Technical editing by Elizabeth Sullivan. Photos by Amy Herzog.

Among the many things I love about my best friend Beth is the fact that she is one of the strongest women I know. Sure of herself and confident, she meets challenges head-on and with no mincing around. For her birthday, I wanted to design a sweater that properly captured her bold personality and elegant, clean style.

Alight is worked in pieces from the bottom up and then seamed for a structured look. The seed stitch trim flows into a small collar, the lapels are trimmed with a stylized candle flame stitch. The waist shaping and slightly flared sleeves give the sweater a trim, figure-conscious silhouette and this simple sweater is easy to modify to suit your particular figure.

Please choose a size for Alight based on your upper torso (sometimes called the “high bust”) rather than your full bust, as this will ensure a good fit in the shoulders. Should you need additional room in the hips and/or bust, vertical shaping darts are a great choice for this mostly Stockinette sweater. As always, we’ll discuss modification questions in the Amy Herzog Designs ravelry group if you’d like help achieving a custom result.

As with all patterns, compare the schematic against your own measurements and make alterations as necessary.

Finally, a few words about the yarn. I chose Plucky Sweater for this design, which is a slightly firmer base than the Primo so many people know and love. The firmness of the knit fabric is a perfect match for the hourglass shaping and slightly belled sleeves, and the color shines bright through the sweater’s simple lines. Those selecting a different yarn should choose one that produces a nice, firm fabric at the listed gauge.

Thanks for your support!