Get the pattern
Instant PDF download
8 sizes
XS to 4XL · English · US terms
Craft
Crochet · US terms
Skill level
Advanced beginner
Yarn & hook
Sport weight wool · 5 mm
Sizes
XS to 4XL
About this mesh stripe crochet sweater pattern
The Bari Sweater is a relaxed crewneck built from bands of solid double crochet separated by rows of open mesh. The stripes do two useful things at once: they break up what would otherwise be a lot of plain fabric, and they let air through, so it is wearable well past the point most crochet sweaters become too warm.
It is cut cropped with roughly 15 cm of positive ease, so it sits away from the body rather than clinging. If cropped is not your thing, the pattern is written so you can carry on to full length without any recalculating.
The back has proper shaping through a set of refined decreases, which is what stops a wide, relaxed sweater from looking like a box. It is written for an advanced beginner: if you can work double crochet and chain spaces and decrease, the mesh will not trouble you.
In the download
What’s inside the PDF
- Graded instructions for all eight sizes, XS to 4XL, in US crochet terms.
- Step by step written instructions with photos throughout.
- Video tutorial links for the techniques that are easier to watch than to read.
- Notes for working the body to full length instead of cropped.
- A full measurement table with lengths and finished circumferences.
- The mesh stripe placement charted out, so you can move it if you want to.
Materials
- Yarn: 875 to 1750 m of sport weight wool depending on size. I used Adrianwool Superwool (50 g = 125 m / 137 yds), which works out at 7 to 14 balls. Light DK will also work.
- Hook: 5 mm, or whichever hook gets you the gauge below. That is a large hook for a sport weight yarn, and it is deliberate: it is what makes the fabric drape instead of standing up.
- Notions: yarn needle and stitch markers.
Gauge
With a 5 mm hook, 19 double crochet and 8 rows = 10 x 10 cm (4 x 4 in), and 9 mesh squares and 8 rows = 10 x 10 cm.
Size chart
| Size | Balls | Yarn needed |
|---|---|---|
| XS | 7 | 875 m / 957 yds |
| S | 8 | 1000 m / 1094 yds |
| M | 9 | 1125 m / 1230 yds |
| L | 10 | 1250 m / 1367 yds |
| XL | 11 | 1375 m / 1504 yds |
| 2XL | 12 | 1500 m / 1640 yds |
| 3XL | 13 | 1625 m / 1777 yds |
| 4XL | 14 | 1750 m / 1914 yds |
Yarn substitutions for Adrianwool Superwool
Any sport weight wool that gets you the gauge will work here. Wool is worth keeping if you can: it has the elasticity that holds the mesh rows open. A cotton will work but the mesh tends to sag a little over a long body.
Adrianwool is a small brand and is not in the YarnSub database, so unlike my other patterns I cannot give you their match percentages here. What I have done instead is pick sport weight wools from YarnSub that share the fibre, weight and gauge. Buy by meterage rather than ball count, since the put-ups differ.
DROPS Baby Merino
100% superwash merino · 50 g / 175 m
The easy answer. Cheap, sold everywhere in Europe, huge colour range. More metres per ball than the original, so you will need fewer balls than the table says.
Lana Gatto Mini Soft
100% superwash merino · sport weight
Softer and a little more refined. A good choice if the sweater is going next to skin.
Valley Yarns Easthampton
75% superwash merino, 25% nylon · sport weight
Easiest to find in the US, and the nylon makes it harder wearing. Worth considering if this is going to be a sweater you live in.
Sandnes Garn Sunday
100% merino · sport weight
A Scandinavian staple with excellent stitch definition, which suits the crisp edges of the mesh rows.
Cascade 220 Superwash Sport
100% superwash merino · sport weight
Reliable, widely stocked, and forgiving to work with. Nothing surprising, in a good way.
Any sport weight wool
Look for roughly 24 to 26 sts per 10 cm on 3 to 3.5 mm needles
The hook in this pattern is much larger than the yarn’s ballband suggests. That is intentional, so ignore the ballband hook size and match the gauge above instead.
Skills you’ll need
- Double crochet and chain spaces.
- Working mesh over a chain space foundation.
- Simple decreases for the back shaping.
- Reading a graded pattern so you can follow one size through.
The design process
I bought the yarn for this sweater in Bari, Italy on holiday. I was not looking for yarn. I walked past a little shop, went in the way I always do, and came out with an armful of it and absolutely no plan for what it would become.
It sat in my basket at home for a while. When I finally started swatching, the thing I kept coming back to was that a solid crochet sweater in that quantity would be far too warm for the weather I had bought it in. So I started cutting the fabric with rows of mesh, partly to keep it light and partly because I liked the stripes.
The shaping came last. A relaxed crewneck with this much ease very easily turns into a rectangle, so the back has a set of decreases that pull it in just enough to read as a garment rather than a shape. It is a small detail and it is the one I would keep if I could only keep one.
The collection ended up named after the city, which felt right given the yarn came home in a suitcase. There are several Bari pieces now, all speaking the same mesh stripe language.
Maki’s tip
If you want the full length version, decide before you start rather than partway through. The mesh stripes are spaced to land in particular places on the cropped body, and adding length looks best when you plan the extra bands in from the beginning rather than tacking them on at the hem.
Part of a collection
The Bari collection
The Bari Sweater is where this collection started. Everything in it uses the same mesh stripe idea, so the stitch pattern you learn here turns up again in every other piece.
- Bari Sweater: this one. Cropped crewneck, lengthens easily.
- Bari Top: the sleeveless summer version.
- Bari Vest and Bari Slipover: two layering pieces.
- Bari Cardigan in crewneck or V-neck, also sold as a bundle.
- Bari Bucket Hat: the small one, and a good way to try the stitch before committing to a sweater.
If you want to know when the next one lands, the newsletter sign-up is at the bottom of this page. Tester calls always go out on Instagram first.
Questions I get asked
Is this a pattern or a finished sweater?
A pattern, which is a PDF you download and make yourself. Nothing physical is shipped. The download link arrives straight after checkout.
Can I make it full length instead of cropped?
Yes, and the pattern explains how. Plan it before you start so the mesh bands land where you want them, and allow extra yarn.
Is a 5 mm hook not too big for sport weight yarn?
It is much larger than the ballband suggests, and that is the point. The loose fabric is what gives the sweater its drape and keeps it light. Ignore the ballband and match the gauge in the pattern.
Will the mesh stretch out over time?
Wool has enough elasticity to hold its shape. If you substitute a cotton or a plant fibre, expect the body to grow a little in length with wear, so consider making it slightly shorter.
Is the mesh hard if I have never done it before?
No. It is chain spaces and double crochet, nothing more. If you have made a granny square you already know the movement.
Can I sell what I make from it?
Yes, finished items are yours to sell. Please credit Artsy Maki as the designer, and never resell, copy or share the pattern file itself.
What if I get stuck?
Email me at artsymaki@gmail.com with a photo of where you are. I answer every message, usually within a day or two.
Ready to make one?
The full pattern, all eight sizes, photos and video links throughout. Instant download.
