Before I start, I just want to say one thing. This pattern was really a labor of frustration, learning, time, and love. This is another installment of the KINDRED collection, and my first ever sweater design. It took a lot to get here, so I am going to tell you the whole story. If you'd rather not hear it, no hard feelings, just scroll a bit further down.
The Inspiration
I started designing this in May of 2020 if you can believe it. I was on night float and working on a blanket by Kalurah Hudson as a birthday present to myself. At the same time I was working on some orders. In between all that I was thinking about doing a sweater pattern. I already had the name picked out. I just needed something worthy.
If you know me, you know I never make things easy for myself. I'm not sure if that's a positive character trait or not, but I took that energy and started playing with stitches to find something that would have a lot of stretch and movement. But I'm getting a little ahead of myself. I want to let you know about the women that I made this for.
Sandra Lee is a compilation name for my paternal grandmother and great grandmother (NaNa). I only have pictures of NaNa. NaNa passed a few years ago. I think I get my dimples from her. My grandmother doesn't really like taking photos and we haven't been that close lately. But that really makes no difference to me. I love her anyway.
The reason I chose to make this is because they are both and hardworking women who overcame adversity in their lives. They had the strength to not only raise their own children after the death of their husbands, but also to helped to raise my brother and I when we were young. I'm not sure I could have done it to be honest.
When I think of them, I think of warmth and comforting scents like baby powder and lotion. I think of warm tea cookies and home cooked meals. These women could throw down in the kitchen and I probably get that from them too. So I wanted a sweater that made me feel as loved and comfortable as they did.
The blue is reminiscent of the lake their town is named for. The silver symbolizes their wisdom. And that stair step neckline represents those traits passed down that make us wholly unique.
So I had my idea. And I started tinkering with how it would work with Red Heart Super Saver. Nothing fancy, just practical and serviceable like those women. But around June, with the slaying of George Floyd, the Black Lives Matter movement began to take off. It made it a little easier to talk about the racial inequality in the fiber community as well. It seemed like a lot of companies scrambled to get on the right side of this by offering more opportunities to BIPOC makers. To be honest, there was a lot of performative allyship and as a new designer, I was wary about finding a company to work with. I submitted a proposal to Stash Lounge and didn't hear anything, so I assumed I hadn't been selected.
I continued work on the sweater and almost had everything figured out when I checked my inbox and found that I had been chosen to work with Stash Lounge. There had just been some unforeseen delays in starting the program. We signed a contract, decided on yarn, and...
I really wish I could say the rest is history, but it wasn't. I had to rework all of my grading and my pattern a few more times. I had to figure out how best to explain and present lesser known techniques. (Remember when I said I make things hard for myself?) But at the end of that, I got it tested and polished it to a shining gem.
Pattern Details
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Yarn
Estelle Worsted
4-7 skeins of Wheat Heather (810 - 1400 yds)
1 skein of Azure (30-80 yds)
1 skein of Silver (30-80 yds)
Hooks
J-10 / 6mm
L-11 / 8mm
Other Materials
Blunt tapestry needle
Scissors
Finished size
XS - 5X
Testers
Check out some of the versions that my pattern testers made if you want some ideas about other colors or yarns you can use.
Copyright The Crafty MD, 2020 All Rights Reserved.
Feel free to make and sell items from this pattern in small quantities, but please give credit and link to my page. Do not sell, distribute, or reproduce the pattern or photos.