Good Night, Day For Purl Soho: Seed Pod Pullover
Big-stitch knits are quick as a wink to make, but in our haste, let’s not forget to create something spectacular!
Designer Tara-Lynn Morrison of the hand-knitting brand, Good Night, Day, is devoted to eye-catching jumbo-yarn knits, like this Seed Pod Pullover. Distinctive panels of double seed stitch and billowing sleeves bring character and whimsy and elevate this sweater from merely quick to also beautiful!
Knit from the top down with raglan shaping in the yoke, the Seed Pod Pullover is a super simple, straightforward pattern, no fuss and all fun!
And the yarn that makes it all possible is our gorgeous Gentle Giant. A single ply of 100% merino wool, Gentle Giant is as soft as it is speedy, which is to say, very! Thank you, Tara-Lynn for this wonderfully inspiring knit… Casting on now!
Designed for Purl Soho by Tara-Lynn Morrison of Good Night, Day.
Share your progress and connect with the community by tagging your pics with #PurlSoho, #PurlSohoBusyHands, #PurlSohoSeedPodPullover and #PurlSohoGentleGiant. We can’t wait to see what you make!
Materials
- 10 (10, 11, 12, 13) (15, 16, 17, 18) skeins of Purl Soho’s Gentle Giant, 100% merino wool. Each skein is approximately 48 yards/ 125 grams; approximately 440 (470, 505, 575, 620) (690, 755, 790, 850) yards required. We used the color White Peppercorn.
- A set of US 13 (9 mm) double pointed needles
- US 15 (10 mm), 24- or 32-inch circular needles, depending on size you are making
- A set of US 19 (15 mm) double pointed needles
- US 19, 24-, 32-, or 40-inch circular needles, depending on size you are making
- Stitch markers, including 2 different colors and one unique
- Stitch holders or scrap yarn
- A Seed Pod Pullover Pattern
GAUGE
7 stitches and 9 rounds = 4 inches in stockinette stitch on largest needles
SIZES
36½ (38¾, 43½, 45¾, 50¼) (54¾, 59½, 61¾, 66¼)
To fit actual chest circumference of 30–33 (32–35, 36–39, 40–43, 44–47) (48–51, 52–55, 56–59, 60–63) inches with approximately 3–6 inches of positive ease
Finished Chest Circumference: 36½ (38¾, 43½, 45¾, 50¼) (54¾, 59½, 61¾, 66¼) inches
Finished Length from Shoulder to Hem: 18¾ (20¼, 21¼, 21¾, 22¾) (23½, 24½, 24¾, 24¾) inches
Finished Length from Underarm to Hem: 8½ (8¾, 9¾, 9¾, 10¾) (11, 12, 12, 12) inches
Sample: The sweater shown here is size 38¾, worn with 4¾ inches of ease.
Pattern
The Seed Pod Pullover is available for purchase as a PDF download only.
Wondering what size the model is wearing in the pictures and what height/weight she is for reference?
Hi Jessica,
Thanks for writing in. We knit the sweater sample in a size 38¾, and it’s worn with 4¾ inches of ease. The sizes are based on your chest circumference, so you will not need to take height or weight into account when choosing the right size for yourself! Hope this helps.
All the best,
Lili
I love the sweater pattern and was wondering if I could substitute a lighter weight yarn so it’s not as bulky?
Hi Carole,
Thanks for reaching out! While it’s certainly possible to substitute a lighter yarn, it would take a lot of adjustments and reworking of the pattern. I’m afraid we just don’t have the time and resources to do that ourselves. However, if you’re feeling up to it, then I say go ahead! Alternatively, you could use a lighter yarn and knit a larger size than you normally would.
