Lately I have become very interested in the patching and mending of garments — recycle/restyle, you could call it! It’s such a wonderful way to add creativity and color to a well-loved garment that may be languishing in your closet. I was inspired to figure out a way to put woven patches on a new sweater without needing holes! It proved to be a little more challenging than I first anticipated since I wanted to work them directly on the sweater, but once I figured a way to make it stable on the garment I couldn’t stop.

The weaving process of the patches is actually pretty straight forward: the warp (vertical threads) are worked first, then you weave in the weft (horizontal threads) in an under-over method.

Although the patches were my initial inspiration, I wanted to design a nice comfy cardigan to go with them and the Miss Babs Intrepid Targhee wool is perfect. It has a soft hand and the shadowing effect on the yarn is stunning. The ribbing and button band has a few rows of garter stitch and then a two-by-two rib, topped by another few rows of garter stitch. This provides a perfect accent for the sweater which is a bit oversized and has dropped shoulders.

There are complete instructions on how to weave the patches, as well as color charts for each of the four different patches. Once you get the hang of the patches, you might want to add a few to the sleeves or other places

SIZE
Women’s XSS, M, L, 1X, 2X, 3X, 4X, 5X
shown in size M, with 4 inches/10 cm positive ease at upper bust

FINISHED MEASUREMENTS
Chest circumference at underarm: 32.7536.75, 40.75, 44.75, 48.75, 52.75, 56.75, 60.75, 64.75 inches / 8393.5, 103.5, 113.5, 124, 134, 144, 154.5, 164.5 cm
Length: 2020.5, 21, 21.5, 22, 22, 22.5, 22.5, 23 inches/ 5152, 53.5, 54.5, 56, 56, 57, 57, 58.5 cm

MATERIALS
Yarn
spacer Miss Babs Intrepid 100% Targhee Wool; 280 yd/255 m per 4oz/115g skein; Color: Fleur de Sel; 44, 5, 5, 6, 6, 6, 7, 7 skeins
spacer Embellishment: approx 6 yds/5.5 m each of worsted weight wool. This is perfect for leftover and scrap yarns; use scraps similar in weight to the sweater yarn.
Colors: light blue, med blue, dark blue, med orange, bright pink, raspberry, dark purple

Construction method:
The body of this pullover is worked seamlessly from the hem up to the armholes, then worked right front, left front, back. Drop-shoulder sleeves are sewn in and the shoulders use a 3-needle bind off. The button band is picked up on circular needles and worked from bottom right, around neck and down the left side.

The woven embellishments are worked onto the garment before finishing.

Techniques:
Embellishments are woven directly on top of the garment’s knitted fabric. Detailed pictures and charts are at the end of the pattern. Weaving is the technique in which two distinct sets of yarns or threads – called the warp and the weft – are interlaced with each other to form a fabric or cloth. The warp runs vertically up and down and the weft is the yarn that passes horizontally across the warp. Refer to the color and placement charts.

The woven patches for this project are worked directly on the sweater and do not require a loom. The instructions in the pattern are for Patch #1. All patches are worked in the same manner with variations on size and colors. For each patch, cut approx 12 inches/30.5 cm of each yarn color for the warp, and the same amount for the weft. You will use a yarn needle with a large eye to weave. The tension should be the same as the stitches you are weaving over. Do not pull too tight or leave loose.