Just as the hearth makes a house feel like a home, the Hearth Sweater will surround your special girl with a fibery hug from you each time she wears it.

This v-neck cardigan features a hood, extra-long sleeves, and a double-knit belt that is easily detached from the sweater, leaving no “vestigial belt loops” because it is secured in the back with buttons.

This sweater is designed to fit with about an inch of positive ease, so girls can comfortably wear a shirt beneath the sweater, without giving up the “fitted look”.

The belt is the only part of this sweater that uses the double knitting technique, and it’s actually a great “Intro to Double Knitting” project, if you’ve never done it before. There is a video link in the pattern demonstrating the cast-on you’ll use, as well as a video link
demonstrating how to actually work your double-knitted fabric.

Please note that I chose Cascade Sport as one of the “recommended yarns”, even though it is not a dk-weight yarn. Because of the high silk content of the Silky Wool the pattern sample was made from, the fabric is very “drapey” and not bulky at all. Most of my testers chose high-wool-content dk yarns for their test sweaters, and I found that they all had a “bulkier” look to them. But the tester who chose the Cascade Sport yarn (Ravelry name: Kirky) had a drape much more similar to what I had with the Silky Wool. So if you are choosing a yarn that does not have a similar fiber content to the Silky Wool, I recommend swatching with a sport weight yarn and size 6 or 7 needles as your main needle size to see if you can get gauge.

Any “adventurous beginner” who is open to learning how to double knit can expect this project to be a success. Skills used include:
knitting flat
increases & decreases
picking up stitches for hood, sleeves & button band
using backward loop to cast on mid-row
three-needle bind off
Kitchener Stitch
Double Knitting the belt
Sewing on Buttons

Materials Needed:
800 (875, 925, 1065, 1180,1290) yds. DK-weight yarn. Sample was made from Elsebeth Lavold Silky Wool - 45% Wool, 35% Silk, 20% Nylon (192 yds / 50g skein)

US Size 6 / 4mm circular needle, or size needed to obtain correct gauge
US Size 6 / 4mm dpns (Set of 5)
US Size 5 / 3.75mm circular needle, or a size smaller than main needle
US Size 5 / 3.75mm dpns (Set of 5)
Pair of US Size 4 / 3.5mm needles - dpns, straights or circ - for belt only (two sizes smaller than main needle size)

7 stitch markers - 5 stationary, 2 traveling
4 stitch holders (or waste yarn)
6-8 buttons (Sample sweater used 7/8” buttons.)

A thousand thank yous go out to the lovely ladies who agreed to test knit this pattern: --sarah--, sew42mom, s0nicfreak, Rachelpbp, & Kirky. You really helped put the finishing touches on this pattern, and I am very grateful that you gave your time and energy to this project!

I am always available to give customer support for my patterns, so don’t hesitate to contact me if you have a question!