Ginger Pullover by yamagara

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Ever since getting Issue 15 of Laine Magazine, I’ve been thinking about knitting myself the Ginger pullover by yamagara. Ginger is a combination of interesting construction, cosy shape and fun stitch patterns. Dolman shaping along the underarms gives the sweater comfortable ease. The sweater is knitted sideways from cuff to cuff, with a cable pattern along one sleeve that splits at the neck opening before joining on the other sleeve. The designer recommends a non-superwash yarn with a wooly tooth for this project. The magazine sample uses a DK weight blend of 75% Bluefaced Leicester and 25% Masham wools. Having used Norwood yarn by Sweet Paprika Designs for two projects in the past, I knew I wanted to knit myself this sweater in this special Canadian yarn. When the 2023 preorder opened for the Norwood yarn, I ordered myself six skeins of yarn in the Black Cherry colourway.

The pattern is designed to be knit cuff-to-cuff and includes several interesting stitch patterns. I knit myself size 3 as I wanted a bit of a closer fit. However, with these finished garment photos, you can clearly see it’s difficult to assess the fit with an 8-month-pregnant belly! I was a responsible knitter and knit a swatch to ensure a good fit. In the end, I used 3.5 mm and 4.5 mm needles for various parts of the pullover.

The sleeve has two types of cables that run along the length, and then the front has a criss-cross panel, all of which make good use of a cable needle. After a few rows, I got the hang of the cables and didn’t need to refer back to the instructions for every different cable.

The upper sleeves and body sides use a honeycomb pattern with slipped stitches. I found it easy to memorize and knit, and I love the finished texture.

Once you finish knitting the pullover, you seam the sides and underarms. Afterwards, you knit the ribbing on the cuffs and hem. I knit 1×1 rib for 12 rounds at the cuffs to make the sleeves full-length. Although I cast on on February 19 2024, I didn’t seam the Ginger pullover until July 9. This wasn’t the sweater’s fault! I was invited to do a test knit for another pullover with a stricter timeline, and I also got pregnant (and had to deal with the fatigue of the first trimester while wrangling a toddler).

The front of the pullover incorporates a panel of criss-cross stitches that give it a woven look. It reminds me of the lattice top of a pie! You can see a few mistakes where I didn’t cross the lattice the correct way. However, since I’m keeping this pullover for myself, I decided to leave them in. I’ll just say it adds a bit of wabi-sabi to the finished garment!

The tonal colours of the indie-dyed yarn really allow the various stitches to pop.

The Norwood yarn by Sweet Paprika Designs is a soft but wooly yarn, and it has a slight sheen. It is also surprisingly hard-wearing, and I love that it is from a farm near Norwood, Ontario. The colours are also deliciously rich, typical of Sweet Paprika Designs.