I design my own patterns, so I hesitated about knitting a Petite Knit—was I ready to follow someone else’s design? But Petite Knit patterns are so popular and have such a classy, timeless look, I couldn’t resist trying the Sonja Sweater. I won’t share any paid instructions—just my experience, tips, and how it fits.Watch the YouTube Video: https://youtu.be/ww8_ICTcifk
I’ve heard great things about Petite Knit, and there are so many beautiful patterns, and the designer, her name is Mette, is so little and pretty. She is one of those people who looks good in everything. Her photos of the designs are also excellent. I have also seen many other people’s projects on Youtube and Instagram, so I was pretty confident that these designs are classic and they look very good on a wide range of body types. I picked the Sonja Sweater as my first Petite Knit pattern.
Part of the reason that I chose this pattern was based on yarn that I had in stash that I really love and wanted to use. I also love to wear comfy oversized garments, and Sonja is designed to have 11-12 inches of positive ease, which is a lot. I also saw that this pattern had a folded crew neck and I was curious about just how she did the fold and how it connects to the garment. I am doing a folded hem on my new slipover, and I just wanted to compare the way I did it with the way she did it.I chose Kelly & Co in color Jade, which is a heavy worsted bordering on aran-weight yarn, plus size 8 US/5 mm needles recommended by the pattern and a size based on my actual bust plus the suggested ease.
This yarn is no longer available, but there is a yarn from Knit Picks that is a very similar size and look. That yarn is Woodland Tweed. I just became a Knit Picks Ambassador, and if you use the code AKPwiseowlknitss you can save 15% on any Knit Picks yarn.
The Kelly & Co yarn is 100% New Zealand Merino Wool and The Knit Picks yarn, Woodland Tweed is 80% Merino, 15% Alpaca, and 5% Viscose.When you are choosing what size to knit, always check finished garment measurements, not just your body size. When you look at Petite Knits website, there is information on the finished size of the bust and the length. I am sharing that here because it is available on her website. I thought you could also link to the schematic, but that is not there on this pattern. I think it is available before you buy the pattern on some Petite Knits designs.
I always suggest swatching the way I’ll knit the sweater—same needles and yarn. This sweater is knit in the round, but it is such a large fabric, I would just knit the swatch flat. I wet-blocked the swatch and measured after drying. You can adjust the needle size to adjust the gauge, but just make sure that you like the feel of the fabric with the smaller or larger needles.
That being said…. I did not swatch. I have used this yarn in several other projects and felt very comfortable that I would get the gauge with the needles I was using. I did double check the gauge as I was knitting, and if I was off, I would be perfectly comfortable ripping out and starting over with a different needle size, or maybe a different yarn or pattern.
The pattern begins with the back yoke down to the underarm, then you pick up stitches for the front, one side at time. The shoulder shaping is done with short rows that is part of the front yoke. This shaping makes the back a bit higher than the front, even though the shaping actually is a part of the front. Once that is done you begin shaping the front neck and eventually the underarms. After you complete the front yoke you connect the front and the back and just knit round and round to the hem.I did make an adjustment on the ribbing, doing a 1x1 half twisted rib rather than a regular k1, p1 rib. I just like the look of it.
That is one of the nice things about knitting, you are free to make adjustments to make things the way that you want them. There is a caveat… making changes can affect the look and the fit, so just know that there is a possibility that you may have to undo that change if it negatively affects the look or the fit. 1x1 Half Twisted Rib Tutorial
I tried on the sweater several times during the knitting but I specifically wanted to check the sleeve length. Since Sonja has drop shoulders, the actual sleeve length and the circumference at the wrist. There are short rows at the top of the sleeve cap, even though this is a drop shoulder. Those short rows really make the sleeves fit so well. I didn’t change the decreases on the sleeves with the exception of the way I always do my paired decreases.I always do the first sleeve decrease right before the beginning of round marker, slip the marker, then decrease after the marker. The decreases are not technically on the same round, but they look like they are on the same round, and I am much less likely to forget to work one of the decreases. I also put a lightbulb stitch marker at each set of decreases and leave them in so that I make sure that I do the 2nd sleeve the same way as I do the first sleeve.
I am not a fan of doing 2 sleeves at a time, because I don’t enjoy wrangling 2 skeins of yarns, but that is a good way to ensure that both sleeves are the same size and length For hems and cuffs, the pattern calls for the Italian bind off. I have used the tubular bind off before, but this is my first time for the Italian bind off. They are really the same sewn bind off, but with the Italian bind off you do either 2 or 4 set up rounds before the bind off. I did a quick video tutorial on my Knit Wiser channel. Italian Bind Off Tutorial
To block the sweater, I soaked the sweater in cool water. You can use wool wash, but I did not. I pressed out the excess water by rolling the sweater up in a beach towel, then laid it flat to dry fully. I do this on the floor in the basement and I always turn the fan out to accelerate the drying process.
Here’s the finished Sonja Sweater. The fabric is soft, yet structured, the fit is loose and comfortable and I love folded crewneck and the sleeve length. It pairs well with jeans or casual pants. I am a big hiker and I have lots of hiking pants, which I think works well with this rustic sweater. Corduroys would also be good, but I don’t have any!
00:00:00 Introduction
00:00:16 About Petite Knit
00:01:50 Which Petite Knit Pattern Should I Knit
00:02:56 What Yarn Should I Use
00:08:25 How to Choose the Right Size
00:09:44 Schematics and Pattern Stats
00:11:04 Why I Didn't Swatch
00:14:13 Pattern Overview
00:17:20 Italian Bind Off
00:18:50 Sleeves
00:19:50 Folded Hem on Crew Neck
00:22:40 Blocking