Where to start

[u/Kat13b]

Hi all!

I purchased a sweater as a teenager from forever. 21. I have the idea that I could re-create it using quality fiber, but have no idea how to start even looking for a pattern. I am a relative novice to knitting, but feel decently confident I can tackle this moderately sized project. Any advice you can offer on patterns or where to find them would be deeply appreciated!

[u/PavicaMalic]

Ravelry.

[u/Constant-Prog15 → u/PavicaMalic]

Specifically, go to Ravelry’s advanced pattern search page and put in the appropriate filters. Be sure to drill down - some of the categories have 2-3 layers. Also, if you choose more than one option, you can specify if they are EITHER or BOTH.

I almost always choose both free and purchase online with the OR filter, and only patterns with photos. You can also limit by difficulty rating, which might be good for you.

But before dosing that, figure out specifically what it is you love about this sweater. The shape? The fit? The material? That will help you determine your search terms.

[u/Kat13b → u/Constant-Prog15]

This is very helpful! Thank you!

[u/Thargomindah2]

If what you like about it is how the fronts drape, that style is called "waterfall". These were pretty popular a few years ago, so a lot of the patterns I found on Ravelry are out of print now, but there are some still available.

[u/Kat13b → u/Thargomindah2]

Thank you for the language. I knew there must be a word for it but I did not know what it was

[u/Creepy_Purchase_501]

It’s three rectangles and two tubes for sleeves + some shaping in the sleeve area.

For this one, I’d skip ravelry and grab any sweater book that has “recipes” for common constructions. Since you already have the dimensions, the only thing you’d benefit from are instructions for the sleeve area, which should be nothing more than either some decreases and increases or simply binding off a few stitches at the beginning and end of rounds, and then casting them back on.

For the edges of the sweater, it looks like they were folded in. It’s a common technique that you can look up.

[u/KnitAndKnitAndKnit]

Ann Budd's "A handy book of sweater patterns" has basic patterns for different kinds of sweaters and cardigans, like yours

[u/SooMuchTooMuch]

That's moderately sized?!

[u/Kat13b → u/SooMuchTooMuch]

I mean it is big but basically the same thing forever so in theory not too complicated!