Julie Hoover for Purl Soho: Goode, Now in Cattail Silk
Julie Hoover’s Goode pullover is cool and breezy, flattering and beautiful, making it one of our favorite springtime knits. Originally knit in our Linen Quill, Goode is even more lightweight and springy in our brand new Cattail Silk!
In 100% silk, this Dolman-sleeved sweater has a gorgeous drape and a feather-light feel. It is soft and comfy against the skin, and it insulates perfectly against both spring’s chills and unexpectedly warm days.
Cattail Silk knits up at the Goode’s same gauge on the same needles so that using it is a no-brainer. The only thing to consider is that, since Cattail Silk’s skeins are over 600 yards, you’ll need fewer of them than you would the Linen Quill. Okay!
We love the Goode’s good nature in Linen Quill or in Cattail Silk! Check out the original version here and cast on with either yarn!
Yarn lovers, if you adore the yarn used in this project, you’ll love exploring all of our other yarn collections! Discover over 45 thoughtfully designed yarns in nearly every natural fiber and in every spectacular color you can imagine. Only available here at Purl Soho’s online yarn store, where every skein is created with care and your creativity in mind!
Designed for Purl Soho by Julie Hoover. Currently based in Ann Arbor, Michigan, Julie Hoover designs knitwear and makes yarn, for both her own personal label and others. Her work reflects a lifelong passion for clothing and textiles, and her view that knitting is a beautiful way of creating timeless fashion, a thoughtful mix of quality and creativity, intention and care.
Share your progress and connect with the community by tagging your pics with #PurlSoho, #PurlSohoBusyHands, #PurlSohoGoode, and #PurlSohoCattailSilk. We can’t wait to see what you make!
Materials
- 2 (3, 3, 3, 3, 4) skeins of Purl Soho’s Cattail Silk, 100% silk yarn. Each skein of this fingering weight yarn is 618 yards/ 100 grams; approximately 1200 (1315, 1480, 1625, 1810) (1955, 2020, 2145, 2295) yards required. We used the color Cinnamon Bark.
- US 3 (3.25mm), 16-inch circular needles
- US 3, 24-inch circular needles
- Stitch marker
- Stitch holders or scrap yarn
- Julie Hoover for Purl Soho’s Goode Pattern
Gauge
25 stitches and 38 rows = 4 inches in stockinette stitch
Sizes
NOTE For help picking a size, please check out our Understanding Ease + Selecting Size Tutorial!
38 (41½, 45½, 49½, 53, 57)
- Finished Midriff Circumference: 38 (41½, 45½, 49½, 53, 57) inches
- Finished Length from Shoulder to Bottom Edge: 24 (24½, 25½, 26¼, 27½, 28) inches
- Finished Length from Underarm to Bottom Edge: 12¾ (12¾, 13¼, 13¼, 14, 14) inches
- Length from Center Neck to Cuff: 17¼ (18¼, 19¼, 20¼, 21, 22) inches
- Length from Shoulder to Underarm: 11¼ (11¾, 12¼, 13, 13½, 14) inches
EASE: This garment is designed to fit approximate chest circumference of 30–32 (34–36, 38–40, 42–44, 46–48, 50–52) inches
SAMPLE: The sweater pictured here is Size 41½ inches shown on model with 35-inch chest.
Pattern
The Goode Pattern is available for purchase as either a hard copy or download.
LEARN ABOUT CATTAIL SILK + ALL OUR BEAUTIFUL YARNS
We used Cattail Silk for this pattern because its earthy, natural beauty brings a light drape and offhanded elegance to your knitting. A 100% mulberry silk yarn, Cattail Silk has a rustic spin with bitty nubs and very subtle variations in texture. Choose from a lovely bouquet of colors, and cast on with this fingering-weight yarn for a truly compelling knit!
More Free Knitting Patterns
- Be sure to explore our vast collection of (mostly free!) Cattail Silk knitting patterns and cast on!
