Crazy Sweater Series

This is the main page where you can find links to all the resources for the Crazy Sweater crochet recipe pattern tutorial and crochet-a-long. (wow, that’s a long sentence!)

Welcome to the “Crazy Sweater” Crochet Recipe Pattern Tutorial and Crochet-A-Long.

AKA Zig Zag Crochet Sweater or Short Row Crochet SweaterJoin along to make a very visually interesting looking sweater that will fit YOU perfectly.

Scroll Down or click HERE for IMPORTANT NOTES about this pattern!

Recipe Pattern

This is a recipe pattern, I teach you how to customize this sweater at every stage of construction. With a recipe pattern you choose the sizing as you go along. There are no multiples to worry about. This is slightly freeform. No one will have one exactly like yours. Everything about it will be unique. You can’t do it wrong because it’s all up to you. But don’t worry. I will guide you through the process.And you can use any type of yarn!

DIAGRAMS AND CHARTS

If you are interested in a PDF of the charts and diagrams in this series, I have some rough draft diagrams and charts available now on my Crochet Club on Patreon. It does cost a minimum of $2 to join, but you’ll get a free pattern (in addition to this chart pdf) and you can leave right away if you don’t want to stay in the club. Here is the link to where you can find the PDF https://www.patreon.com/posts/57167662

Alternatively you could draw the same diagrams along with me while watching the videos.

Best Way to Use These Diagrams & Charts

I strongly encourage you to draw out the circular/spiral diagram for yourself. Draw it several times and draw it Large on a big sheet of paper. This will help you cement the understanding of this pattern. Believe me, I drew this many times and still am drawing it on the one I’m making now.

Questions?

Let me know if you have questions but keep in mind to try to see what makes sense. Again draw it out and you may answer your own question.

YARN CHOICES

When choosing yarn you can use any type of yarn, any weight, any texture or colors. The pattern is designed for long (preferably gradual) color changing yarn. Lightweight, medium, or bulky, any weight will work.Or you could choose a single color and let the texture be the star of your sweater!Or you could use multiple colors changing a color in each row.Some color changing yarns that could be nice:

Ferris Wheel **

Landscapes **

Roll with It Melange (the ones that have the longest color striping like the green and the orange ones) **

Manadala Ombre **

Red Heart Super Saver Ombre **

Bulky Yarn Options

Mandala Thick and Quick **

Premier Color Fusion

If you want a bulky yarn but can’t find a good color changing one (there’s not a lot of great bulky gradual color changing yarns), you could work two strands together. I am currently making one (see photo) using Premier Puzzle yarn and Yarn Bee Feeling Gradient in Denim Days. (discontinued at Hobby Lobby, but there is plenty at ebay or etsy)

Difficulty Rating

This pattern is for crocheters with some experience and who like to try something a little interesting/challenging.It’s not that it’s that hard, but because it is a recipe, you need to make some decisions along the way. But don’t worry, I’m here to guide you.It uses easy stitches: single crochet, half double crochet, alternate double crochet and slip stitches.

ALL PARTS of the CRAZY SWEATER Series:

PART 1: https://youtu.be/jQWc5y4hLUA Overview of the sweater and begin the the yoke of the sweater.

PART 2: https://youtu.be/J5vWOTPrRnQ Overview of the sweater and begin the the yoke of the sweater.

PART 3: COMING SOON

PART 4: COMING SOON

IMPORTANT NOTES ABOUT THIS PATTERN

THE OPPORTUNITY IN THIS PATTERN

(Words that are bold/underlined/captialized are prompts to contemplate)

The Crazy Sweater pattern is a Recipe Pattern. This is a freeform pattern at heart and as such it will reveal things about YOU! Namely, it will reveal your relationship to anxiety and control. It will provide a unique opportunity to investigate that inside of the safe container of a crochet project.

Exact written patterns are controlled. There are an exact number of stitches prescribed for you to follow along without much discernment and decisions. This allows us to partially put aside our anxiety about perfection, about needing to be perfect and create perfectly. There is, of course, still some anxiety with these types of precise patterns – “Am I doing it right? Am I doing it well enough?” But ultimately with precise patterns we hand over our anxiety to the pattern itself. For example, “if this turns out bad, it’s at least not all my fault. Maybe the pattern was imperfect/bad.”

So as you work this Recipe Pattern, the Crazy Sweater, I invite you to relax your striving for perfection, for control. Like life itself, this Crazy Sweater organically evolves as you make it. And when you surrender to that unfoldment, it can be very freeing! There might be speed bumps. There might be times where you need to frog a section and re-do it to fit better or to achieve the look you want. That is all part of the process.

This sweater will be as unique and wonderful as YOU ARE!

