Silver Monk Sweater Pattern Review | Easy Beginner Knitting Pattern

The Silver Monk Sweater Knitting Pattern by We Are Knitters is the cutest DIY low back sweater you can knit to wear this spring and summer.

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If you’ve perused through my blog, you’ll see a lot of sewing projects/reviews but not many knitting projects. I’ve been really into quick-wins and filling my wardrobe with sewn garments over the last year. But did you know that I actually started knitting long before I started to sew?

I haven’t done much knitting lately because 1) Sewing and 2) I haven’t felt motivated enough to go through the motions of sifting through Ravelry to find a pattern, figure out the best yarn to match that pattern, etc.

I thought, “can someone just do this for me?”

It turns out that yes, someone can. I have been following We Are Knitters for a while now and stumbled upon their kits. I finally decided to buy one now that I have more time to work on various projects – gotta love quarantine life.

The We Are Knitters Silver Monk Sweater Kit

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In choosing my kit, I ultimately landed on the Silver Monk Sweater. It is an easy beginner knitting pattern that is worked in garter stitch panels and hand sewn together at the end. SO perfect for mindless knitting.

What I love about the kit is that it comes with everything you need to successfully knit the project – pattern, yarn, needles, a clothing tag, and some cute WAK stickers.

Since I’ve been knitting for a while, you’d think that I would have the needles I need for my project. Since we moved in November, most of my tools are in boxes. I opted in to include knitting needles in my kit. You can opt out and save money if you already have a pair!

The Knitting Process

This Silver Monk Sweater took me a little over a month to finish. I knit this project sporadically, mostly in the evenings during TV time with my husband. Since it’s an easy beginner knitting pattern, I think that an intermediate-advanced knitter can probably knit this within a week if you really dedicate your time to it. As a beginner knitter, it might take a bit more time. Even though the sweater is worked in garter stitch, there may be a learning curve if you don’t know how to increase stitches or seam together pieces.

As far as adjustments go, I adjusted the length since I have a shorter torso. I adjusted the front and back pieces, shortening them by 27 rows. For the front piece I simply stopped knitting once I hit the number of rows the pattern calls for, minus 27. In the back I shortened it before reaching the V-back portion. I didn’t make any adjustments to the sleeves. The sleeve length ended up being perfect as I intended this sweater to be 3/4 sleeve length.

In putting all the pieces together, sewing the seams is similar to a ladder stitch in hand sewing (also known as invisible stitch). It’s pretty magical! If you sew several stitches then pull the yarn taught, it zips right up and the stitches are invisible!

My Final Thoughts on the Silver Monk Sweater

Overall, I am SUPER happy with how this turned out! The size of my sweater is perfect and I love the low cut back. I’m so excited to wear it throughout the spring and summer months.

Even though I am an advanced level knitter, I highly recommend the Silver Monk Sweater for your next knitting project. From beginner to advanced knitters, this easy beginner knitting pattern is a relaxing project that you will enjoy working on!