Sunbleached

Sunbleached Knit Sweater by Alicia Plummer

What is Being Made

Sunbleached is a top-down knit sweater designed by independent designer Alicia Plummer. This intermediate-level garment is available in six sizes, ranging from 31 inches to 51 inches in finished bust circumference, offering options for a range of body sizes. The sweater is intended to be worn with 1 to 3 inches of positive ease for a comfortable, relaxed fit.

Knitting Techniques

This sweater employs a top-down construction method, a popular approach in modern knit design that allows knitters to try on the garment as it progresses and customize the length easily. The pattern uses the following technique sequence:

• Stitches are cast on using the long-tail cast-on method
• The body is knit first while sleeve stitches are placed on holders, allowing the knitter to focus on the main garment section
• After the body is completed, sleeves are worked from the held stitches and bound off
• Ends are woven in using a darning needle for a finished appearance

Stitches and Stitch Patterns

The primary stitch used throughout Sunbleached is stockinette stitch, a fundamental knit fabric created by alternating knit and purl rows to produce a smooth, classic texture. The pattern incorporates place markers at key points to help track increases and shaping as the sweater is constructed from the neckline downward.

Materials: Yarn and Needles

Yarn: Sunbleached is designed to be knit with Swan's Island Natural Colors Merino Silk, a luxury blend combining merino wool and silk fibers. Each 50-gram skein contains 550 yards (503 meters) of yarn. The pattern features a sophisticated three-color palette:

• Color A (Main Color): Sand Dollar
• Color B (Contrast Color 1): Fog
• Color C (Contrast Color 2): Seaglass

Needles: The pattern calls for two needle sizes to create proper gauge and fabric structure:

• US 4 (3.5 mm) DPN's or circular needle for ribbing and shaping sections
• US 6 (4.0 mm) DPN's or circular needle for the main body in stockinette stitch

Gauge: The sweater is designed to achieve 24 stitches and 28 rows per 4 inches (10 centimeters) when worked in stockinette stitch on US size 6 (4.0 mm) needles and blocked. Achieving proper gauge is essential for the sweater to fit correctly across all six sizes.

Additional Notions

Beyond yarn and needles, the pattern requires four place markers to track construction points and a darning needle for weaving in yarn ends after the sweater is complete.