And it will be as PERFECT as you are! Perfectly imperfect. Just like Nature. Just like our pets. Just like naive child art. It’s the imperfection that makes it so Deliciously Interesting and Beautiful!

If we can surrender to the Perfect-Imperfection and appreciate, embrace, and love the uniqueness of our creation that is being born of Life itself through Your Hands, then maybe we can appreciate, embrace and love Ourself as we evolve through all stages of our life! What an amazing opportunity!

We are each Perfectly-Imperfect. Loving this unique sweater implicitly gives you permission to love yourself. It opens that door of possibility.

Just like nature in it’s wild variety, it’s undulating and perpetual growth and unfoldment, this sweater will be Unique and Beautiful, Interesting and Precious – just like the highest art – that made by a child.

So I invite you to contemplate all this as you make this sweater.

See your anxiety, see your desire to control, see your fears about needing perfection in order to be ok, to be worthy. And then just sit with “them” as if sitting next to a friend on a park bench. Just observe them as or if they arise. They are wisps of nothing, just thoughts and beliefs that you can simply observe and not hold on to. They are Not You. They are just like a passing cloud that you are observing. You don’t owe any allegiance or duty to them. They can just sit there on the bench with you while you make your one-of-a-kind, glorious Crazy Sweater!

It’s ok to ignore them.

And when you Let Go of that need for perfection – wait for it … suddenly that feeling of “ahhhhhhh” flows! What a relief to lay down that silly, unnecessary, and impossible burden!

And when you can let go of that with a crochet project, you open the door of opportunity to do this in other areas of your life. Now that’s super powerful and anyone can do it! And crochet projects like this are a great way to practice it!

(If you like these types of projects, let me know! I’ll be happy to make more like this!)

GUIDELINES ARE NOT SET IN STONE. All the suggestion in this recipe pattern are Guides. Adjust any part as YOU see fit. This is your sweater. Ultimately, You make the rules for your crazy sweater!
YOKE INCREASES – Depending on the weight yarn you are using you may need to do more or less increases that are described in the video. How to know? Is it shaping up the way you like? Does it fit right? Also at a certain point past your shoulders its ok to stop increasing as you will want the yoke to start to convex a bit down your shoulders and body.
YOKE SHAPE – when you are reay to start the body and arms, the yoke may be a little lopsided. That’s ok. It will get worked out as you work the body and arms.

And any portion that is not perfect is part of the value of this sweater.

It’s not meant to be perfectly symmetrical. It’s meant to be whimsical and interesting like child art. We all love that freeform look.

Are we brave enough to love it when it is made by ourself?

STITCHES. All stitches are to create a ridge line so you are either working into the back or front of stitches depending on the direction you are going in. NOTE: when working into SLIP STITCHES and where the zig zags end, sometimes it’s hard to find which thread to go into. JUST PICK ONE. There are very few rules in this sweater. If it looks like what you want then it’s the right one!
NUMBER OF ZIG ZAG REPEATS. In the video I show zig zag sections with 3 or 4 rows each. If using a bulky yarn you might try just 2-3 zig zag rows (short rows). If using a lightweight yarn you might have 4 or more rows in each zig zag section.
ZIG ZAG CONFUSION. I highly recommend drawing out the diagrams as many times as necessary to really understand it. Draw out a row, then crochet the row. Then draw out the next row and then crochet that row. And so on. This will help you immensely. Use different colored markers or crayons to see it better. Draw it out BIG on a big sheet of paper. And draw it again. Use stitch markers to know where you want to start the tapered end of a zig zag row. (short row)
JUDGEMENT FREE ZONE. Remember this is your safe place. It’s as safe as you make it. The only thing that matters is that you love your sweet creation, not that other people like it.
DOUBTS AS YOU GO. If you find yourself judging or getting stuck, don’t give up. Sometimes setting it aside for a day or so can be valuable. But it’s also valuable to simply keep taking just one step and then the next step. In other words, “be here now” with the project. Often it can look really weird until it all is finished and comes together. And if you dislike it when finished, set it aside for a period of time. I can almost guarantee that when you come back to it you will be delighted by it!

Go with the messy unpredictableness and the very least (or maybe its the very most!) have a wonderful laugh at the craziness of your Crazy Sweater. Laughter is so empowering. We often take life way too seriously. And we should never take crochet too seriously!

When you do it opens a window to explore ourselves and how we might choose to stop carrying the heavy belief that anything needs to be perfect for us to allow ourselves to be happy with things just as they are.

LEARNING. You will learn so much about crochet as you explore this sweater. Dive in. Embrace each challenge. Believe in yourself. Take each challenge slowly. You can do this!
CHALLENGES? Just keep moving forward. Draw it out, meditate on it, set it aside. But never give up!

Wishing you smiles, laughs, revelations, insights, fun, growth, learning, and releasing of unnecessary burdens.