SakeTami
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Squid School Knit-Along: the Homefront jumper!

Hello, dear students!

I am so excited to introduce our first Squid School knit-along for the Homefront jumper! For some, this may be the first garment pattern you’re trying out. Others may have made sweaters, but perhaps not set in a sleeve before. Maybe you’ve made tons of sweaters, but are wanting to experiment with putting your own spin on it. Wherever you’re at on your knitting journey, I want this jumper to be a great success for you. The Homefront KAL will be an opportunity for us to come together as a class and work toward the common goal of creating a tailored, personalized vintage garment.

Over the next three months, I will be walking you through the Homefront jumper in a series of posts that will include videos, additional help with sizing, demonstrations, inspirational photos, while also knitting along with you all!

Each post will have “homework,” but I want to be abundantly clear that there is no pressure to keep up with the pace of this KAL. We all have different speeds for knitting, all have varying time constraints and obligations in our lives, and I fully understand that not everyone is able to knit a jumper in three months. These posts and videos will be on the patreon indefinitely, and can be referenced under the “homefront KAL” tab at any time. I’ll still be checking comments on the posts after the KAL is finished, so take this project at whatever speed you are comfortable with.

The first official KAL post will debut in the coming week, which will be all about personalizing your Homefront jumper, swatching, and working on your body measurement chart / calculation page. Your [optional] homework before then will be to obtain the materials you’ll need, and begin taking your measurements!

Not sure what yarn to choose? Homefront calls for a fingering weight yarn, and needles that will get you 7 stitches to the inch (2.5cm). All three samples are made with wool or wool blends, which would be my recommended material. That being said, I have a list below of all sorts of yarn that would make a beautiful vintage jumper!

Yarn:

Wools

Harrisville Designs - Shetland - 100% virgin wool; 50g

Susan Crawford Vintage - Excelana 4 ply - 100% british wool; 50g

Catskills Merino - Fingering- 100% NY merino wool; 50g (used in blue sample)

Wandering Flock - Hand Dyed Fingering Singles- 100% superwash merino wool; 100g

Wool Blends

Wildstar Fibers - Galaxy twist sock - 85% superwash merino, 15% nylon; 100g

Queen City Yarn - Berryhill Yarn - 80% merino wool, 20% alpaca; 50g (used in red sample)

Red Stag Fibre- Dachas Sock - 70% superwash merino wool, 20% yak, 10% nylon; 100g

Farmer’s Daughter Fibers - Foxy Lady - 70% merino, 30% silk; 100g

Non-wools

BzyPeach - 100% Pima Cotton Sock Weight base; 100g

HiKoo - KoBaSi - 55% cotton, 16% bamboo, 8% silk, 21% elastic; 50g

Hobbii - Twister Solid - 55% cotton, 45% acrylic; 100g

Scheepjes - Catona- 100% mercerized cotton; 25g

Do you already have your yarn picked out? You’re welcome to share your choice in the comments below!

I hope you’ll consider joining in on the KAL-- it’s going to be such fun!

xoxo

Sydney

Comments

I'm from germany too and i picked Pascuali Balayage. But i'm joining the KAL later because first i have the Louisa May shawl on my needles 😁

Hi, Thanks for the recommendation. I had a look at their yarns and totally fell in love with a colourway. Guess I will have to do a second blouse 🤔

Hi Sarah! Yes, Cascade fingering should work just fine! If you're in Germany, I would also suggest Wollemeise-- they are based outside of München and have some of the most incredible colors and very durable yarn bases! I'm actually using them for one of my Homefront WIPs! :)

I'm so excited to join in, but really having a hardtime picking a good yarn ( I live in Germany and can't get most of the suggestions). Would cascade fingering work? Really looking at a wool yarn rather than blends. xxx

That is... a super neat idea, and now I might need to do this.