All the best,
Lili
I see photos of a cropped version, both online here and in the pattern–I purchased the pattern. But, I don’t see directions for the cropped version. Or am I missing that? Thanks! Would love to make the cropped version. 🙂
Hi Audrey,
Thanks for reaching out! This pattern only comes in one version, and all of the photos both online and in the pattern are of the one sweater, no different versions! It is a long-sleeved sweater that hits about the top of your hips (as you can see worn by the model!) If you like, you may be able to adjust the pattern a bit for a cropped version!
I hope this clears things up!
Gianna
wanting to purchase the pattern and yarn both. is the discount still available?
Hi Dorie,
Thanks for reaching out. The 15% off sale on all Purl Soho-brand products will last until the end of the day today! Hope this helps.
All the best,
Lili
Why are all the measurements in inches. Really difficult for us 😱
Hi Mieke,
Thank you so much for your comment. We value your input and I’ll be sure to pass this along to our design team. We use inches because we typically adhere to the US customary units for measurements, but you bring up a great point!
Thanks again for commenting!
All the best,
Cat
Hello. I’m ready to start the pick up and knit section of the pattern for the sleeves, but I really don’t understand the instructions…can you share in more detail what it means for everything in this step past slipping the stitches back into the 19 needles?
Hi Elizabeth,
Thanks for writing in. After you slip the sleeve stitches back onto your needles, you’ll first need to locate the center of the underarm. Specifically, this is the edge you created when you worked the backwards loop cast-on in the Divide Body + Sleeves section! Then, joining your yarn in, pick up the final half (which are on the left side) of the underarm stitches, knit across the live sleeve stitches, and finally, pick up the first half (which are on the right side) of the underarm stitches. If picking up stitches is a duanting technique, then I would highly recommend taking a look through our Picking Up Stitches tutorial! I hope this helps clarify things.
All the best,
Lili
Hello! I adore this pattern but was wondering if you think it could be knit with Woolly Wool? Thanks so much ❤️
Hi Megan,
Thanks for writing in, and I’m glad you’re interested in making this pullover! Woolly Wool would work very nicely. But as always, we recommend making a gauge swatch before starting a project to be sure you’re working with the right needles, especially when substituting yarns. If this is daunting, I’d recommend checking out a tutorial called All About Gauge, which covers some incredibly useful information. Hope this helps!
All the best,
Lili
This is certainly the most expensive sweater I’ve ever knit, but I am so pleased with the result and more importantly so is my daughter! Why knit something that looks like something you could get at any chain store? This is unique, cute as can be, interesting, cushy and fashionable. The yarn was a delight to knit with, the pattern easy to follow. Quick to knit up for Christmas! Thank you!
Hi, hope you can help me. I’m at the first Yoke Increase Round when it reads to repeat the stitches in between the ** 2 more times (for a total of 3, right?). I knitted the part in between the ** twice, but if I knit it one more time, I will knit on top of the box stitch panel and disrupt the panel – is that expected? Thank you
I think there is a missing raglan marker, which should be added at the end of the yoke setup.
Hi Leo,
The final raglan marker is actually the same one as the end of round marker! So it should already be there before you work the set-up round for the yoke.
All the best,
Lili
Hi Leo,
Thanks for reaching out. After completing the instructions between the asterisks three total times, you should end up back at the beginning of the round! The first time you work through these instructions, it’s for one sleeve, the second time, you’ll be knitting across the back of the sweater, and the third time is for the other sleeve. I hope this helps clarify things!
All the best,
Lili
Dear Purl Soho
I bought the pattern and am ready to start knitting 😀 but it’s the first time I encounter instructions with something like “repeat for 1(-,-,-) round” so am not sure if for my size I knit what’s before the parenthesis or not. Sometimes there is a zero sometimes there is a stitch count with a hyphen in parenthesis so a bit confused! 😜
Thank you for a wonderful pattern (can’t wait to begin) and your help!
Wishing you a nice day
Lula
Hi Lula,
Thanks for writing in! If you encounter a – in place of the size you are making, that means you don’t work that round and you go onto the next row!
I hope this helps, happy knitting!
