Flax

There are some knitting patterns that you can make over and over again, and I think I might have found a new favourite. Flax is a top down seamless sweater in Aran weight yarn, created by Canadian design duo Tin Can Knits. It’s part of their Simple Collection, a selection of designs that are aimed at beginner knitters. However you don’t have to be a beginner to enjoy knitting a quick and easy sweater like this – it’s a pattern that can be customised and knitted lots of different ways. The other bonus is that Flax is sized to fit everyone from newborns to an adult size 4XL, and the pattern is free! It comes with a whole bunch of tutorials to help beginners, including knitting in the round and increasing stitches.

I made my first Flax for my older daughter, using Caron Cakes Funfetti. This is the adult XS size, but only used just under two cakes of yarn.

Next I made the 0-6 month size for my baby daughter, using King Cole Comfort Aran. This is really soft and very reasonably priced, and is also machine washable – essential for a baby knit! I added the sequin rainbow patch because it was too adorable to resist.

My most recent Flax was another baby knit, the 1-2 year size in Caron Cakes Mixed Berry. It took less than a cake, meaning that there was plenty of yarn spare to make sure that the sleeves matched. I quite enjoy knitting with a yarn cake, getting the stripy effect without needing to sew in lots of ends.

Tin Can Knits also have a 4ply version of this sweater called Flax Light, if you’re looking for a slightly less bulky garment. Take a look at the project gallery on Ravelry for some inspiration – there’s over 10.5k Flax sweaters knitted so far!