Berkeley is a sweater place. It’s never really cold, but it’s never quite warm either. Even in the summer the fog comes in most mornings and you have to bundle up a bit. In the winter you might wear a coat, but a thick cozy sweater is better. My mother has an excellent sweater collection, with a full range from lacy cotton summer sweaters to thick cabled winter sweaters.

Last time I was in town, my mom took me to A Verb For Keeping Warm, perhaps the coziest store there is. I picked up four skeins of this outrageously soft alpaca to knit up a sweater which would feel at home in her closet. It’s a boxy, slightly cropped sweater with simple textural details. It’s warm enough for the coldest Berkeley night, and makes an excellent layer at home in New York.

This sweater has no waist shaping. This gives it a boxy shape, which is balanced by the drape of the loose knit and the slightly cropped length. Pick a size that is slightly smaller than your bust measurement. The sweater begins with a band of garter stitch around the hem and ends with one around a slight boat neck. It has seed stitch panels up the sides and along the top of the sleeves. It is worked in the round up to the arm pits, and then flat to the shoulders. The garter stitch neckline is picked up and knit in the round after the shoulders are sewn up. The set in sleeves are worked flat.

Gauge: 16 stitches / 21 rows in 4 inches
Needles: 6.5mm/ US 10.5 (larger than the recommended 4mm/ US 6)
Yarn: 4(5,6) skeins Shibui maai, 175 yrd/160m per 50g ball

Finished size: 29.5(32.5,35.5) inches around.

Shown in smallest size with 3″ negative ease.