Five Colorwork Sweaters To Knit This Fall 2025
Hello y’all and welcome back to YoungFolk Knits! If you are new here, I’m Kaci, and around here we talk about sewing, knitting, spinning, crochet, and a little life on a small farm in Arkansas. Fall has officially arrived, which means cozy sweaters are ready to be knit, worn, and loved. Today I’m sharing five colorwork sweaters I think you should cast on this season, a mix of fresh releases and tried and true favorites that are all beautiful
What I Am Wearing Today
Before we dive into stranded colorwork, I am actually wearing a mosaic knit. It is the Hey Sailor tee by Andrea Mowry, which I test knit in Knitting for Olive Cotton Merino in two colors. It has a sweet boat neck, clever buttons down the back, and you can wear it with the buttons in front if you want. You could even modify it into a cardigan. It is short sleeved and perfect for transitional weather:
Mosaic Versus Stranded Colorwork
Mosaic and stranded are both colorwork, but they are worked differently. Mosaic uses one color per row while you slip the stitches that are not being worked. You leave the other yarn waiting at the edge and pick it up on the next row, which keeps things simple and friendly for beginners.
Stranded colorwork carries two colors across the row at the same time, which creates floats on the back and allows more intricate motifs. The look is different and it opens up beautiful design options
Why Color Dominance Matters
Color dominance is the small detail that protects your motif from looking muddy. If you hold one strand in each hand, keep the dominant color in your left hand and the background color in your right.
The dominant strand travels slightly farther behind the work, which lets those stitches sit forward so the motif pops. I have a video with stranded tips that I recommend before big projects
Sweater Pick 1 Rosie by LeKnit
Rosie is a recent release that has earned the love it is getting.
It reads as a drop shoulder, but the construction blends drop shoulder with raglan so you can work the stranded sections in the round from the right side. That is a gift because purling stranded colorwork is challenging for many knitters.
The gauge is DK at about twenty one stitches, a sweet spot for a sweater that works for fall through spring. The original palette is stunning, and I have seen beautiful takes in deep and light blues and classic dark on light.
The pattern is written for fingering plus silk mohair, but if mohair is not your friend you can sub lace suri with a lace wool to hit gauge. I am dreaming of an oatmeal main color with a maroon motif. I also love the neckline and the modern shape, and since I do not have many drop shoulder colorwork sweaters, Rosie sits high on my list.
Sweater Pick Two Facet by LeKnit
Facet is releasing on Thursday the twenty fifth, and it has already stolen my heart.
From the previews it looks like a raglan at a twenty two stitch gauge in fingering held with silk mohair. It uses three colors with a smart tonal play inside geometric shapes, a lighter tone on top and a darker tone below, which gives grown up vintage energy.
Think late sixties or early seventies with a calm neutral main color and brownish maroon accents. Between Rosie and Facet I am leaning Rosie because I want more drop shoulder pieces, but I plan to knit one of these this year
Sweater Pick Three Ovis by Caitlin Hunter
Ovis released in August and it is an allover stranded colorwork drop shoulder with an adorable sheep motif.
The gauge is DK around twenty stitches, and the original used Ritual Dyes Cormo. Many versions use suri for the sheep so the little flocks look fluffy. Since allover stranded fabric is already warm and I live in Arkansas, I will likely use a single strand DK with no extra halo to keep it wearable. The fit of the sample is cropped and close, which looks modern with a drop shoulder and also shortens the knit time. If this is your first allover stranded sweater, the shorter length is a nice goal
Sweater Pick Four Illuminate by Andrea Mowry
Illuminate is not new, but it is everywhere again and for good reason.
It is a circular yoke with a bold chart at the top and playful stripes. It looks amazing with handspun or color shifting yarns. The listed gauge is around twenty two stitches in sport weight. Andrea used Dyed in the Wool for the contrast and Magpie for the main.
