The Basic Wide-ribbed Sweater Free Pattern

Have you ever looked at a poorly made store-bought sweater and thought, "I could totally make this, but better, and I'd know how it's made?"

Well, it was this thought that led me to create my first homemade pattern. I had spotted a basic, straight-cut sweater with wide ribs in a store, but it was made from plastic materials.

I thought to myself that I could definitely try to make my own version, but with quality material, my favorite being alpaca.

In the end, I created :

• Two rectangles, each with 128 stitches in width for the body, which is equivalent to 10 repetitions of the 6/6 rib pattern, plus one row of stockinette stitch on each side for easier assembly. The front rectangle is rounded at the top for the neckline (see diagram below), and I included one edge stitch on each side. The rectangles start with 10 rows of 2/2 ribbing using 3mm/US2 needles.
• Tubular sleeves with 96 stitches picked up on each side of the body, equivalent to 8 repetitions of the 6/6 rib pattern. They end with 10 rows of 2/2 ribbing using 3mm needles.
• A doubled collar with 10 rows of 2/2 ribbing picked up on the rectangles. Specifically, I picked up stitches and worked 10 rows of 2/2 ribbing, followed by one purl row and another 10 rows of 2/2 ribbing. Then, I folded the collar inward and added a thin elastic inside to prevent it from stretching out.