More Fingering-Weight Yarns
- Shop our entire collection of fingering-weight yarn
- If you want to use a different yarn, be sure to take the time to get the correct gauge. Need help? Check our All About Gauge Tutorial!
More Yarns With Similar Fibers
- Shop silk yarn
Looking for more inspiration? Explore all of our free knitting patterns and knitting tutorials, buy one of our many knitting kits and yarn bundles, and shop for beautiful yarn. We have over 35 gorgeous natural fiber yarns in 100’s of magnificent colors, designed to bring integrity, beauty, and joy to your next knitting project and only available at Purl Soho!
If you left off the ribbing, would the sleeves and bottom still lay flat after blocking or does this yarn tend to curl? Thanks, and beautiful new yarn!
Hi Ashlyn,
Thank you for the question. The Cattail Silk will roll less than wool but it will still curl a little bit, even when blocked. I think it would be a nice look. Go for it!
Adam
This looks like it would be a great tunic length if you did buy a skein too much!
I purchased the Goode pattern and asked for the hard copy andthe download option. I do not know how to download the pattern. Can you please help me?
Thank you,
Joan
Hi Joan,
Thanks for writing in! To download your PDFs, you log in to your purlsoho.com account. From there, go to MY DOWNLOADABLE PRODUCTS and the pattern is there to download.
Best,
Cassy
Hey guys,
I know every knitter’s gauge is different, but this seems really open on size 3 needles. Can you confirm that the sample was knitted up on 3s? Thanks!
Hi Aileen,
Thanks for writing in! The sample was knit using US 3 needles. The fabric is not very open on the sample. I will say that blocking the sweater may help. I would suggest blocking your swatch and if the gauge is still too loose,you can go down a needle size!
I hope that this helps!
Cassy
I purchased the yarn and PDF yesterday. I’m wondering if there is a way to get the PDF into my Ravelry library? Also, if I am between 2 sizes, for this pattern and yarn, do you recommend sizing up or down? Thanks!
Hi Carin,
Thanks for writing in! I do not believe that there is a way to easily get the PDF of the pattern into Ravelry, as we do not sell our patterns through Ravelry. As for the sizing, the garment is designed to fit approximate chest circumference of 30–32 (34–36, 38–40, 42–44, 46–48, 50–52) inches with positive ease of 6-8 inches. So if your bust measurement is 35 inches, you would add 6-8 inches for 41-43 inches and you would select the 41 1/2 size. If you truly do fall between sizes, you can decide if you would like the garment to have slightly less or slightly more positive ease and select the size based on that.
I hope that this helps!
Cassy
As a beginner, I would like to know if this could be made with Field Linen.
Hello Kathleen,
Great question. Field Linen and Cattail Silk have the same gauge so it should work. Let me know if you have any further questions!
-Marilla
I am crazy about this pattern! Have cast on with Cattail Silk and am about halfway through the back. The color Flower Field Gray is sublime. I am wondering what your thoughts are on blocking this fiber? Per the band cuff instructions I washed and dried my swatch on cold/low in my machine and they came out beautifully. I’m starting to think ahead to putting this together. Should I wash and pin out pieces to measurements before seaming? Or should I seam and then throw the whole thing in the wash?
Hello Eleanor,
Thanks for writing in. I’m so happy to hear how much you love this pattern! Flower Field Gray is one of my favorite colorways.
Whenever I’m knitting something with seams I prefer to block before seaming. I think this will give you a cleaner seam in the end. I hope this helps!
Let me know if you have any further questions!
-Marilla
I love this design apart from the way that it lifts at the hem. Is there a pattern change I could make to prevent this?
Many thanks
Hello Elizabeth,
Thanks for writing us! The reason you are getting a slight lift in the front of the sweater is because of the way it drapes on the body (the front and back are the same length) so it will drape differently on everyone. I believe if you extend the collar slightly it will push the front of the sweater forward slightly, though this could take a bit of trial and error. I hope this is helpful/makes sense. Please let me know if you have any further questions!
-Marilla
Love this sweater,but I would like to make the
neckline slightly less plunging. Can you help
with this?