Gianna
Hi Gianna
Thank you so much for clarifying this for me. Starting my sweater now! 🧶🥳🤩
Have a nice day and happy knitting!
I am wondering whether you have suggestions for washing/blocking. I washed in Eucalan and blocked by “squishing” yarn to keep it from stretching; it’s still damp but the yarn currently lacks the dimension/texture it had while I was working it up. Thanks!
Hi Lynn,
Thanks for reaching out. I would recommend letting your pullover dry completely and then seeing how the yarn looks after that! If it still seems to fall flat, then it would be helpful if you can email photos of it to us at customerservice@purlsoho.com. That way, we can more easily visualize what you’re noticing and give more specific advice!
All the best,
Lili
Hi – I knit this sweater in ochre and loved the result! I’m about to knit a second one in lavender and am considering knitting with needles one step down, wanting to get a denser knit, and plan to follow the pattern for a larger size to compensate for the smaller needles. (In other words I will follow the pattern for the 43 1/2 chest, on smaller needles, hoping for the result to be closer to 38 3/4 chest)… Is this a foolish or wrongheaded approach? Since it’s knit top-down I figure I can try on as I go.
Hi Colleen,
Thanks for writing in. That’s a great idea and exactly how I’d go about it! I would recommend knitting up a gauge swatch to see exactly what your gauge is with the smaller needles. Once you know how many stitches per inch you’re getting, you can multiply that number by the number of stitches around the chest of size 43 1/2. The resulting number should end up closer to 38 3/4 inches, but it’s always good to double check before starting the project! Hope this helps.
All the best,
Lili
Hi there, before I buy this pattern I would like to know if I can knit it in such a way that the front body is in stockinette like the back. I only want the seed pod pattern to be on the sleeves. Hopefully this is possible by substituting stockinette stitches for the pattern section. Thanks!
Hi Michelle!
Thank you for your question! Yes, the pattern can be adjusted so that the seed pod design is only on the sleeves, substituting stockinette stitch for the front body design.
I hope this helps!
All the best,
Margaret
Hi! I love the look of this sweater but I don’t love sweaters that hit at the hip. How much extra yarn would I need to purchase if I am wanting to make size 36.5 (10) about 3-4″ longer? I’m relatively new to knitting, but I assume I that instead of moving on to the ribbing part at the bottom I would just repeat the pattern however many times was needed to get the length I want; is that correct?
Hi Blyss,
Thanks for reaching out! I’d recommend purchasing just one more skein if you want to make the sweater 3-4″ longer. And yes! You have exactly the right idea. Just continue the body in pattern until it’s that much longer before beginning the ribbing.
All the best,
Lili
Hello,
Thanks for all the photos of the pattern. It looks great on the model: tempting.
The photo that shows the sweater flat on a surface without the model indicates the length of the body below the raglan armhole is very short.
Based on my experience with other such designs, I wonder how that garment behaves when we raise our arms high. Does the ribbing pop up over the bust and expose the underboob?
That’s not a look I want to knit. So I’d like to be sure before investing the time & money. If anyone at Purl Soho has a sample nearby to test, I’d be grateful to hear how it behaves when a person raises her arms high, either both of arms or one of them, as we might while dancing or performing everyday teaching and bending tasks.
I’m trying right now to understand the pros & cons of top-down construction, and this fit problem seems to be a definite drawback. I came to knitting as an experienced sewer, so seaming together knitted pieces does feel like a big unnecessary chore to me. I’m trying to figure out when top-down is best. And when it falls short of the goal for a garment type.
Thanks in advance!
Hi Nancy,
Thanks for reaching out, and I completely understand needing a better idea of the fit of a sweater before beginning the project! This sweater is definitely designed with a cropped fit, so it probably will ride up if you raise your arms. But the great thing about top-down construction is that this aspect is super easy to modify! If you’d like to extend the length of the body, just continue working the instructions for the body until it’s exactly as long as you’d want. I’d just recommend purchasing an extra skein of yarn to ensure that you don’t run out, since you’re adding fabric to the design!
