Julie Hoover For Purl Soho: Goode In Spectrum Silk
Julie Hoover’s Goode is for knitting not just once, not just twice, but at least three times! Originally designed in Linen Quill, then re-imagined in Cattail Silk, we delve in again, now with Spectrum Silk!
Loose fitting but flattering, elegant but carefree, Julie is the master of making simple design look easy. So little fuss, so much flair!
And impossible to not knit again with Spectrum Silk tempting us from its corner! Super soft with a very gentle shine, this yarn absorbs dye so thoroughly that each color is like a radiant gem. We used majestic Deep Teal, but choosing was the hardest part!
First time or third, Goode is a charm!
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 + connect with the community by tagging your pics with #PurlSoho, #PurlSohoBusyHands, #PurlSohoGoode, and #PurlSohoSpectrumSilk. We can’t wait to see what you make!
Materials
- 8 (9, 10, 11, 12) (13, 14, 14, 15) skeins of Purl Soho’s Spectrum Silk, 100% silk. Each skein is 153 yards/ 50 grams; approximately 1200 (1315, 1480, 1625, 1810) (1955, 2020, 2145, 2295) yards required. We used the color Deep Teal. (NOTE: We no longer offer Spectrum Silk, but choose from one of our other fingering or sport weight yarns.)
- US 3 (3.25 mm), 16-inch circular needles
- US 3, 24-inch circular needles
- Stitch marker
- Stitch holders or scrap yarn
- A 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, 61, 64½, 68½)
This garment is designed to fit actual chest circumference of 30–32
(34–36, 38–40, 42–44, 46–48) (50–52, 54–56, 58–60, 62–64) inches, with approximately 5–8 inches of ease.
- Finished Midriff Circumference: 38 (41½, 45½, 49½, 53) (57, 61, 64½, 68½) inches
- Finished Length from Shoulder to Bottom Edge: 24 (24½, 25½, 26¼, 27½) (28, 27¼, 27½, 28) inches
- Finished Length from Underarm to Bottom Edge: 12¾ (12¾, 13¼, 13¼, 14) (14, 13, 13, 13¼) inches
- Length from Center Neck to Cuff: 17¼ (18¼, 19, 20, 21¼) (22, 23, 24, 25) inches
- Length from Shoulder to Underarm: 11¼ (11¾, 12¼, 13, 13½) (14, 14¼, 14½, 14¾) inches
SAMPLE: The sweater pictured here is Size 41½ shown on model with a 34-inch bust.
Pattern
The Goode Pattern is available for purchase exclusively as a PDF download.
On a scale of 1-10, how easy would you say this is for a “little bit beyond beginning knitter”?
Hi Jan,
Thanks for writing in! Please know that we don’t rate the difficulty of our patterns because we want people to feel free to try things that are “too hard” for them, and we don’t want to put people in a box that says, “You can make this but not this.” We want you to be able to take little leaps into the unknown and hopefully find that the satisfaction was worth the challenge! However, I would be more than happy to describe all the techniques that are included in this pattern!
For Goode, you will have to be able to cast on, knit, purl, work basic k2tog and ssk decreases, as well as Right and Left Lifted Increases. There is an optional Sloped Bind Off, but you can use a regular bind off if you prefer, and you will also need to use a Backwards Loop Cast On. The trickiest part is that you will sometimes have to follow two sets of instructions simultaneously – for instance, decreasing at the neck edge while increasing at the sleeve edge – but as long as you count your rows carefully or write out your rows before starting these sections, it should be fairly manageable. To finish the sweater, you will need to use Kitchener Stitch, Mattress Stitch, and Seaming Stockinette Horizontally.
There are quite a few techniques which may be new to you, but as you can see, we have tutorials for everything which are also linked in the pattern, and we’re always here to help if you have any questions!
All the best,
Julianna
Is this pattern worked top down or bottom up?
Hi Michele,
Thanks for writing in! This sweater is worked from the bottom to the top!
Best,
Julianna
Could I do this in DK? What kind of adjustment would I make?
Hi there,
Thanks for reaching out! As the pattern is written for fingering weight yarn, we would not suggest knitting it in a DK weight yarn. We do not have the resources to provide the necessary changes to the pattern, unfortunately. Thank you so much for your interest.
Warmly,
Anna
purlsoho.com
This is a gorgeous pattern and I’m sure it would be beautiful in Spectrum Silk. My question is about how much yarn to buy: while Linen Quill has 439 yards per skein, Spectrum Silk has 153 yards. I’m planning to knit size 38-40 so I guess I will need 10 skeins?
Thank you so much for continuing to answer our questions during this difficult time.
Thank you. Deb
Hi Deb,
Thanks for writing in! You will actually need 9 skeins for the second size! Since the two yarns have very different yardage, we recalculated everything, and you can find how many skeins of Spectrum Silk you will need for each size just above here in the Materials list on this page.
Happy knitting!
Julianna
Thank you Julianna!
Deb
Hi,
I’ve just bought this pattern, and can’t wait to make it! I’m very very new to knitting and can’t quite get to grips with the sizing!
I understand positive ease is and I’m thinking that is built into this pattern….have I got that right please?
So, if I make a 44” bust, it will come out with the recommended ease…. have I understood this correctly?
Thankyou for any help you are able to extend me with my query!
Dodie Smith?
Hi Dodie,
Thanks for writing in! All of our pattern sizes are the finished measurement of the actual garment and do not include any extra ease. If you take a look at the sizing on the last page of the pattern or just above here, under the heading “Sizes,” after the list of sizes, you will see a sentence that reads, “This garment is designed to fit actual chest circumference of 30–32(34–36, 38–40, 42–44, 46–48) (50–52, 54–56, 58–60, 62–64) inches, with approximately 5–8 inches of ease.” This means that if you knit the smallest size, the sweater itself will measure 38 inches at the bust, and is intended to fit somebody whose bust measures 30 to 32 inches. If you already know how you would like your sweater to fit, you can choose whatever finished measurement you prefer!