Yay! Her yarn is so pretty, and will make a nice & airy jumper! It shouldn't be too difficult to adjust the pattern for long sleeves. That being said, if you are using a 100% plant based yarn, keep in mind that it will stretch over time and stay stretched (plant based fiber does not have elasticity like an animal based fiber does). So, if you do plan to make long sleeves, I would suggest making them an inch or two shorter than desired to accommodate for that. I hope this helps! :)

Hi Kat! That is a great question!! Hmm, if you are going to participate in the KAL, you're welcome to ask questions in the forthcoming KAL posts. However, I always check comments on all the posts, so if it's easier to ask in the main pattern post, feel free to ask in there instead! And finally, if you'd rather have a one-on-one conversation, you can always message me on patreon. :)

Where is the best place to ask pattern questions? ☺️

I'm doing my homework tonight and think I'm going to order some Bzy Peach yarn. I've been eyeing her stuff for a while. Would it be terribly difficult to make this jumper long sleeved? I've only made one other sweater and have never done a short sleeved garment before.

Did you already finished all your gift knits?! You're so quick!

That's going to be gorgeous! I just used Air de lune for a two-color jumper and it was perfect! Her colors are so good :)

I looooove Hazel Knits-- Entice is one of my favorite yarns! Can't wait to see how your jumper works up! :)

Just started mine in Vidalana Oasis.....

Despite my growing pile of WIPs, I'm just too excited to not start this. I have some Blue Sky Woolstok Light I'd like to use. I haven't used single ply for a sweater before, but I like how it is swatching, so I think I'm going to go for it.

Nooooo, too many wip´s! And I´ve been telling myself I don´t need new yarn and it worked. But now I´m afraid i´ll have to cave in. Ah well, at least I tried...

I have some Airdelune in Greenstone (green) and Che'ze Michile (purple) that I was saving for a 40's Bestway pattern with lovely colorwork leaves on the yoke, but I was going to need to resize it - it's for a 33 inch bust. So instead, I'm going to chart the colorwork leaves from the Bestway pattern and use this pattern as a base for the actual garment. Should be a really fun mashup!

I may have to wait until Christmas is over to cast on but I am planning on knitting my Homefront in Entice MCN by Hazel Knits in the color Jay Blue. Let's be real though, I have no doubt that I will be knitting more than one of these sweaters!

Ashley T

I got the advent calendar from BeeHive Yarns this year, and I've decided to use that to make a stripey version! I'm loving the colourways so far and it is a fade so I think it will be perfect.

Anna Lindkvist

I knit almost all my vintage/vintage style patterns in knitpicks palette but… why not branch out? Despite literally living down the street from Ritual Dyes in pdx I’ve never actually used their yarn. If I put that intention here maybe I’ll actually go buy the yarn 😅

Oh! I would like to use Holst Garn, supersoft. It comes in 500g cones so with one will be enough. But I'm not sure which color and the real struggle is there. They have such a really extended color chart that makes chosing only one imposible (so many beautiful colors🥺).

I haven't had time to make the scarecrow vest or shawl yet but I'll be joining this KAL :) can't wait

I’m already a good ways into my swatch and I did my body measurements! Using beautiful merino from North Light Fibers I spoiled myself with this summer. Just hoping I have enough of it!

So excited! I’m using a tweedy turquoise from Sew Happy Jane!

Lol, let's be real, I already completed the first assignment before I even knew there was an assignment #yarnhoarder

I stash did a stash dice and picked out a sparkly deep red from waifu yarns! Already swatched and hit gage! Can’t wait to knit along with everyone!

I had 5 balls of Knit Picks Capretta Superwash (a merino and cashmere blend) in Sagebrush (a beautiful icy blue) in my stash which was waiting for just such a sweater!

YES I'm so hype! I have CoBaSi in purple with white for a CC. Looking forward to the KAL to help motivate me to work on it and actually finish it.

Knitbelove

I bought a skein of fingering weight yarn with the colorway name of "Alice Springs." Sooo.... I bought a lovely yarn to complement that one. Very excited to begin! I'm glad we are doing it KAL-style as it has been years since I made something as fitted as this.

That's so fitting for this project!

I stashed dived for this and have a basic acrylic yarn for the base sweater and am using some Knit Picks palette for a color work yoke design. Looking forward to the KAL as even though I'm very comfy with math I have questions on some of the calculations!

Oh my goodness, I’m so excited for this! I just ordered a big cone of yarn for the first time ever. It’s all recycled wool and I’m excited to see how it feels. Feels very and make do and mend.


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