If you find my notes helpful, please click the ”are these notes helpful?” yes button at the bottom. Thank you. :-) If you like, add it to your favorites &/or please leave me a comment. I’m also happy to answer any questions, if I can.

All the directions and materials to knit the Sampler, and to learn to modify or design sweaters that fit you can be found in the Sweater Workshop book. There is also a non-spiral bound version.

I STRONGLY encourage every knitter to work this Sampler, unless you are already an advanced knitter. (Meaning, you are not intimidated by ribbing, short rows, two strand color knitting, lace knitting, DPNs, buttonholes, etc… intermediate to advanced knitting skills.)

Even if you have no aspirations to ever knit a sweater. If there are any “holes” in your basic to intermediate skill set, this is an excellent way to fill them in.

Don’t skip any steps or tasks and your confidence and skill will be increased with this “interesting” Sampler. Consider making it in colors you might like for your kitchen, or where ever, to store all those recycling plastic bags. Or, if you are really into eco stuff, hand knit/crocheted towels & washcloths. :-) (Finished size is just over 2 feet and about 9” across the widest section.) Add a little elastic to one end and hang it somewhere convenient. :-) You work an I-cord loop at the top so you’ll already have something “built in” to hang it with.

It seems the one place a lot of people get stuck on is the “Cardigan Border.” There is a YouTube video of that. If you get stuck, watch that… it should get you right on the move again. :-)

I am REALLY glad I made this project… I am truly amazed how much more confidence I have, not only in the skills taught through the Sampler, but in my ability to tackle other things I’ve permitted to intimidate me in knitting projects!

I used REALLY crappy “spun plastic bags” yarn as my main yarn. (OLD Red Heart Super Saver Solid) It was inherited yarn and I just wanted to get rid of it. I think I temporarily lost the fingerprints from my index fingers from the friction!

When you do the sampler, do yourself a favor. Use some NICE SOFT acrylic or other worsted weight yarn. Yarn that easily frogs and yarn that you ENJOY using! You’ll enjoy the project a lot more.

You’ll need 300-350 yards of light color worsted yarn, 100 yards or so of one or two contrasting colors worsted yarn, 4mm - 5mm 16” circular cable needles and matching DPNs, and some stitch markers to do the Sampler.

To see better photos, click on any photo to the left and view them via the photo browser. :-) If you have any questions about this project, don’t hesitate to message me a note.

Note: If you’ve read this far, you may enjoy reading my blog posts about the project in the “posts” tab above

Once you’ve completed your Sampler, make ONE basic sweater and approach it with the same attitude you approached your Sampler: a learning experience. Don’t choose a yarn that you are emotionally invested in and do not focus on creating the perfect sweater that you love. Focus on the foundational skills you’ll learn in this first sweater’s construction and use “utilitarian” yarn. Plan on this sweater to be one to “wear raking leaves and cleaning the garage”… advice I received directly from Jacqueline Fee via email when I was fretting over my first sweater. :-) “It’s a learning experience, focus on the skills not the finished project… you can make the ‘perfect sweater’ with the skills you learn from this one.”

My first-ever sweater: 2009
The result is a sweater I am very pleased with and have worn proudly since 2009. It is not a fashion statement, but I learned SO much and got exactly what I was aiming for when it was completed. How many people can say that about their first ever sweater?

2012 update
If you like that sweater, check out my second-ever sweater I knit using the SAME basic sweater construction instructions from The Sweater Workshop. Please leave a comment if you find my sweater notes helpful, and check the “helpful” button at the bottom of my notes. I do not exaggerate when I tell you that you can make almost any sweater you’d like to make using the Sweater Workshop. Any “limitations” you might find would come from the bottom-up construction, which can be resolved by knitting from the top-down. See Knitting from the Top by Barbara Walker &/or Custom Knits by Wendy Bernard to learn how to knit seamless top-down sweaters. :-) My next sweater will very likely be a top-down employing the guidance of one or both of these references.