Pattern Testing the Side Split Pullover
As you now know, Chantal of Knitatude, and a large number of pattern testers have been keeping a secret for MONTHS. And it. has. been. hard! It was made slightly easier due to the fact that the camera on my phone really disliked taking pictures of the richly saturated colour I picked to test the Side Split Pullover (affiliate link).
I chose this sweater to apply to test knit because it is a style that I could totally see myself wearing ALL the time. Anything that encourages wear with leggings has me sold. And as my sister and I traipsed around Nose Hill to take pictures it was so incredibly comfortable and felt like one of those knits that you can’t believe you actually made!
The amount of positive ease in this sweater is perfect, and the open neck helps you to not overheat while wearing it. It is a DK weight, so not really that heavy, but wool can certainly keep you warm, even at that weight!
Now just be forewarned that there is a fair bit of ribbing. It’s worth it and is a really pretty detail for the sleeves, but know that there’s a lot of it.
I used Lion Brand’s LB Collection Superwash Merino (affiliate link) in Wild Berry. I just took a look at the colours they have now and they have added so many amazing ones since I ordered my yarn. I’m pretty jealous about it actually – tutu, paprika, sage, and burgundy (the colour I had originally envisioned for this sweater) are killing me right now!
I’d heard some sort of scary stories about wet blocking this superwash, so resisted doing my usual garment blocking method, and instead did a steam block with a wet towel and iron just on my ribbing. I ended up knitting my front and back panel ribbing really tight, so I really needed to open it up and make the drape a little smoother going from the ribbing to stockinette. As you can see from the pictures I could probably give it another go still. It’s just a little scary blocking ribbing since once you’ve stretched it out it might not go back!
The yarn itself is really soft and probably has more bounce than any other I’ve ever worked with. This means that doing a gauge swatch is really, really important. Not only will it make sure you have the right sized needle and that it will fit you, but it also gets you used to working with it to see how you as a knitter are keeping tension with all the bounce held within the fibers of this yarn.
Like Chantal’s other fall items you can get this one as a kit from Lion Brand! (affiliate link) Or just get the pattern from Etsy or Ravelry! And stay tuned on Instagram because I have a LOT of great shots of this sweater I’ll be sharing in the coming weeks!
