My last knit project of 2024, finished and blocked under the wire before the new year!
This is the Louise Pullover from Northside Knit Co., a top down, in the round raglan. It has 1x1 ribbed collar, cuffs and hem, and staggered bobbles all over for a delightful texture. I'd seen a ton of sewists who had knit this pattern and I couldn't stop thinking about it.
The Northside Knit page says "Popcorn sweaters have an heirloom, yet modern, appeal," and I would tend to agree. My sweater feels super modern, yet it also feels like it's something my mom would have worn in the '80s.
I was delighted to see Martha Stewart wearing a version of it in one of the flashback scenes in that recent documentary about her rise, fall and redemption.
The pattern calls for DK weight yarn and needle sizes US 4 and 6. I swatched like 5 different DK weight yarns with a squillion different needles and just could not get gauge.
I ended up getting gauge with a completely different yarn and needles: a worsted/aran weight yarn and size US 6 and 8 needles. It seems like other folks got gauge with all different weights of yarns and/or needles, too.
The yarn is Berroco Mochi, a discontinued yarn I got from the clearance section at Webs. It's a chainette yarn (not dissimilar from the Knit Picks Wonderfluff I used earlier this fall), made from baby alpaca, nylon and merino wool.
I really liked working with it, so I got some in other colors (emerald and garnet) before it was gone forever.
For my Louise sweater, I went with the salt and pepper color of the Mochi yarn. It's got subtle gradation of charcoal grey and lighter greys, with speckles of color throughout- red, yellow, blue.
I thought the more "neutral" grey would contrast well with the highly textured bobbles. I love how the colors in the yarn play with the bobbles- each bobble is totally unique!
This was such a fun sweater to knit. Once I got the hang of the bobbles, they were very easy to knit. And the pattern does a great job of helping you ensure they stay aligned.
The armholes on my Louise, a size 5 for a finished 52 inch chest, are perhaps a little bit low, and the sleeves a bit wide, but it's very comfy nonetheless, and I like the oversized look. I love the little ribbed collar and the texture is to die for.
