Dear Ann,
While I wait for Rowan Chunky Chenille Shade 363 French Mustard to arrive in my mailbox (Yes! A knitter from New Hampshire emailed me on Sunday to offer up ancient skeins from her “Deep Space Stash.” Thank you, Doris! I love the Internet!), I wanted to share a stripy sweater that is a modern, Icelandic-ish cousin of Kaffe Fassett’s Big Flower Jacket.
(Photo copyright: Jill Draper. Used with permission.)
When I saw Jill Draper’s version of Stopover on Instagram, it took my breath away. It’s recognizably Stopover–a deliciously lightweight Icelandic pullover. It’s also recognizably Jill Draper–an intrepid dyer and maker of bespoke yarns from domestic flocks. To bang out her unique Stopover, Jill used a combination of two of her own yarns: Hoosic and Rifton. Hoosic is a sportweight 50/50 blend of mohair and wool, and Rifton is a self-striping mix of two naturally dark-colored wools with 2 shades of dyed wool–a yarn that is like no other than I’ve seen. In her Stopover, Jill’s stroke of brilliance was combining stripes with the traditional Icelandic patterned colorwork at the yoke. It’s wild, and it works.
(Photo copyright: Jill Draper. Used with permission.)
I asked her how she did it, which was probably akin to asking Matisse how he made those paper cutouts. (“Alors, I painted the paper. Ensuite, I cut the paper into shapes. Je suis Matisse, so this worked out ok.”) I’m going to post her recipe here, in case any other intrepid souls want to take on a stripy Stopover.
(Photo copyright: Jill Draper. Used with permission.)
Here’s Jill, in her own words:
For my Stopover I knew I wanted to use Hoosic as the base (MC), Hoosic is a faux single spun from mohair & domestic wool (I know you’ll ask so…the mohair is from the goats my mom raises in Upstate NY and the wool is a domestic blend, there is Columbia & Suffolk in there among others) I thought Hoosic would be a good comp for Lopi as the construction is quite similar and I was hoping the fluff from the mohair would mimic the bloom of Icelandic wool & it did! It is still incredibly light weight & warm. I find this mohair a bit more soft than Icelandic & I can wear this with a cami underneath but, we all have different tolerances so, as they say YMMV (your mileage may vary). For cuffs & hem I followed Mary Jane’s instructions mostly but used the MC (Grape Hyacinth in my case) as the first color on the hem, followed by Hoosic in Luciferase & then Clear Skies. The cuffs I started with Luciferase & then used Grape Hyacinth. I have a preference for asymmetry so I normally make my sleeves fraternal, one has a wide stripe of Rifton in the Spring colorway broken with a narrow stripe of Luciferase & a few single row stripes of Grape Hyacinth. The other sleeve has a few bands of Rifton Spring and a simple colorwork pattern also in Rifton. Once I joined yoke & sleeves I made a few more stripes of Rifton, mostly because I wanted to be in the dark section for the colorwork of the yoke. I started using Hoosic in Clear Skies as the MC for the Yoke, I used Rifton as the other “two” colors (shown as Glacier & Spring in MJ’s version) because at this point I already had a lot of weaving in to do and wanted the full shading effect of the Rifton. I used Luciferase as the center pop.
(Photo copyright: Jill Draper. Used with permission.)
OK, people. Knock yourselves out.
Love,
Kay
This sweater is amazing – all I can say is WOW! Seeing folks with this level of creativity that works is amazing! I can execute all day long but wouldn’t know where to begin to get this magnificence! Love, love, love this sweater and congrats to the amazing Jill for her creativity and you and Ann for posing this challenge!
Whoooooaaaaaa. Fabulous. I think the most I’d have the guts to do is to use a gradient yarn for the yoke pattern.
Just….WOW!
Fraternal sleeves is such a great concept. Beautiful sweater.
My sentiment exactly. I love that description.