Hello Joan,
Thanks for writing in! Changing the neckline on this is a bit tricky and you might have to try a few times before you get it. I would suggest binding off some of the middle stitches when you get to the part of the pattern where you separate the left and right shoulders and taking out some of the decrease so that the neck has a shallower slope. I hope this helps! Let us know if you have any further questions.
Warmly,
Marilla
CAN I USE CATTAIL SILK for Julie hoover insouciant pattern gauge is 19 st = 4″ it calls for tsumugi silk doubled
Hi!
Thanks for writing in! I think that Cattail Silk could work well for Julie Hoover’s Insouciant! The original yarn that Julie uses has a similar gauge, although a bit smaller, and the sweater is knit at a looser gauge than the natural gauge of the yarn. All of that to say, that I think Insouciant would be lovely using Cattail Silk!
I hope that this helps!
Cassy
I am about 10 inches into this pattern and my row gauge is 35 at 4” but my stitch count is ok.
I’m thinking I should do a swatch using sz 4 needles but think that will be too loosely knit.
Really like the pattern and cattail yarn and don’t want to mess it up!!
Thanks for the help
Hi Pam,
Thanks for reaching out! If your row gauge is 35 to 4 inches, you would actually need to go down a needle size to shrink your row height and fit more rows into 4 inches; however, if your stitch gauge is correct, I wouldn’t worry about it! The stitch gauge is much more important to the fit of the garment than the row gauge – although you may end up with a bit more length in some areas, such as the dolman and shoulder shaping sections, the majority of the sweater will be knit to specified lengths rather than number of rows so it will be quite easy to compensate for a slightly off row gauge.
Also, we do recommend machine washing and drying Cattail Silk, so I would definitely suggest washing and drying your swatch to see if that tightens up your row gauge a bit!
Best of luck and happy knitting!
Julianna
I am enjoying working on this project! So happy to be working with silk. At first I thought it was going to be slow going but it knits up nicely.
I am now at the backward loop increase in the shape dolman section and find mine is looking wonky. I have been doing the edge stitches in garter stitch, do I continue this as I cast on the 12 rows in backward loop? Or do I hold off until I get into the shape sleeve section?
Thanks,
Ami
Hi Ami,
Thanks for writing in and for the kind words – we’re so happy you love Cattail Silk as much as we do! It is fairly normal for stitches cast on with the Backward Loop Method to look a bit loopy and loose, but not to worry, they will be going into the underarm seam so you won’t see that edge in the finished sweater. I would omit the garter edge stitch edge until you are finished with the cast on rows, and then resume when the pattern indicates to do so under the Shape Sleeves section.
Best of luck and happy knitting!
Julianna
Hello,
I am finishing this sweater in the cattail silk and was wondering what method I should use to seam the two pieces together from ribbing to sleeve as it starts as horizontal stitches and then they change as the sleeve approaches.
I can’t wait to finish, it has been waiting the seaming for months. I love how the neck and shoulders have seamed up.
Thank you,
Sherry
Hi Sherry,
How exciting – finishing a sweater after a long wait is always so satisfying! I would start at the bottom edge using mattress stitch, and then transition to the variation for horizontal seaming when necessary. You should theoretically have the same number of rows on the front and back, but I would still use a few pins or removable stitch markers to pin the front and back together before beginning the seam, just so everything stays matched up as you go!
Best of luck and happy knitting – or seaming, in this case!
Julianna
Hi! I am knitting Goode in the Cattail Silk. I made my swatch and blocked it. The result is 21 st = 4 inches and 34 rows for 4 inches, on US 3 needle. My rows were not perfectly straight. Should that be a concern? I have never knitted with cattail silk and am wondering if it’s more difficult and I should frog this? Should I try a size 2? Also was doing this on bamboo tips and it seemed to catch the yarn, wasn’t a smooth knit, would the metal tips be better?
Also one more question, do you recommend machine drying? I did not do that when I blocked the swatch. I did machine wash it in cold. I love the yarn so so pretty!
