Let’s start the DIY year 2024! During our little winter break I devoted myself to a few projects that I had left behind for a while and finally finished knitting my Raglangenser made of Borstet Alpakka (from Sandnes Garn). And because I promised to show insights into my knitting diary more often in 2023, here is a small article!
Borstet Alpakka Raglangenser – simple raglan sweater suitable for beginners
I bought the pattern for the Borstet Alpakka Raglangenser in fall 2021 when I was looking for a sweater that was relatively easy to knit. Because even though I’ve completed a lot of knitting projects, I’ve never included a sweater! The sweater was finished in winter 2023. But that’s not at all due to the instructions or the project itself. I actually took a break of about half a year after each section or sleeve because so much came up. Overall, I would highly recommend the Raglangenser No. 10 as a first sweater project – however, the instruction booklet is no longer available and the exact shade of wool is no longer easy to find in stores. That’s why I picked out alternatives for you under the information about the project!
Brushed Alapakka Raglangenser Project info
Advertising Info: The material list contains affiliate links, but the article is not sponsored
For this project I used the following material
Knitting Bristle Alpakka Raglangenser No. 10 – my experiences
Is the Borstet Alpakka Raglangenser No. 10 suitable for beginners?
Yes! Overall, I can wear a bristle alpaca sweater Highly recommended for beginners. There are many reasons for this: This Yarn is relatively coarse and the finished knitted piece therefore has a rough look – so it’s not a problem if the knitted pattern isn’t quite as regular. In addition, thanks to the needle size, the sweater is 6mm knitted relatively quickly. Because the vast majority are completely simply knitted in stockinette stitch you don’t have to concentrate much on complicated patterns and you can often simply measure instead of counting rows. The sweater is knitted in the round from the bottom up and the raglan decreases are actually the only place that deviates from the actual pattern.
Is there anything wrong with the Borstet Alpakka Raglangenser as a first project?
The only thing that speaks against the Borstet Alpakka Raglangenser No. 10 (1614) is that the instruction booklet is available in stores is no longer so easily available – maybe you’ll have luck in wool shops. However, in the next section I have also linked various sweater alternatives made from bristle alpakka. There is actually only one argument against Borste Alpakka from Sandnes Garn as the first project the relatively high price of wool, which is certainly reasonable – but you should consider the total cost of a sweater that you can’t try on beforehand. Otherwise the yarn is easy to work with and very beautiful!
What alternatives to the Sandnes Borstet Alpakka Raglangenser No. 10 (issue 1614) are there? Which knitting instructions for sweaters are suitable for beginners?
I discovered three nice alternatives for the Raglangenser on the Sandnes Garn website. They’re all raglan sweaters made from bristle alpaca plus an alternative with free instructions made from a different yarn! The instruction booklets can only be sold in conjunction with the wool – so sometimes you have to search a bit until you find a suitable dealer.
- The Gina sweater from issue 2011 – The sweater is knitted top down and has a simple level. The color 9554 is currently still available.
- You can even download the instructions for the raglan sweater No. 3 from issue 1902 for free in Norwegian – I think you can get along quite well with Google Translate! This sweater also has a difficulty level of easy. You can simply order yarn here, for example.
- The Frankie sweater has a medium level of difficulty and is therefore more suitable if you have already successfully knitted a sweater – but it ended up on my wish list. You can find the instructions in booklet 2202.
- There are also free instructions for a raglan sweater made from the Limited Edition yarn with a color gradient (the third download button is for the German-language instructions).
What else is there to consider when knitting the Bristle Alpakka Raglan sweater? Should I wash a Bristle Alpakka sweater?
There are two things that I’ve honestly left out quite often due to time constraints that you should definitely keep in mind when it comes to a bristle alpakka sweater: (1) Definitely these Stitch sample do it beforehand because it would be a shame if the expensive sweater doesn’t fit in the end and (2) the sweater wash and stretch after sewing. At first the sweater seemed too short to me after knitting, but after washing it fits perfectly. To do this, I simply bathed it in wool detergent and cold water, carefully rinsed and squeezed it (don’t wring it!), wrapped it in towels to squeeze out the remaining water and then laid it out on dry towels. I followed the measurements in the instructions and gently pulled the sweater into shape.
Note: I only hung the sweater on a hanger for the photo, otherwise I always store knitwear lying down!
Beautiful sweater knitting projects for beginners and advanced users
In 2023 I showed you a glimpse of my collection of beautiful knitting ideas for cozy sweaters. You can find the complete wish list with all links here (or just click on the image above!). I have now decided on the Coming Soon Sweater by Paula Strickt (top left in the collage) as my next project and have already chosen some beautiful wool for it (Filcolana Pernilla). The sweater is again a raglan sweater, but this time it is knitted in rib. Let’s see if I can show the finished sweater here this year or if it will take longer!
Maybe you’ll also be interested in a nice knitting project in 2024! You can easily find all knitting projects on Kreativfieber using our DIY finder by technique – simply select knitting!
Jutta
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Source: kreativfieber.de
