Knit a Mohair Sweater with a Colorful Twist

I’ve always wanted to knit a mohair sweater for myself. They’re both light and warm, and it just seems like a luxury that I, as a longtime knitter, should have indulged in by now.

(I’m thinking next year might be the year of finally making some of those things I’ve always wanted to make, so I’d better add this to the list!)

The Instant Crush sweater from Joji Locatelli uses two strands of mohair held together to make a DK weight yarn. (If you’re sensitive to mohair or just don’t want to use it for whatever reason, you can sub in any DK weight yarn.)

It uses four colors, and I love how the fuzzy of the yarn makes it look like the sweater glows.

It’s available in 10 sizes and meant to be worn with no ease or slight negative ease (meaning the actual measurement of the sweater is a little smaller than your body’s measurements). The chest measurements on the sweater range from 28 to 66 inches. The colorwork is fully charted for all sizes.

You can get a copy of the pattern on Ravelry.

Mohair is notorious for being a little touchy to work with, so if you’re worried you can use a strand of mohair and a different, coordinating lace weight yarn. The main problem people often have with mohair is the difficult in ripping back if you need to (which is always a possibility when doing colorwork). The best advice is to go slowly, one stitch at a time, rather than actually trying to pull out a bunch of stitches at once like you would with other fibers.

If you try to pull the fibers will just cling more tenaciously to each other and cause knots. I have read that putting it in the freezer before trying to undo stitches helps, too, but I have no idea if that’s true. Just take it slow and read the pattern carefully and hopefully you won’t have to rip back anyway.

[Photo: Joji Locatelli]

Next Pattern:

Blankets are a great blank slate project that you can change up in a million different ways. From color to stitch pattern to size, the possibilities are almost endless.

Jared Flood, the designer behind Brooklyn Tweed, was inspired by a log cabin quilt his mother made in 1995 to re-create that design in knitting, which led to more blankets and ultimate Brooklyn Tweed’s Knit and Crochet Blankets, which includes 25 patterns from an array of designers using different skills and techniques to make cozy, pretty blankets.

The patterns are divided into three aesthetic themes: traditions, minimalism and colorplay. The patterns are rated on a scale of one to five, with one being the easiest, and there aren’t any pieces rated five. Two blankets are rated one, 14 are two, eight are three and one is four.

In addition, three of the 25 patterns are crocheted, but they either use single crochet or granny stitch, so they are pretty easy even if you don’t do a lot of crochet. You can see all the patterns on Ravelry.

Some of my favorites include Rattan by Rastus Hsu, a chunky blanket worked in knits and purls with simple crossing stitches to make a raised woven look; Homewood by Seth Richardson, covers in dramatic, loopy cables; Ainur Berkimbayeva’s Tessellate, one of the beginner projects that doesn’t really look beginner but is totally worked in knit and purl stitches; Warp + Weft by Aist? Butkevi?ien?, which is mostly knits and purls but makes a fun woven look fabric that blew my mind a little bit; and the same designer’s Canyonland, a multicolored blanket with wavy stripes.

The patterns tell you how to resize them for different dimensions and include information on pattern repeats where it is possible to make a totally custom size.

Many different techniques are included here such as cables, lace, shadow knitting, intarsia and other colorwork techniques, as well as modular knitting and lots of sewing pieces together. The patterns are all presented with charts, but there are line by line written instructions available on the Brooklyn Tweed website if you need them.

The book ends with a deep dive into log cabin knitting, telling the story of the quilt Jared’s mom made and how he made it in knitting, as well as the multitude of variations you can make if you want your own log cabin style design.

The back of the book includes a little written information about some of the special techniques needed, but there are no photos.

This is a lovely book full of inspiration for knitting and crochet blankets for any skill level. If you like to make blankets as gifts or aspire to have a handmade blanket in every room of the house, these designs would be a great place to start.

About the book: 192 pages, paperback, 25 patterns. Published 2024 by Abrams Books, suggested retail price $24.99.

Next Pattern:

Have you read?

Leave a Reply