the top of the panels (lengthwise) sew up 16 stitches (from edge to center) on each side, to create a neck hole.
3XL
- From the bottom, sew up each side for 20 rows and tie off.
- On the top of the panels (lengthwise) sew up 17 stitches (from edge to center) on each side, to create a neck hole.
Now on the sides of the front a back panel you should have the perfect arm holes to evenly sew in you sleeves! So go ahead and sew in those sleeves!
The last thing to do now is to add the small turtle neck to the sweater. Personally, I feel a little claustrophobic when I have too high of a turtle neck so I made mine really short, but you can add as many rounds to yours as you’d like.
Simply work as many rounds of HDC to the neck hole as you’d like to create the height of turtle neck you would prefer and you have finished your sweater!
I hope you enjoyed this pattern! As always if you have any question please feel free to reach out, and if you end up making this top tag me on instagram or send me a picture! I would love to see the final product! You guys are the best!
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