Use code RAV_LIGHTFALL to get a 15% discount. Code is valid until 30th March 23:59 GMT.

The Lightfall Sweater is a top-down, round yoke design with modern stranded colourwork featured in the yoke and just past the sleeve separation. There are also some twisted and purl stitches added to give the fabric extra texture. I named it Lightfall because it makes me think of scattered rays of light falling over a dark space.

It was inspired by a sweater from a well-known fashion designer’s menswear collection that I saw in an ad. I thought, “That is so cool—I could totally make it myself,” especially since the original wasn’t exactly affordable.

This design came together thanks to a mix of perfect timing. I was teaching a class at Knit With Me in London when I spotted these two colours sitting next to each other. I’d been wanting to try boucle yarn for a while, and I immediately knew these were the ones. Initially, I planned to make something smaller, like a colorwork hood, but as soon as I started working with the yarn, it felt so exciting that I had to turn it into a full sweater. Then, on the same day, I saw that sweater ad again and thought, “This is a sign!”

For those of you curious to check out the original, try searching “Bottega jacquard knit” and see if you can spot it. Goes without saying that it was just a source of inspiration as upon closer look you can see that the gauge is different, the motif is different, and I’ve added my own twists to the construction to make it unique, plus a few adjustments to make grading for multiple sizes viable.
This sweater could also be knit with non-boucle yarn as long as the gauge matches. If the yarn is elastic and springy, the yoke pattern (which is a bit like ribbing in some areas) might shrink the fabric, but that’ll sort itself out with blocking.

It’s great for both bold and subtle colour contrasts, letting you create different vibes. If you decide to make one, I hope you have fun knitting it and enjoy wearing it too!

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Difficulty: Intermediate

Sizes: 1 (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9)

Finished chest circumference:

• 90 (102.5, 110, 122.5, 130, 140, 150, 160, 172.5) cm
• 36 (41, 44, 49, 52, 56, 60, 64, 69)”

Designed to be worn with 10-15 cm / 4-6” positive ease around the chest.

Yarn: DK weight boucle or worsted weight, depending on the length of the sweater, allow approximately:
Main colour (MC):

• 525 (580, 625, 675, 700, 755, 815, 850, 905) m
• 575 (635, 680, 735, 765, 825, 890, 930, 990) yds

Contrast colour (CC):

• 215 (240, 255, 285, 330, 350, 365, 415, 430) m
• 235 (265, 280, 315, 365, 385, 400, 450, 470) yds

Yarns used in sample (size 2) is Wild Atlantic Yarns Banba DK (100% Superwash Merino; 220 m 240 yds / 100 g), 2 skeins in Quartzite as contrast colour and 3 skeins in Olive Grove as main colour.

Gauge: 16 sts & 24 rows = 10 cm / 4” in Stockinette stitch and colourwork in the round on larger needles, blocked.
Swatch both plain stockinette and colourwork, as you might need to change needle sizes to maintain the gauge. For swatching you can use any fair-isle pattern or rows 33-49 of the attached chart, repeated as many times as necessary.

Suggested needles:

• 4.00 mm (US 6) or needle size that gets gauge; circulars 60-100 cm / 24-40” long and/or DPNs for small circumference knitting
• 3.25 mm (US 3) circulars 60 cm / 24” long for neckband

Notions: Stitch markers, locking stitch markers or bobby pins, row counter, stitch holder, tapestry needle, tape measure.

Techniques used: Knitting in the round, short rows, trapping floats in stranded knitting, lifted increases.

Notes: The sweater is worked seamlessly in the round from the top down.
To avoid tension tightening when working colourwork, keeping the floats on the wrong side of the work loose is important.
In stranded knitting, one yarn will appear slightly more dominant than the other depending on how the strands are carried behind the work. The strand that comes from above travels slightly farther than the one that comes from below; it is slightly tighter, causing it to create smaller stitches, recede, and be less dominant. The yarn travelling the shortest distance is the dominant yarn. Therefore, keeping the contrast colour to the left of the main colour is recommended, and always take it from the bottom to make it stand out more. The most important thing is to be consistent with the position of each strand.