Fingering Weight Dissent Pullover
Kelsey wearing Dissent Pullover in Quince & Co. Finch. Size 44.25”/112.5 with 2.25”6 cm of positive ease.
The Story
Pretty much as soon as I finished my Dissent cardigan I knew I’d want different versions of it, particularly one in a fingering weight yarn and this Dissent Pullover now here.
As background in case you don’t know about my original sweater, I’m super inspired by Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg and I particularly love how she wears decorative collars (“jabots”) to court. Bringing in a feminine adornment to the most powerful court in the US speaks loudly to me of women being in power and maintaining who they are. Clothes are strong symbols and I wanted to express that idea in my own clothing design, so I used a particular one of Justice Ginsburg’s jabots, one she wears when reading dissenting opinions, to inspire a yoked sweater — my version of a jabot. (This is the actual Dissent jabot.)
The Details
Dissent Pullover is a seamless top-down yoke sweater with short row shaping to bring that back neck up a bit and create a more comfortable, flattering neckline. Here’s what’s different about this design from the original Dissent cardigan:
It’s a pullover, not a cardigan. I’m hoping to blog about cardigan-izing this one, but I haven’t done it yet.
It’s worked in fingering weight yarn, not worsted.
The fit is different. The original had a looser, boxier fit, and this one has slender sleeves, a tighter neckline, and waist shaping. The pattern also comes with instructions for a standard length version with long sleeves and a cropped length one with bracelet length sleeves.
The sleeves on the original were extra long and intended to be folded up into generous cuffs. The sleeves on this one are just standard, though if you wanted more length, it’s worked top-down, so you can always just keep knitting.
The charts have been modified to work with the fingering weight gauge.
One thing that isn’t different is that, like all my recent patterns, this one is size inclusive. There are 11 sizes from 32 in/81.5 cm - 62 in/157.5 cm. The pattern is shown modelled by two different people & a full schematic is included to help you choose a size & make modifications. (The schematic is also available as one of the pattern images before you purchase so you know exactly what the measurements will be.)
In response to a whole lot of feedback I got from a survey (thank you for participating!!), I also made some changes to my pattern layout.
Print-friendly pattern: All the vital instructions are together without any photos, so you can print out just the text + 1 extra page with the chart. There’s info in the “Notes” section on printing so you know exactly what to do. Every page has the pattern name and page number in case your pages get shuffled and printing works in both colour and black & white.
Skills listed: I include a note about pattern difficulty & the skills used within the pattern. That info is in the pattern listing too.
Lots of images: High quality photos show three different versions of the sweater on two different bodies with lots of different views. (I took these photos myself and I hope you like them!)
Extras: Lots of info on fit modifications, yarn choice, colourwork, and more are included in the Notes section of the pattern, including links to tutorials. I also included two chart versions in the pattern — one for using if your main colour is light and one for using if your main colour is dark.
Yarn Options: I knit my samples in three different yarns so you could get an idea of how it works up with different styles of yarn and to encourage you to try yarns you love, ones that are within your budget, or something new, like the ones I used.
Yarn Choice
I used three different yarn combos in my three samples. When choosing yarn, here are a few things to keep in mind:
This sweater is seamless, so it doesn’t have the extra structure that seams would provide. That means you should avoid yarns that are very slippery, like ones with lots of silk, cotton, or alpaca.
Wool yarns with a lot of bounce are awesome for this. I used Quince & Co. Finch for the pink and brown sample and I love how crisp it looks.
Superwash Merino sock yarns can work, but choose one that isn’t super smooth or languid. Some sock yarns I recommend for this are:
Neighborhood Fiber Company Studio Sock — I used this one in the grey and dark red sample and I adore it because it’s got lots of tightly twisted plies that are made up of plies, making it very bouncy and resilient. That helps the fabric knit out of it keep its shape. It’s also got a nice surface texture that isn’t completely smooth, but is still very soft.
Hazel Knits Artisan Sock — this one is one of my go-to sock yarns. It’s soft while still being woolly and I’ve used it for a sweater before, Ciomara.
Magpie Fibers Domestic Fingering — This one has a wonderful rugged feel, while yes, still being soft. I used it for my hiking socks, Okanogan, and I think it would be great for this.