Hello Elizabeth,
Thank you for reaching out! I would recommend going down to a US2 needle to get a better gauge. This should also help straighten out your stitches. I would also recommend trying the metal needles, they will slip much easier and will be a bit sharper which will also help.
As far as washing goes we do recommend machine washing and drying Cattail Silk, so I would definitely suggest washing and drying your swatch to see if that tightens up your row gauge a bit!
I hope this helps and happy knitting!
-Marilla
I tried the US2 on sharper needles and it worked beautifully. Thank you!!
I’m making this pattern in the Cattail Silk. Have you had any comments about the very strong smell that the yarn seems to have? Do you know whether the smell fades or will come out when I wash the completed sweater for blocking. I don’t think I’ll be able to wear it if the smell doesn’t go away.
Thank you for any information you can give me.
Suzanne
Hello Suzanne,
Thank you for reaching out! It is true that there is sometimes a unique scent to Cattail, but once you have blocked your garment this smell will disappear. If some of your yarn is still unwound you can give it a little bath before winding it and this will also eliminate the smell.
I hope this helps and happy knitting!
-Marilla
Thank you so much for your response. I feel much better now.
Suzanne
Hello,
I just made a swatch with the Cattail Silk, and machine washed cold then tumbled dry low. The swatch had a gauge of 28 stitches and 38 rows = 4 inches in stockinette stitches. Do I need to decrease my needle size if I hit the row gauge but not the stitch gauge?
Hello Winnie,
Thank you for reaching out! For this garment your stitch gauge is more important than you row gauge so I would recommend using a needle that will get you to 25sts per 4″.
I hope this helps and happy knitting!
-Marilla
Hi! I’m attempting to make this in Madeline Tosh Merino Light. I rashly started without swatching first, and stopped about two inches into the back ribbing when I realised my ribbing was only about 17 inches wide, not 26 inches as the pattern states for my size!! I frogged and swatched (on US3 needles) and am getting 25 stitches as being just barely under 4 inches , which I imagine would easily become 4 inches after blocking. (I’m also getting 38 rows as 4 1/2 inches, so that’s pretty generous in the other direction!) I am really confused as to how my back ribbing was so, so narrow, when my swatch was just about right.
Hi Christine,
Thanks for reaching out! This actually sounds very normal to me for pre-blocking ribbing! Ribbing contracts significantly widthwise, so I’m not surprised that it came out so much narrower even though your gauge is correct, but it should be easy to stretch it to the correct width when blocking. We recommend wet blocking this sweater to make the ribbing a bit more malleable and likely to stay the correct width.
I hope that helps!
Julianna
Hi,
I am now in isolation like the rest of the world… and I only have single needles, not circular. Would it be possible to adapt this pattern?
Thank you!
Hi Paloma,
Thanks for reaching out! The majority of this sweater is knit flat so you can use straight needles for both the front and back. The sleeve ribbing is worked in the round after sewing the side and shoulder seams, but you should be able to knit that flat as well by waiting to sew the side seams until after you knit the sleeve ribbing.
I hope that helps, and happy knitting!
Julianna
Thank you for the beautiful pattern. Would you have a suggestion for knitting it in the round?
Hi Carole,
Thank you for writing in! This pattern will require some changes to be knit in the round, but I can offer a few tips to get you started if you’re feeling adventurous ! To find out your cast on number for knitting the back and front together, double the number of the back piece for your size, then subtract 4 stitches for the now-uneccesary selvedge stitches. You’ll also want to be sure to place a unique stitch marker at the beginning of your cast on to mark the end-of-round/left side of your top, and another marker at the half way point (ex. the smallest size will have a cast on of 256 stitches with a marker before the 1st and after the 128th stitch). As you begin knitting, keep in mind that you’ve removed the selvedge stitches and should not work the first and last stitches mentioned in each ‘Row’ in the Pattern, and that you’ll be working each ‘Row’ twice per Round. I hope that makes sense and is helpful!
