It’s almost Christmas, and I have a present for you!
It’s the pattern for my Radish Pullover! It turned out so well, that I just had to write it up. And I hope you like it, too.
It’s a fairly simple bottom up, seamless pullover with a V-neck and 2×2 ribbing around the cuffs, hem and collar. There is a fully-charted stranded Radish motif that runs across the sleeves and belly, and the pattern is sized from 0-6 months up to 8-10 years.
This sweater is a great way to use up those partial skeins of sock yarn that I’m sure you have laying around your stash. The brown doesn’t use more than a half skein, and the radish colors (green, red and white) are only used for a handful of rows each.
And the best part? Since the inspiration for this sweater came from my kid’s favorite book, Sheep in a Jeep, I’m donating all proceeds from this pattern to the Children’s Literacy Initiative, a fantastic organization that supports teachers and their students to help every kid learn how to read. I’m trying a “Pay what you can” model this time, so you can get the pattern for free, or donate up to $15 (or whatever feels right to you).
So, head on over to Ravelry and pick up a copy of the Radish Pullover so you can make a sweater for your favorite little reader!
It’s a long-sleeved yoked pullover, made with 
I will say one thing though- the neck on the sample in these pictures ended up kind of funny, so if you want to make a Piper’s Creek Pullover (which I highly recommend), here’s what I would do to avoid the weird neck. First, make sure that you’re only doing the number of short rows called for in the pattern, or maybe even reduce the number by one or two, just in case. Second, make sure to work the colorwork nice and loosely (tight shoulders will make the neck funnel up, like it is in the pictures). And third, make sure to block the sweater so the neck goes nice and smoothly into the shoulders. Worst case scenario, if the neck ends up terrible even with all those precautions, you can always rip it out from the top down (or cut it out), 
It’s a delightf
I noticed reddish ribbing on the bottom, then a row of… maybe blue and white circles, before a row of white triangles and red circles… and maybe some green on top with black dots? It wasn’t too clear, but I had a little time in my knitting schedule and some of the kid’s crayons to try to chart it out, so away I went.
But halfway, through, I realized the red, white and green shapes weren’t just shapes… they were turnips! (Or maybe radishes? It’s hard to tell the difference.)
Now that I was this far, I had to keep going- And another swatch later, I’ve got a very cute little radish design. I’d change the colors so the contrast is there, but it’s a good start.
Now I’ve just got to decide what to use this for. Right now, I’m thinking a little pullover for the kiddo. Maybe with a light blue background “above ground” and a nice chocolate brown heather for the dirt. I think I might stagger the dots and the radishes, and the leaves still need a little work, but I like where it’s going.
It’s not as graphic as the examples, but I love the subtle way my speckled and variegated yarns work together in the complex color work. I think this is going to be a great little sweater. (Here’s hoping the boy fits in it for more than fifteen minutes- I’m making a one-year-old size, in the hopes that it’ll get a little more use. We’ll have to see how it goes.)
On the Needles 