Lis Knits: the Weidlinger pullover

When the first Weidlinger samples started arriving at the office I knew it was something I would have to knit. My favorite sweaters all seem to be knit in seed and moss stitch. I love these stitches for their engagement while knitting and the finished fabric just seems extra cozy and plush to me.

Weidlinger also spoke to me because of its construction; I could see that it would be put together like nothing I’d knit before. I love a good challenge and I’m a fan of modular knitting with surprising, directional changes. There is a bit of seaming in this sweater and I know that’s not everyone’s cup of tea, but I promise it’s worth it! 

The back and the sleeves are knit in a pretty standard top-down fashion, for a chunk of good, flat sweater knitting. Both sleeves and back have a touch of easy short row shaping, that with the horizontal bands of knit texture gives just the prettiest little oblong wedges into an otherwise straightforward plane of fabric.

The striking front panels are cast on and knit sleeve-side-in, with one bound-off edge and one edge with held, live stitches. You then knit the center front panel top down, to the length of the side panels, and all live stitches are joined up at the midriff and worked down to the hem.

As for the seaming techniques I used, I found that a little bit of a mash-up gave me the best finish. On the front, working the center panel edge with mattress stitch and the cut-in side panels with something akin to a running stitch made for a perfect join.

Then for the side and sleeve seams, it’s easy going with straight mattress stitch as your bands of garter ridges and seed stitch stripes give you a perfect alignment guide. Just match up those bands and you’ll have a neat and tidy seam. (Tip: For the side and sleeve seams, I did find that, due to the nature of the textured bands, working your seaming yarn into the garter bump on one side would align best if you then work into the stitch above the corresponding bump on the opposite side. When you tighten up on your seaming yarn, they snug up against each other and settle in very nicely with no visible jog.)

I highly recommend knitting a Weidlinger of your own in Arbor, as it’s as comforting to wear as your favorite knockabout sweatshirt, but has some elevated, polished details.