I hope that clears things up!
Julianna
Hi again Julianna,
Just following up my previous email. I checked my account and it seems I have bought Goode twice from Purl Soho. The first pattern (bought in 2018) is called Julie Hoover Good Pattern PDF and the second one (bought a few moments ago) is called Purl Soho Julie Hoover Goode Pattern PDF. Hopefully I will find the Spectrum Silk instructions in the more recent one!
Kind regards,
Deb
Hi Deb,
Thanks for reaching out! The pattern is actually the exact same for Linen Quill and Spectrum Silk! If you have any more questions about your purchase you can reach out to customerservice@purlsoho.com directly!
Best,
Gianna
Hi,
I’m working on the front of this pattern and the left front where it says to “slip 3 stitches purlwise, with yarn in front, at the neck edge, every wrong side row. I think I’ve misunderstood- is this a cast-off of 3 stitches at the neck edge? If not, what does this stitch look like? I couldn’t find any technique references for this stitch in the instructions and I think my neckline is way too wide. Please help!
Thanks, Ginny
Hi Ginny,
Thanks for reaching out! You are not casting off stitches here but slipping them to the working needle with the yarn in front to purl then next stitch after those 3 are slipped.
I hope this clarifies thing!
All the best,
Gianna
Hi – I’m swatching for this pattern and just can’t get the right gauge. The closest I’ve come is 27 st and 34 rows over 4″. I did the math on the stitch gauge, and it looks like – magically – all I need to do is use the next size up to get the right circumference.
I’m worried about the row gauge, though. Most of the pattern is written to measure in inches rather than number of rows, so that’s not a problem. But once it gets into shaping the dolman, sleeves, and shoulders, the row count matters. It looks like I’ll need 10 percent fewer rows than the pattern calls for – plus, since I’m going up a size in number of stitches, there’s that difference in number of rows that needs to be accounted for.
Is the answer to count the number of increases or decreases and divide them among the correct (smaller) number of rows to yield the same length?
I hope that’s coherent. If so – do I have it right?
Thanks!
[=sfc=]
Hi Shelly,
Thanks for reaching out! Before you go forward making any adjusting the pattern, did you experiment with different needle sizes to help achieve the gauge, and did you block your gauge swatch? For all of our patterns, the gauge is measured based on the finished blocked pieces, so if you haven’t already I would suggest blocking your swatch and see if you can get the correct gauge on the US 3 needle. If you are still having issues getting gauge then I would suggest either going up or down in needle size depending on how many stitches/rows per inch you have. For more tips on gauge, I suggest checking out our wonderful All About Gauge tutorial!
I definitely recommend trying these adjustments out first before making any changes to the pattern, as sweater patterns like this can be tricky to follow if you are making too many changes and are unable to follow the pattern as written.
I hope this helps and please let me know if you have any more questions!
Gianna
I’ve reached the Dolman Increase section and I’m confused about increasing every 6th row 0 times, then every 4th row 3 times (for size S).
Does that mean I work:
DI row then 5 regular rows
DI row then 3 regular rows — repeated 3x
or should there be 3 extra rows before that second DI row, like:
DI row then 5 regular rows
3 regular rows then DI row — repeated 3x
or something else entirely?
Thanks!
Hi Vee,
Thanks for writing in! For your size, when it says increasing every 6th row 0 times that means you will skip that section and move on to the next increasing every 4th row 3 times, meaning that you will work 4 rows and then work an increase row, and repeat that 3 times.
I hope this clears things up!
Gianna
Just a question about the salvege st
Do I continue to do this when I am decreasing for the shoulders
I am doing the 2nd size
So I k the selvage st and then bind off 4 sts?
Thank you
Hi Lorraine,
Thanks for reaching out. You actually do not need to work the selvage stitch during the SHAPE SHOULDERS section! Because you’re beginning every wrong side row with a bind-off, there is not a first stitch to knit. Hope this clears things up!
All the best,
Lili
Could I use another fingerling weight yarn, such as Line Weight, Peerie or Koigu? Can you recommend one? (Looking for something slightly cozier than the Cattail Silk option.)
Thanks!
Kelley
Hi Kelley,
Thanks for reaching out! You could certainly use another fingering weight or sport weight yarn for this pattern. The yarns that you mentioned would work well and I’d also recommend Good Wool (https://www.purlsoho.com/good-wool.html) and Wigeon (https://www.purlsoho.com/wigeon.html) as two sport weight alternatives since Spectrum Silk was closer to a sport weight yarn!
With all yarn substitutions, I’d recommend knitting a gauge swatch to ensure your gauge is consistent with the pattern’s. If you’d like more information on swatching, here’s our guide on it (https://www.purlsoho.com/create/2020/08/20/all-about-gauge/)! Hope this helps!
All the best,
Cat
I purchased Goode pattern and linen quill yarn. Haven’t started it yet, but was wondering if Posy can can be used as well. I don’t have any Posy to swatch it up. Would like your opinion.
Thanks,
Pat
Hi Pat,
Thanks so much for your question! Yes, Posy would work great for this pattern as well and as an added bonus, the project would also be machine washable! With any yarn substitutions, we recommend swatching to make sure that your gauge is consistent with the pattern’s, so we’d suggest knitting up a swatch whenever you have some Posy on hand. You might find that you need to adjust your needle size! Here’s our guide on swatching if you’d like more information (https://www.purlsoho.com/create/2020/08/20/all-about-gauge/)! I hope this helps!
All the best,
Cat