Derecho Pattern Review: An Easy Knitted Sweater for Spring

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I don’t often knit sweaters because I have a history of them not fitting very well, but I loved my Professor Meow sweater so much that I decided to try another knitted tee: Derecho by Alison Green. This wasn’t as quick of a knit as Meow but it wasn’t too bad – I finished it in a couple of months. (Unfortunately, I finished it right before winter hit, so I wasn’t able to wear it until now).  I love how the sweater turned out – the eyelet yoke is so cute!

Derecho would be a great sweater for a beginner knitter. There are some short rows at the top which may be a new thing, but the instructions are well-written and you’ll breeze right through them. Plus, it’s knitted from the top down and all the short row action is at the beginning, which means that if you mess up, you can rip it out and start over without losing too much time. The bad part about all the action being up top is that it does get a little boring in the middle with the endless fields of stockinette stitch, but it made for a nice project to zone out on while binge-watching DS9. It’s all knitted in the round until you get to to the hem, then it splits into a front and back piece that you knit flat. This split hem style is very flattering across the hips!

I used my wood interchangeable circular needle tips on this project, but I think you could easily knit this one on metal needles too – so whatever you have handy would work.  See my post about selecting wood vs. metal needle knitting needles if you want to learn more about that topic!

The sweater pattern calls for Berroco Remix Light yarn, which I’ve heard mixed reviews about, but I had this Knit Picks Kindred yarn in my stash and it has a similar tweedy/marled look so I used it for this project. Wow! It was a wonderful yarn to knit with and it is so soft against my skin. I’m sorry to report that it has been discontinued! If anyone knows of a similar cotton-alpaca blend, I’d love a recommendation. The mixed reviews I’ve heard about the Remix is that some knitters find it a little rough, so I am very pleased with my super soft substitution!

yarn details

Knit Picks Kindred in Mulled Wine
DK Weight
68% Camelid – Alpaca and 32% Pima Cotton
$3.20 per 50 g/115 yd balls (Sale!)
Purchased in November 2021

project details

pattern: “Derecho” by Alison Green (download for $8 on Ravelry or on Berroco’s website)
size knit: 40” bust
needles: US size 3 and 5 (3.25 and 3.75 mm) wood circular needles from my Sunstruck interchangeable set (my fave!!)
gauge: 21 stitches and 32 rows over 4 inches in stockinette (blocked) (pattern gauge is 22 stitches – I swear I swatched, but must have miscounted)
yarn used: 865 yards (368 grams) = about 7.4 balls
finished size: 41” bust; length of front: 22”; length of back: 24.5”
duration: July – October, 2022