It’s been a little while since my last post – I’ve been in a bit of a sewing/ blogging slump! I’m going to try to push myself out of that and share a (not so recent) make with you today!

Since lockdown started I’ve been knitting up an absolute storm – I’ve been finding it weirdly comforting and much more enjoyable than I used to! I completed three jumpers during the lockdown period (this is the third) as well as a few other bits and bobs. I’ve not done enough quite yet to turn this into a knitting blog though! 😂

Today I’m sharing the Naomi pullover that I knitted during the latter half of lockdown. It’s a lace pattern mohair sweater that I’m really proud of!

The pattern is by a Russian designer called Olga Grishina (@o.malica on Instagram). I came across her after I’d found the mint Rico yarn from Hobbycraft which I fell in love with straightaway. I’ve had such a mixed experience mixing yarns and patterns that now I always spend a lot of time googling projects made with my chosen yarn. The Rico Light Luxury yarn was the same as the designer’s sample garment. I figured I couldn’t go wrong!

The lace pattern took me a while to get used to. I had to spend lots of time figuring out how to read pattern charts and learning the new-to-me knitting techniques. The designer has how-to YouTube videos on some of the more complex techniques. They’re all in Russian but even so I managed to follow them all pretty well! Once I got into the groove of doing the lace pattern though, knitting up happened quite fast!

The body of the jumper is knitted in the round until the armhole where it splits into a front and back panel. The sleeves are then knitted separately. This was the first pattern I’d had to set in a knitted sleeve which was interesting. There was a fair bit of guesswork as to what I had to do but I managed to get it in!

For the neckline I ended up doing a single row of crochet instead of picking up stitches and knitting. I figured it was be faster and just as neat.

I made a size M but made both the body and sleeve shorter than instructed. I found the sizing pretty true to size. I ignored the extra strands of metallic yarn that was used through the centre of the lace pattern. I also decided not to put the pearl beads on as in the original. I really thought about it but decided to keep it simple for now. I still have the option to add them later though!

I love the fuzzy warmth of this sweater. So far I’ve loved both mohair sweaters I’ve made which is making me think this should be my go-to for sweater knits!!