5 Reasons to Knit a Sweater Today

Whether you are a beginner knitter or have years of knitting experience, knitting a sweater is an important milestone. If you typically knit baby booties, scarves, or blankets, this blog post is for you. As long as you can cast on, knit, purl, work the basic decreases, pick up stitches and bind off, you have the skills to knit a sweater. Start searching for a sweater pattern you love and start knitting.

Here are 5 reasons why you should start knitting a sweater today:

1. Move Outside of Your Comfort Zone

If you are still knitting blankets and baby booties, it is time to move outside of your comfort zone. Knitting a sweater can be broken up into several manageable pieces that eventually come together to create a beautiful garment. Knitting a sweater is the place where all of the knitting skills you have learned so far merge in harmony. Any and all mistakes can be fixed. Although all of the steps and details may seem daunting, the pride you will feel when you put on your comfy sweater will make it all worthwhile. Still need a bit of inspiration? Check out Dana from Yards of Happiness. After she overcame her initial fear of knitting a sweater, she knitted 27 in one year!

2. You Choose Every Detail

It is very rare that we can find exactly what we want in a store bought garment. When you knit your own sweater, you get to choose every detail. Do you love v-neck sweaters? Perfect! Do you dream of a super soft powder blue wool? No problem. Patterns, multi-colored, eco-friendly yarn- the sky is the limit and you get to create exactly what you want to see in a sweater. 

3. Learn Deferred Gratification

Knitting a sweater requires multiple steps. It will take days, weeks, even months of knitting to complete all of the elements of a knitted sweater. Through this process, you will learn patience, dogged perseverance, and delayed gratification. At times it may seem as if you are knitting a path to nowhere. At the end, it will all come together and you will be desperate to find your next sweater pattern.

4. It Will Become Your Favorite Garment

Once you move outside of your comfort zone and choose every detail about your sweater and then invest hours of labor, your first sweater will become your favorite sweater. You will find that you don't mind handwashing it or laying it flat to dry. You will hang it up and quickly repair any snags. You would never leave it crumpled up in a corner the way you do with that store bought sweater. Your hand knitted sweater is perfect, even with all of its imperfections and it will be your favorite garment for years to come. 

5. Your Hand Knitted Sweater is Better for the Environment

When you knit your own sweater, you have the option to select yarn that is eco-friendly and sustainable. Local yarns have less of a carbon footprint since they don't travel far to become a finished product. Hand knitted sweaters will likely last longer than "fast fashion" sweaters, which is another environmental benefit. Erika Zambello shared her personal experience with knitting a sweater in her blog post, "Why I Knit My Own Sweater." It is heartfelt and worth a quick read.

Hopefully you are convinced to knit a sweater today. We would love to see the finished product. Tell us about your first sweater by sharing it with us on social media.