Ginger Pullover by yamagara

We may earn money or products from the companies mentioned in this post.

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.

Get the Ginger pullover pattern by yamagara on Ravelry here. Also, take a look at the Hikari tee by yamagara that I knit for my mom.

Check out the other projects I knit using Norwood by Sweet Paprika Designs:

• Salal Cardigan by Untangling Knots
• Tralee Hat by Kiku Corner