Knit Two Popular Knitting Patterns Along with Heather Zoppetti

In our opinion, there’s no better way to learn the skills you need to knit a pattern than to learn directly from the designer—especially when that designer is a talented teacher like Heather Zoppetti!

Heather Zoppetti is a knitwear designer, instructor, and author of Everyday Lace and Unexpected Cables. Her patterns appear in Interweave Knits, Knitscene, and Jane Austen Knits, and she has worked with yarn companies such as Manos del Uruguay, Baah Yarns, The Alpaca Yarn Company, Reywa Fibers, and Universal Yarns. She is the owner and founder of Stitch Sprouts, a yarn and pattern distribution company.

Learn how you can knit two popular patterns, the Dahlia Cardigan and the Firehawk Shawl, step by step with Heather.

Dahlia Cardigan Knitalong: Learning to Knit a Cardigan

Jullia Pillard, Assistant Editor

I’ve never knit a cardigan. While I’ve made several pullovers, I have yet to try my hand at a cardigan, which is arguably the type of sweater I wear more often. Truth be told, I’m a little intimidated by them! The construction of an open-front sweater is just a little bit more daunting than a tidy pullover. 

Trying a new type of project can be intimidating, particularly something like a sweater that requires a lot of shaping. For that reason, sometimes it can be useful to do a project workshop, where you’ll can walk through the whole process of creation step-by-step.

The Dahlia Cardigan by designer Heather Zoppetti has its very own knitalong workshop hosted by the designer. In the workshop, Heather takes knitters through every step of the process. Originally published in Interweave Knits Fall 2011, the cardigan has an unusual construction. It starts with the square back lace panel, which is worked in the round from the center out. Stitches along the sides of the panel are left live, while the top and bottom of the panel are bound off. Then, the upper and lower back each begin with a provisional cast-on, working separately outward, before being joined to the live stitches from the lace panel. 

Given the unusual construction, a workshop is the perfect thing to work through this project successfully. At the end of it, you’ll not only have a brand-new cardigan, but you’ll also have acquired new skills with which to take on other challenging projects! 

Firehawk Shawl Knitalong: A Skill-Building Smörgåsbord

Andrea Lotz, Web and Social Media Manager

I love to knit projects where I learn at least one new skill. Even better is when I can learn more than one! But when you’re juggling multiple new skills at once, it’s possible to get frustrated or stuck to the point where you can’t get oriented again. That’s part of the beauty of knitting along with an expert—you’ve got someone to walk you through those new skills, every step of the way.

The Firehawk Shawl is a project with lots of different skills coming together to create an absolutely stunning project. Heather got her inspiration from a bold and powerful video game character. This bottom-up shawl uses slip-stitch colorwork, cables, and a lace edging to create all that visual interest. It’s a project that will keep your interest from cast-on to bind-off.

When you knit the Firehawk Shawl along with Heather, you’ll get step-by-step instructions for all of those techniques. Heather also has tips for choosing the perfect color combination for your shawl. Afterward, you’ll be equipped to knit all kinds of bottom-up shawl patterns, slip-stitch colorwork patterns, and lace edgings.

We hope you’re feeling inspired to tackle these fun projects with Heather’s help! You’ll learn so much along the way, and end up with a project you’re super proud of.

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