POW: Labyrinth Sweater

✓Join us at Maker Festivals Pennsylvania, the ultimate crafting extravaganza in Lancaster from July 31-August 3, 2024, and we will once again be bringing our fiber artists with us! Our festival lineup will have thousands of fiber artists, and jewelry makers!

crochet sweater — *The Labyrinth Sweater is one of our most popular patterns from the new issue. Check it out!*

This week’s pattern of the week: the Labyrinth Sweater designed by Natasha Robarge from Interweave Crochet Winter 2017. This sweater has skyrocketed in the number of hearts on Ravelry since the issue was released, and we can totally see why! Combining an innovative use of crochet cables and open spaces, Natasha’s design offers a unique example of crochet. It’s a pattern we are all excited to try.

The pattern is worked in Cascade Yarns 220 Superwash Aran with a J/10 (6mm) hook. One might think the thicker yarn, larger hook, and open spaces in the sweater would lend it to being a quick sweater to make. This pattern, however, is intricate and complex: you’ll need a fair amount of concentration for its interlocking cable patterning. We’ve marked it with four dots, indicatingan extreme amount of focus due to its unusual techniques and complex stitch patterns.

Don’t let the four dots for concentration level scare you off! While you do need to focus on what stitch or row you are on, the pattern is totally doable if you know how to do front and back post stitches. The pattern does feature a Front Post double treble crochet (FPdtc). It’s just like any other front post stitch you would make, you just do a bunch of yarn overs (three to be exact) before you insert hook front to back to front around the post of the stitch in the previous row.

Why are so many yarn overs necessary? The more you do, the longer the stitch becomes, and the better it is able to cross a longer distance in the crochet cable. If the stitch you use for the crochet cable is too short (that is, fewer yarn overs), it will pull and pucker the sweater, making it unattractive to wear.

For crocheters still hesitant to try this incredible pattern, we’ve got you covered. The pattern is written out in rows, as well as including charts to help you with the front neck shaping and the sleeve shaping. Whether you prefer reading a pattern or visualizing it, this pattern has all the tools you need. The pattern is available in five sizes, so if it’s not a sweater you’ll wear, make it for a friend to build some new skills.

As soon as my holiday stitching is done, this one is first on the hook for me! Who else is excited to take on that Front Post double treble crochet?

—Sara Dudek
Associate Editor, Interweave Crochet