Pattern Review- Homebody Sweater by Lady Jay Crochet

If you’ve been searching for a worsted weight knit sweater pattern but don’t know the first thing about knitting sweaters, this article is for you! Today I’m reviewing the Homebody Sweater pattern by the popular designer Lady Jay Crochet.

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Now, don’t let the designer’s name fool you: this is a knitting pattern! And, I decided to opt out of the duplicate lettering that spelled “Homebody” in the end. I just liked the look of a classic brown turtleneck, I had to leave it as is!

I vividly remember when I told my husband I’d never be one of those moms wearing a turtleneck.

We were about a year into dating, and I was feeling young and judgey about moms in turtlenecks.

Not one of my finer moments at all. Truthfully, I can’t pinpoint what bothered me so much about them. Turtlenecks can be so chic! But, 10 years later, here I am thrilled to have knit my first turtleneck! Although, I am a mom…

Guys, I’m having the sweater knitting itch. Seriously, I never knew how fun it could be to knit a sweater and alter it as you go to fit so much better than store bought sweaters. I should have known, it’s just like hand knit socks!

It took some sweater surgery and learning a lot in the process, but I feel confident about what I like (and don’t like!) in sweater knitting that I can repeat the process. Before this sweater, going off pattern on a sweater knitting pattern terrified me.

This sweater gave me the confidence I so badly needed in my sweater knitting future.

So let’s take a look at the Homebody Sweater pattern by Lady Jay Crochet!

The size

I have a 34″ bust, but I also have a belly (hello, 4 babies!) so I knit the size Medium to keep a looser fit. I love how the sweater fits now, but I did have to make adjustments on the body and sleeve length as I went.

I’m also 5’7″ so I added a lot of length to the body and sleeves (scroll down to “Construction” for more info on that!).

The yarn

The yarn that I chose for the Homebody Sweater was Knit Picks Wool of the Andes Worsted in the color Grizzly Heather. It was stash yarn in a huge sweater quantity for an intense cable knit cardigan I decided I was in awe of, but didn’t want to knit and wear on that large of a scale.

This is my favorite worsted wool yarn, it’s just so affordable and soft. There are so many color choices, I usually stick to the neutral heathers and tweeds. Especially for a classic piece that hopefully lasts awhile in my wardrobe!

The yarn matched gauge, plus wet blocked and dried completely in less than a day! I have a knit tee made of City Tweed yarn that took 6 hours longer to dry that same wash cycle.

Watch my Homebody Sweater progress on the Farmhouse Knitting Podcast below

Needles and materials

I used US size 8 circular needles for the body, then switched over to US size 7 double pointed needles for the hem, sleeves, and neck. Once I got down to the final sleeve ribbing I did use 9″ circular needles in that same size US 7 needle. It was much easier than dealing with all those pointy edges in a tight circumference! I also felt like it went faster and I kept a better tension than switching between needles quickly on sleeves.

I also used regular stitch markers (nothing fancy) and a foam mat for blocking. Which, is also nothing fancy because it’s my kids’ foam puzzle mat!

Construction

While this pattern is written bottom up, I ended up finishing the body, sleeves, and neck, trying it on, and deciding it was too short.

Since I didn’t want to tear out the sleeves and neckline, the only other option was unweaving, stitch by stitch the bottom hem, which was painful. But then I was able to keep the top of the sweater intact and knit the body (and sleeves) top down and try it on as I went.

I ended up with these measurements:

Body width (laid flat): 17.5″
Body length (hem to underarm): 18″
Total length: 23″
Sleeve length: 20″

One more note about construction: I used a tubular bind off for the hem, sleeves, and neckline that wasn’t included in the pattern. It was my first time trying this stretchy and clean looking bind off, and I used this tutorial to learn easily and even take a step out of the process. I highly recommend this tutorial and this bind off!

Homebody Sweater review

While I loved my intro to worsted weight sweaters, I feel like I personally prefer top down sweaters. It was really hard as a beginner sweater knitter to know I was on track without trying it on as I went. Once I flipped the direction I was knitting, it was wonderful.

If you know your way around knitting a sweater, you’re totally fine! The pattern that Justyna designed is very thorough in explanations and numbers, etc. There are also 6 sizes available from S-3XL.

The pattern and yarn combined into a really classic and flattering sweater. Like I said, I didn’t want to add wording on it once I saw that it’s beautiful as is. I feel like I could wear it with leggings and moccasins, or tucked into jeans with ankle boots to church.

Because of the color I chose, I’ll probably wear this a lot in the fall. I’m inspired to knit a wintery sweater, but this one does give a fall feeling.

This was stash yarn and I already had the needles and other materials, so the only expense I can report back is $3.17. That’s right! I got rid of stash yarn and learned a ton about sweater knitting for less than a cup of coffee. If you are eyeing any Lady Jay Crochet patterns, I snagged this one at 50% off during her end of summer sale in August 2021 on Etsy, so be on the lookout!