This festive intarsia kitty will raise big smiles from anyone who sees it! And apart from the cat motif, the rest of the sweater is a super-simple drop sleeve in plain Stockinette Stitch. Beginners have the option of leaving the motif out for a confidence-building first sweater project, while intermediate and experienced knitters will find it quick and straightforward.
The cat's body is knit into the sweater -- with the eyes, nose, whiskers, collar and outlining added in Duplicate Stitch afterward.
Perfect as shown for Valentine's Day and a compliment to the Halloween Cat Sweater, you could also use other colors to customize it for different holidays or use a child's favorite colors to make it a year-round sweater.
Materials:
- 2 (2, 2, 3, 3, 3, 3) skeins Caron Simply Soft in shade 9730 Autumn Red, or about 450 (520, 590, 660, 730, 810, 850) yards of medium weight yarn of your choice
- 1 skein Caron Simply Soft in shade 9701 White for cat, or approximately 40 yards of medium weight yarn of your choice
- small amounts of medium weight yarn in pink, blue, light grey, brown, red and black for details (I used Caron Simply Soft in shades 0015 Strawberry, 0004 Blueberry, 9742 Grey Heather, 9750 Chocolate, 9729 Red, and Red Heart Soft Yarn in shade 4614 Black)
- 1 pair size US 7 (4.5 mm) knitting needles
- Size 7 US 16 inch circular needle
- Scissors, yarn needle and stitch holders
- Row counter
Gauge:
5 stitches and 6.5 rows per inch in Stockinette Stitch
Size:
2 years (3 years, 4 years, 5 years, 6 years, 7 years, 8 years)
Chest size finished garment: 25 (26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 30.5) inches
Length from back neck: 15 (15.5, 16, 16.5, 17, 17.5, 18) inches
See schematic for more measurements
Sample knit in 2 years size, by Eileen Casey