Happy knitting!
Gaby
I’ve swatched and my gauge is correct but the swatch seems like it will be very easy to see through (e.g., undergarments). I know I could wear a tank or something underneath, but it just doesn’t look that lace-y on the model. I am wondering if I could knit with 2 strands of Cattail, and if so, would you suggest making any changes to the pattern? I did a swatch of double stranded and it looks a lot better as far as the opacity. Thank you!!
Hi Sarah,
That’s a great question! If you are using theCattail Silk I would recommend blocking your swatch by machine washing cold and tumble dry low to see if that changes the opacity. I would think 2 strands would be too thick for getting the proper gauge of 25 sts = 4″, but if you can get gauge and still like the drape of your knit fabric it will work . I hope this helps!
Happy Knitting
Jessica
Hello,
I am ready to wash & dry my front and back pieces. I used the Cattail Silk. As my swatch was quite a bit larger than the required gauge before I blocked it, it came to the correct gauge after and I have knitted the pieces based on measurements and not row count. My question is how do I block the pieces if I dry them in the dryer?
Would it be better to show the pieces together, add the sleeve ribbing and then wash & dry the completed garment?
Thanks,
Barbara
Hi Barbara,
Thanks for reaching out! I would recommend blocking the individual pieces before assembly, this will help make the process of seaming the piece together much easier! I would also recommend checking out our Blocking tutorial, it is an excellent resource to use and will walk you through the whole process of how we suggest blocking your pieces.
I hope this helps and please let me know if you have any more questions!
Gianna
Hi – here’s a question sparked by one of the questions above: would it reduce the lift in the front hem to either remove the midriff shaping or move the shaping away from the edges of each piece? (I’ve made patterns where that shaping occurs 1/3 of the way in on the back and 1/4 of the way in on the front.)
Alternatively, if I extend the collar as was suggested, how does that affect the shoulder seams?
Thanks!
[=sfc=]
Hi Shelly,
Thanks for reaching out! Since the lift isn’t actually worked into the pattern and is caused by the draping over the breasts (this will drape differently on everyone!) changing the shaping along the midriff wouldn’t have a big effect on the lift of the hem. My best tip would be to simply adjust the drape and lift by wearing the top more forward. This model has the top styled with the neckline pulled back quite a bit so that the back neckline is resting lower along the neck and shoulder than most tops would.
We have actually recently re-released this pattern in an updated yarn, the photos of the model in that version show a much more natural drape to the top without having the back neckline resting as low. You can find the updated pattern here along with the photos to get a better idea of the overall fit: Julie Hoover For Purl Soho: Goode In Spectrum Silk
I hope this helps and please let me know if you have any more questions!
Gianna
Thanks, Gianna! That makes sense. Now I’m just confused about how many versions of the pattern are out there. I purchased it the other day following the link from the Cattail Silk page. Do all links go to the most updated version?
[=sfc=]
Hi Shelly,
Thanks for your response! We have 3 yarn options for this pattern, but luckily the pattern is exactly the same for each one (since they are all fingering weight yarns/same needle size!) So if you purchased the pattern from the Cattail Silk version page that is totally fine, each page links to the same, most up-to-date version available!
I hope this helps, happy knitting!
Gianna
Hello ,
I am knitting this in Linen Quill ( I LOVE THIS YARN) I would like to lengthen this sweater , should I do it in the main fabric area before the dolman shaping ?
Thank you
Hi Mary,
Thank you for writing in! I would recommend knitting additional rows after the ribbing on the front and back pieces to lengthen the body of this sweater. I hope this helps!
Happy knitting,
Gavriella
I just finished Goode in catail silk and its beautiful but I have worn it a few times and already it is stretched out quite badly. I am worried if I put it in my machine that might make it worse. Thoughts?
thank you Lorraine
Hi Lorraine,
Thank you for writing in! We would recommend hand washing your project and throwing it in the dryer in 10 minute increments. This should help shrink those stitches down a bit! I hope this helps!
All the best,
Gavriella