Ainur Berkimbayeva For Purl Soho: Laurel Leaf Pullover
Ainur Berkimbayeva‘s Laurel Leaf Pullover borrows an ancient Greek victory crown and sweeps it around the shoulders, mesmerizing and triumphant.
My goodness, knitting is amazing. How to render such vividly depicted branches and leaves? Ainur figured out that it’s all a matter of quick little two-stitch cables (aka crosses) against a backdrop of 1×1 ribbing. Nearly invisible increases maintain the illusion, and both charted and written instructions show you the way!
Knit from the top down, you start with the action-packed yoke, then settle into simple ribbing for the body and sleeves. And since it’s all knit in one piece with perfectly neat edges built right in, instead of fussy finishing, you’ll end with a victory lap!
Ainur chose our gorgeous Mulberry Merino for her Laurel Leaf Pullover. Eighty percent extra fine merino wool and 20% mulberry silk, it’s a tidy yarn that allows every thoughtful detail to shine. The color Green Spruce is a literal (and beautiful!) choice for the subject matter, but why not Cinder Gray or Red Plum, Alpine Rose or Mustard Seed? Feel free!
If you love the yarn used in this project, you’ll love all of our other yarn, too! Explore our 35+ lovingly created yarn collections, in nearly every natural fiber and spectacular color you can imagine… Only available here at Purl Soho’s online yarn shop!
Designed for Purl Soho by Ainur Berkimbayeva.
Share your progress + connect with the community by tagging your pics with #PurlSoho, #PurlSohoBusyHands, and #PurlSohoLaurelLeafPullover. We can’t wait to see what you make!
Materials
- 5 (6, 7, 8) (8, 9, 9) (10, 10, 10, 11) skeins of Purl Soho’s Mulberry Merino, 80% extra fine merino wool and 20% mulberry silk. Each skein is approximately 247 yards/100 grams; or approximately 1340 (1465, 1625, 1775) (1925, 2055, 2190) (2335, 2415, 2555, 2700) total yards required. We used the color Green Spruce.
- US 3 (3.25 mm), 16-inch circular needles
- US 4 (3.5 mm), 16-inch circular needles
- US 4, 32-inch circular needles
- A set of US 4 double pointed needles
- Stitch markers
- Scrap yarn
Gauge
34 stitches and 32 rounds = 4 inches in k1, p1 rib on larger needles, after blocking
Sizes
NOTE For help picking a size, please check out our Understanding Ease + Selecting Size Tutorial!
26¾ (29¾, 32½, 35¼) (38, 41, 43¾) (46½, 49½, 52¼, 55½)
To fit actual chest circumference of approximately 29–33 (32–36, 35–39, 38–42) (40–44, 43–47, 46–50) (49–53, 52–56, 55–59, 58–62) inches, with 2–6 inches of negative ease
- Finished Chest Circumference: 26¾ (29¾, 32½, 35¼) (38, 41, 43¾) (46½, 49½, 52¼, 55½) inches
- Finished Length From Back Neckline To Bottom Edge: 23½ (24, 24½, 25) (25½, 26, 26) (26¼, 26¼, 26½, 26¾) inches
- Finished Sleeve Length From Underarm: 18 inches
Sample: The sweater shown here is size 29¾, worn with 6 inches of negative ease
Pattern
Please Note: The Laurel Leaf Pullover Pattern is no longer available for purchase. For assistance, please contact us at customerservice@purlsoho.com.
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!
And suddenly, all I seem to want is a ribbed sweater. This is truly gorgeous!
Hello,
This pattern shows a host of sizes, but do you purchase the pattern by your size grouping? How do you size for the intermediate measurements?
Thank you,
Deb
Hi Deb,
Thanks for reaching out! The pattern includes instructions for all the sizes! If you are in between sizes I would recommend sizing up.
I hope this helps, happy knitting!
Gianna
Is there a version without the ribbing? Any advice for that option?
Hi Jeannie,
Thanks for reaching out! Unfortunately at this time we do not have a version of the pattern without the ribbing. We chose the ribbing since it continues down from the leaf pattern, you could possibly try a brioche stitch or no-purl rib stitch but it would change the pattern quite a bit.
I hope this helps!
Gianna
What exactly is negative ease?
Hi Nicola,
Thanks for reaching out! Negative ease means that the finished garment measures smaller than the body in that specific area. For this pattern the negative ease is due to the nature of the rib stitch since when it is laid flat it will measure less than when it is stretched!
I hope this clarifies things!
All the best,
Gianna
Hello! Can you tell me how difficult this pattern is? It looks pretty complicated! I’ve been knitting a long time and am looking for something intermediate.
Hi Emily,
Thanks for reaching out! This sweater is knit top down in one piece and after you finish the the yoke section it is very simple and straight forward! There are a few more advanced techniques within the yoke section like German Short Rows and we do give both a chart and written instructions for the leaf pattern! I would say overall this is an intermediate pattern!
I hope this helps, happy knitting!
Gianna
I am making this sweater. I was wondering if the pattern is correct. I am on my last increase row before adding the sleeves. It says to knit the last 8 stitches is that correct? It will ruin the k- p repeat.
Thanks
Hi Nancy,
Thank you for reaching out and for bringing this to our attention! That is an error, you should continue to work in the established rib pattern for this 8 stitches, not knit them! We will get the pattern corrected as soon as possible!
Warm Regards,
Gianna
Hi, Could I adapt this to make for a man? And instead of ribbing – just do plain stockinette and then the patterns could be purls for the stitches that twist up to form the leaves? Thank you.
Hi Kieran,
I’m afraid these kinds of modifications would be outside the scope of support we can offer at this time. I would recommend checking out one of our stockinette stitch patterns instead of making these modifications as gauge will play a huge factor when altering the stitch pattern. You can find a full list of your sweater patterns here! I hope this helps!
Warmly,
Gavriella