I am planning suri plus fingering for the solids and suri plus Dyed in the Wool for the contrast, which puts my gauge off. I will go down about two sizes and make it short sleeved. Consider this your reminder to shop your pattern library. Great designs wait there, and you can adjust gauge and sleeve length to fit your yarn and wardrobe
Sweater Pick Five Night Lines by Samantha Guerin
Night Lines is coming October second and it is a fingering weight drop shoulder at a twenty four stitch gauge. The stranded sections are simple graphic blocks, so even the flat portions feel manageable when you purl.
The sample uses a charcoal and beige palette, high contrast yet elegant, which makes it versatile and timeless. I love the subtle balloon sleeves near the cuffs and the clean shoulder details.
Samantha always gets fit right, and this looks like a sweater that will sit nicely on the body and pair with everything
Bonus Pick Ceallaigh by Kolibri
Ceallaigh released in March and is a worsted weight at about fifteen stitches, which means happy fast knitting. Johanna recommends a US 9 needle.
The original fabric holds three strands of mohair together for a plush surface that is perfect for plaid. I cannot use mohair due to allergies, so I am substituting two strands of suri to keep the halo and drape. The Lamb and Kid kindly sent yarn on their Birdie base, and my palette is Sleepover as the main, Conversation Pit as a punchy green, and Vintage as a soft neutral.
The construction is top down raglan, which lets you try on as you go. You knit horizontal stripes first, then go back with a crochet hook to chain vertical lines that form the plaid. It is easier than it looks and very satisfying to watch the pattern emerge. The finished sweater is drapey, graphic, and a statement for a fiber festival
Yarn Choices and Mohair Alternatives
If mohair makes you itch, there are easy swaps. A lace suri held with lace wool usually mimics the gauge and look of fingering with silk mohair. If you want no halo, choose a smooth sport or DK with a round three ply structure so the colorwork stays crisp.
I have had great results with soft sport bases that bloom a little after blocking, which gives a gentle glow without irritation. When planning palettes, look for dyers who carry tonal ranges inside a color family, which lets you use lighter and darker versions of the same hue. This brings depth to geometric motifs like the ones in Facet
Swatching and Finishing Tips
Swatch in the round if the sweater is worked in the round and include at least one repeat of the motif. If the pattern includes stranded purl rows, practice both knit and purl tension so the floats do not tighten and pucker. Keep floats loose enough to spread when blocked.
For finishing, soak gently, support the fabric when lifting out of the water, and lay flat to dry without stretching motifs out of shape. Clean finishing is the last step that turns a nice project into an amazing one
Quick Recap to Match Pattern to Mood
Here is a quick recap:
- Rosie and Facet deliver modern geometric colorwork, one with clever drop shoulder raglan construction, the other with polished tonal motifs.
- Ovis is whimsical and very knitter coded with its sheep, best in a breathable DK if you live in a warmer climate.
- Illuminate is a modern classic that plays well with special yarns and is perfect for customizing gauge and sleeve length.
- Ceallaigh gives fast progress in worsted, a dramatic plaid finish, and a fun crochet chain technique for vertical lines
A Little Giveaway and What Is Next
Tell me which colorwork sweater you are excited to knit this fall. Leave a comment on the video and you are entered to win one of the patterns I mentioned.
I will announce the winner in a coming episode. I hope your week is full of happy making. Until next time, happy knitting y’all
I love HEY SAILOR WITH THOSE BUTTONS ARE WELL JUST ADORABLE. I WOULD LOVE TO KNIT THAT. I LOVE WATCHING YOU KACI AND YOU ARE SO TALENTED. I WISH I HAD THE TALENT IN YOUR BABY PINKY FINGER, AND I WOULD FEEL SO SMART & TALENTED.
CHARLENE VANORSDALE
Charlene,
That is so sweet of you to say. Thank you so much for your kind words!
Kaci
Nightlines Sweater 2 looks lovely and the beautiful plaid from Lamb and Kid. I would totally use the colors you were so generouslly gifted 🙂