Beautiful! any other thoughts for yarn subs for fuzzy lopi? I love Hoosic’s gradient,
I used Brooklyn Tweed Shelter – it worked well – for my low itchiness tolerance, I wear a thin, long sleeve tee-shirt under it. Here is my Revelry project page: http://www.ravelry.com/projects/slgoudie/stopover
The sweater as art. Fabulous. Thanks for sharing this with us.
Mary Jane-if you are reading this: would you please consider designing a few additional Stopover yoke patterns? I’ve made 3 so far and would make more if they varied. Maybe the Stopoff, Stoponby, StopinthenameofLove etc?:)
Thank you for a pattern that is enjoyable ad quick!
There is a “secret” plan…you must have ESP!
Mary Jane! This is wonderful news! I mean a wonderful premonition that Di had!
Stop in the Name of Love is so funny, Di. It must happen.
Great suggestions!
Beautiful. Love the fraternal sleeves. So creative.
This sweater put a big smile on my face. So lightly and charmingly balanced! And I love that there is a yarn color called “Luciferase.” It’s got to be the sulphurous one, yes? 🙂
Yes! It is actually the enzyme that makes fireflies glow & other bioluminesing creatures 🙂
Quinn, meet Jill. Jill, meet Quinn. You can nerd out on stuff like this together now.
Any friend of bioluminescence is a friend of mine 🙂
Luciferase!! I love it. How about a little GFP.
So. Much. Fun!
I like the use of contrasting colors in the pattern and the unexpected blue color that dominates the yoke colors. Not sure if I would make this but it looks fun to execute.
Another yarns that might work for this is Manos Maxima – no mohair but it has the same yarn construction.
I’m in LOVE!!!!
I am in awe, and in love.
Just wow. And that is SO JILL. Love it and love her yarn.
ps now my Stopover looks a little…staid.
Thanks Gale! Time to make Stopover #2, I’ll help you make yours crazypants too 😉
Staid Stopover Syndrome–don’t let it claim another victim.
Delicious in aubergine …..using simplicity & complexity in construction. Masterful!
This is fantastic! For me it’s like the visual equivalent of a really great remix of a song I already loved. So inspiring.
Jill, if you’re reading the comments and don’t mind my asking, I am curious about gauge — Hoosic and Rifton are finer yarns than Léttlopi… Did you knit the sweater at a smaller gauge, or hold the yarns double, or what?
P.S. Pedant note for MDK: the first link to Rifton’s rav page actually goes to Hoosic’s
I’m trying to & don’t at all, that’s why I’m checking in 🙂 I got gauge with single strands, Rifton on its own wouldn’t have a enough body but the mohair really fluffs up & fills in so that’s why it’s the main & Rifton is the accent. Thanks for the kind words!
Thanks for the catch, Julia, I went under the hood and fixed it.
I’m loving all this, especially the little stray stitch patterning at the top of the right sleeve. An artist, showing us how it’s done. Also, the Matisse quote. Geniuses all over the place around here.
What a treat to see and read about yet another masterpiece!
When your French Mustard Chunky Chenille arrives you will be glad that not everyone has fallen under the KonMari spell. Good luck with the Big Flower.
Beautiful sweater! Looking forward to your coming adventure.
Cool! This reminds me a bit of Kristin Nicholas’ patterns that burst with color, which I love.
So beautiful!! Thank you, Jill, for the recipe. Thank you, Kay, for highlighting such a talented artist (p.s. j’adore your french heh, heh).
SO much fun and purely delicious. I want to knit a Stopover all over again. And I’m reminded that I finished my Stopover on March 21 but never posted on Instagram. Whoops! Maybe tomorrow.
Everything that’s been said! Creative genius.
This is all beyond me, but I’d love to make this sweater. What about a kit?
Let’s make sure Jill sees this comment!
Jill Draper. Enough said. I want a kit!
Freaking beautiful!
Unbelievable! Never seen such a beautiful sweater. Such a talented woman❤
WOW !!!
Love this and all the colors. ❤️
I have read through the pattern twice and decided I am going to try this as a crop in a yarn I can wear next to the skin.