All the best,
Lili
Hello, I can’t seem to find any details about the difficulty of this knit. I’ve made a variety of scarves and hats but this would be my first sweater. It sure is lovely, just wondering if it would be a good one to try out for my first.
Hi Morgan,
Thanks for writing in! I think this would be a really fun first sweater project! This project is knit from the top-down with raglan shaping, so there’s no seaming involved! The jumbo yarn also means that this sweater will knit up quickly. I hope this helps!
All the best,
Cat
Would you please give me the sizes for the pattern in US Sizes?
Thank you
Hi Hillary,
Thanks for reaching out! No problem, the Seed Pod Pullover is available in the following sizes: 36½ (38¾, 43½, 45¾, 50¼) (54¾, 59½, 61¾, 66¼)
to fit an actual chest circumference of 30–33 (32–35, 36–39, 40–43, 44–47) (48–51, 52–55, 56–59, 60–63) inches with approximately 3–6 inches of positive ease. The finished project chest circumferences are: 36½ (38¾, 43½, 45¾, 50¼) (54¾, 59½, 61¾, 66¼) inches. I hope this helps!
All the best,
Cat
Holy moly this is expensive! With even the smallest size 10 skeins for this pattern is $240! I sadly cannot spend that on this knit despite the fact that it looks gorgeous and looks to be a good first sweater project (I’ve done several scarves/hats/earwraps and feel ready for an “easier” sweater). Is there a more price conscious yarn you could recommend? Thank you!
Hi Jennifer,
We totally understand that sometimes our yarn suggestions are more of an inspiration than a reality for many people. We are always happy to recommend less expensive (but still beautiful!) alternatives. In this case, we suggest that you try Woolly Wool, which comes in 200g (109yd) skeins, making each skein more cost-effective than a skein of Gentle Giant.
However, Woolly Wool is sadly being discontinued, so we recommend picking that up while supplies last! Alternatively, if you’d like to pick up yarn from your local craft store instead, then I’d recommend finding another jumbo weight yarn. The gauge for this pattern is 7 stitches and 9 rounds = 4 inches in stockinette stitch on largest needles, so you can knit up a gauge swatch to determine what needles would be best to use. But in general, most jumbo weight yarns should work!
Thank you again for asking. We’re sure that lots of other readers will thank you, too!
All the best,
Lili
Hello, I am working size 45.75, am at the dividing sleeves part. My swatch was a slightly tighter gauge with 8st and 10r over 4″. The work is turning out quite small. Do you think I could cast on 6 stitches instead of 4 to make the sleeves larger?
I am debating unpicking the whole project, but hoping I might achieve more ease by blocking.
Hi Lucie,
Thanks for reaching out about this! That’s a great solution to a tight gauge–you can definitely cast on extra stitches for the underarms, since that will increase the circumference of the body. Just remember to pick up the extra stitches as well, once you start the sleeves! And you should also definitely be able to get some more ease through blocking!
All the best,
Lili
This is a great sweater but I find the sleeves overwhelming. I’d like to make this with sleeves that have a fair amount of ease, but with a more standard shape. Thoughts?
Claire Johnson
Hi Claire,
Thanks for reaching out. If you omit the box stitch portion of the sleeves, and just knit in plain stockinette stitch, that will probably result in a look that you prefer! The sleeves will still have a ton of ease, since there are no decreases at all. Hope this helps!
All the best,
Lili
per the instructions, it says to place three raglan markers but there really should be four? I see above that you indicated that the start of round marker is actually one of the raglan markers?
thank you
Hi Katie,
Thank you for writing in! That is correct, you will have 4 raglan markers total! We always recommend your beginning of round marker be unique from the others so that you can easily identify where your rounds begin and end! I hope this helps but please let me know if you have any other questions!
Happy knitting,
Gavriella