It’s about time I had a Pina Colada, yes? This frothy, complex cable combination is the first thing I’ve knit that really seems to lean into the name properly, so here she is!

Cables are worked in panels on both front and back of the body. I love how the geometry of the slip-stitch honeycomb contrasts against the undulating lines of the medallion motif. Delicate lines in the side panels allow for visible shaping, accenting the silhouette of the body - and of course the cables dip into the deep hem. Sleeves are generous and long and feel luxurious to me! They feature the same honeycomb motif on top, with reverse stockinette panels underneath.

This knit may not be for the faint of heart, but if you love a good cable, this is the one for you! And I do love a good cable. So much that I knit TWO Pina Coladas, mixing up my yarn choice and the silhouette on the second.

I designed Pina Colada as a sweater that would skim my curves. The knit begins with less ease at the waist and slowly increases in circumference towards the bust, never getting too loose, but having just enough positive ease to be comfortable. I envisioned this as a polished wardrobe staple to wear with all my high-waisted pants and skirts, so I chose De Rerum Gilliatt in Poivre Blanc for a classic, wear-everywhere fabric in a gorgeous natural heather.

But once that was done, I kinda wanted another.

I decided to play with a looser fit the second time, so I could layer a button down beneath the sweater or half-tuck it casually into my jeans. I had just received a package of creamy DK wool/silk yarn in the mail, so I paired that with pale pink Mohair Silk from La Bien Aimee to create a soft drapey fabric in the palest peachy white shade - another classic color to go with everything. I began the hem with a little more ease along the side panels and worked the body just a bit longer than before. Small changes, but a very different fit due to both the new fabric and my mods.

On both versions, I worked my sleeves to be long and loose. There’s just something special about these deeply textured, loose sleeves that I cannot get enough of. (Gabriella has very long arms, so the sleeves on her are a little shorter!)

Anyways, voila! This design has OPTIONS.

With my own knitting experience in mind, Pina Colada allows you to either work as designed or easily tweak the silhouette for your needs. There are notes for working a straight body, a shaped body, or for tailoring the shaping to your own body. The panels along the sides make for easy modifications, and there are lots of notes within the pages on how and where you can alter the body, the neckline, or the sleeves as needed.

The cables themselves are not difficult, but they are involved and require some attention. All cables are both charted and written, and there are notes and hints in both the chart and the notes to keep you on track.

Pina Colada is worked from the bottom up in the round, and split into front and back pieces at armholes. The upper body is worked flat in two pieces to shoulders and shaped along neckline and armhole. Once shoulders are seamed, stitches are picked up around openings and knit in the round for sleeves and collar.

Sizing and Fit Notes
38.75(41.5,45.25,49.75,53.5)(59.5,64.5,68.5)”
98.5(105.5,115,126.25,136)(151.25,163.75,174)cm
Sizes reflect bust circumference in final fabric. Allow for 3-5”/7.5-12.75cm of positive ease at bust for fit(s) as shown. Be sure to check hem circumference as well before casting on.

More fitted sample shown worn with +3”/7.5cm of ease at bust and length given in pattern, to end at low waist.

Less fitted sample shown worn with +5/12.75cm of ease, and +1”/2.5cm of extra length in body, ending at upper hip to allow for drape when worn tucked and a loose fit when worn untucked.

Recommended Yarns
I’ve knit two samples, as noted above. You will need either one strand of worsted weight yarn, or a doubled strand of lace and DK weight yarn, combined for a worsted weight strand.

Note that pattern works this worsted weight strand on a larger needle, at a subtly larger gauge than usual for my designs. This allows the cabled fabric more movement when worn, while also retaining stitch definition. If substituting yarn or evaluating your gauge options please keep this in mind.

Single Strand:
De Rerum Natura Gilliatt (100% European Merino wool, 270yds/ 247m per 3.5oz/100g skein).
Color, Poivre Blanc.

Doubled:
Nor’easter Yarns Polypay-Targhee-Silk DK (40% Polypay, 40% Targhee, 20% Silk, 210yds/192m per 3oz/85g skein). This is a small batch farm yarn from New York that may not be available to everyone. A round DK wool in a soft fiber or blended with about 25% alpaca or silk should give you a similar drape.
Color, Natural.

La Bien Aimee Mohair Silk (70% Mohair, 30% Silk, 547yds/ 500m per 1.76oz/50g skein).
Color, Sansa.

If substituting yarn, I suggest a solid, semi-solid, heather or tweed shade of yarn in a similar base to those noted above. Too much vareigation in color or thickness of your strand may hide the detail in this sweater. Lightweight wools and wool blends work beautifully. Yarns with a lot of memory, weight, or drape will affect both fit and fabric. See the test knits for some ideas!

Gauge Note
If your chosen (single or doubled) yarn works to 16 sts/24 rows in stockinette on a US#8/5mm needle when NOT paired with the
cable patterns here, you should be fine. When blocked, the sections of reverse stockinette between the motifs on this sweater easily blocked to match row gauge of the surrounding sections in all the test knits. Stitch gauge is more important on this design, as all measurements are given in numerical form and exact row count does not matter in the body. On sleeve, you can space shaping out as needed if your row gauge does not match.

Yardage by Size
1150(1250,1350,1500,1600)(1700,1800,1900)yds 1050(1145,1235,1370,1465)(1555,1645,1740)m

If doubling yarn, you need this amount of EACH yarn.
Modifications or substitute yarns may affect yardage.

ERRATA: small typo, page 13, Setup Round, near the bottom. There is a “k” missing before the 62(62,…) This has been fixed on the PDF but if you downloaded right away, your copy may still be missing the K!