The yoke colourwork is a wonderful chance to use a variegated or self-striping/ombre yarn. Choose a main colour that contrasts well with all the colours in your variegated skein for colourwork that pops, or choose one with some similar colours for a more subtle variation. Some ideas:
Fleece Artist Merino Slim — this one is actually a singles, but I combined it with Neighborhood Fiber Company Studio Sock for a really gorgeous, vibrant yoke. It’s super soft with really interesting colour options.
Spincycle Yarns Dyed in the Wool — the colours are, of course, the main thing. They’re so unique and there are so many amazing ones to choose from! I used the worsted version of this yarn, Dream State, for the original Dissent cardigan.
Have you been dying to try holding a strand of mohair/silk together with a strand of wool? I am so 100% on board with this trend. The fabric is incredibly soft, fluffy, and cozy. I used Julie Asselin Anatolia combined with Nurtured Fine for the ochre and grey version and I absolutely adore it. (Julie is currently offering free shipping to the US and Canada on any orders of $200 or more!) There are lots of options for lace weight mohair/silk blends, but be sure to hold it with a very fine fingering weight or lace weight wool or it’ll be too dense at the given gauge.
For crisp, popping colourwork, choose one very light colour and one very dark one. For a more subtle look, you can pick colours that are more medium in value, but I suggest taking a black and white photo of your choices together to see if there’s enough contrast for them to look good together. If the skeins look identical in black and white, you may want to make a different choice.
And of course you gotta swatch to know if your yarn will actually work. Make a big swatch (6 in/15 cm x 6 in/15 cm at least!), wet block your swatch before measuring, and be sure to swatch in the round since this project is in the round.
Get the pattern here on my website or over on Ravelry if you'd like to keep it in your Rav library.
Pattern Specs
Finished Dimensions
Bust Circumference: 32(35, 38, 41) (44.25, 47, 50, 53) (56, 59, 62) in/81.5(89, 96.5, 104) (112.5, 119.5, 127, 134.5) (142, 150, 157.5) cm
Intended to be worn with +1-4 in/2.5-10 cm of positive ease. See image for schematic.
Shown in size 32 in/81.5 cm (ochre and grey) with 2 in/10 cm of positive ease and in size 44.25 in/112.5 cm (pink) with +2 in/10 cm of positive ease.
Yarn
Both Cropped & Standard Versions
Contrast Colour:
200(215, 235, 250) 270, 290, 310, 32570, 395) yd/
183(197, 215, 229) 247, 265, 283, 29738, 361) m fingering weight yarn
Cropped Version
Main Colour:
1060(1160, 1260, 1355) 1455, 1560, 1695, 1780030, 2160) yd/969(1061, 1152, 1239) 1330, 1426, 1550, 1628856, 1975) m fingering weight yarn
Standard Length Version
Main Colour:
1120(1220, 1325, 1425) 1525, 1630, 1770, 1850100, 2225) yd/1024(1116, 1212, 1303) 1394, 1490, 1618, 1692920, 2035) m fingering weight yarn
Check the images for specific info about all the yarns shown in the photos.
Blocked Gauge
Gauge measurement should be taken after blocking.
29 sts/40 rounds = 4 in/10 cm in St st with smaller needle
29 sts/36 rounds = 4 in/10 cm in colourwork with larger needle
Needles & Notions
Needle Sizes are recommendations only. Always use needle size necessary to obtain gauge.
Ribbing & Stockinette Stitch
Suggeested Size US 2/2.75 mm needles:
∙ 16 in/40 cm circular needle
∙ 32 in/80 cm circular needle
∙ Set DPN’s, long circular needle for magic loop, or two circular needles — whichever is your preferred small-circumference knitting method.
Stranded Colourwork
Suggested Size US 4/3.5 mm needles:
∙ 32 in/80 cm circular needle (for larger sizes, a longer needle may be desired)
Notions
∙ stitch markers
∙ waste yarn
∙ tapestry needle
Skills
I consider this pattern to be intermediate level knitting. It includes working in the round, short row shaping, working stranded colourwork, picking up stitches, and shaping.
