Ainur Berkimbayeva For Purl Soho: Center Point Popover In Tulip Cotton
Ainur Berkimbayeva’s Center Point Popover breaks the sweater mold and creates something entirely unique, completely individual, and totally on point.
Inspired by Ainur’s love of geometry and some paperfolding experimentation, the Center Point Popover is an exciting tribute to shape and texture. You knit the front and back separately, from that striking center point out, then join the pieces and shape for the hips and shoulders. Choose a hood or not, long or short sleeves, and in the end, it’s exactly right for you.
Originally knit in our Linen Quill Worsted yarn, this time around we used our beautiful Tulip Cotton for a cooler, year-round version. The tidy spin of the yarn adds crisp definition to the lines that reverberate from the center of the piece, and its plant-fiber drape lends an easy elegance. Made in Italy of 100% organically grown, GOTS certified cotton, Tulip Cotton is a gorgeous choice for an extraordinary knit!
Designed for Purl Soho by Ainur Berkimbayeva.
Share your progress and connect with the community by tagging your pics with #PurlSoho, #PurlSohoBusyHands, #PurlSohoCenterPointPopover and #PurlSohoTulipCotton. We can’t wait to see what you make!
Materials
- Purl Soho’s Tulip Cotton, 100% organically grown cotton. Each skein is 131 yards/ 100 grams. We used the color Blue Spruce.
- Short Sleeve Without Hood: 7 (8, 9, 10, 11, 13) skeins; approximately 820 (950, 1105, 1250, 1400, 1580) yards required
- Short Sleeve With Hood: 10 (10, 12, 13, 14, 15) skeins; approximately 1185 (1310, 1470, 1615, 1765, 1945) yards required
- Long Sleeve Without Hood: 9 (10, 11, 12, 13, 14) skeins; approximately 1060 (1185, 1345, 1485, 1635, 1820) yards required
- Long Sleeve With Hood: 11 (12, 14, 15, 16, 17) skeins; approximately 1425 (1555, 1710, 1855, 2005, 2185) yards required
- US 4 (3.5 mm), 16-inch circular needles
- US 5 (3.75 mm), 16-inch circular needles
- US 5, 32-inch circular needles
- A set of US 5 double pointed needles
- Stitch markers, including one unique
- A Center Point Popover pattern
GAUGE
18 stitches and 36 rounds = 4 inches in pattern stitch (knit 2 rows, purl 2 rows) on larger needles, after blocking
SIZES
NOTE: Please visit our Understanding Ease + Selecting A Size tutorial for tips! Also note, this design is very roomy through the bust, so in this case, choose size based on hip measurement.
40½ (45¾, 51, 56½, 61¾, 67)
To fit actual hip circumference of approximately 31–36 (37–42, 43–47, 48–52, 53–57, 58–63) inches with approximately 4–9 inches of positive ease
- Finished Hip Circumference: 40½ (45¾, 51, 56½, 61¾, 67) inches
- Finished Length From Back Neck To Bottom Edge: 16¼ (17½, 19, 20¼, 21½, 23) inches
- Finished Short Sleeve Length From Underarm: 2¼ inches
- Finished Long Sleeve Length From Underarm: 13½ inches (adjustable)
Samples: The Tulip Cotton sweater shown here is size 51, worn with 7½ inches of ease.
PATTERN
The Center Point Popover is available for purchase as a PDF download only.
I LOVE the tailoring of the Popover, but am wondering if it could be made without the hood. Many thanks for your thoughts!
Hi Sara,
Thank you so much for reaching out to us. The hood on the Center Point Popover is picked up in the Neck Band section and knit directly onto the sweater, so it can be easily omitted from the sweater! For the hoodless version, you will just need to bind off the neck band stitches purlwise as indicated in the pattern.
I hope this helps, and please let us know if you have any other questions!
All the best,
Carly
Thank you, Carly! I see now that the description does mention choosing a hood less version–my apologies for not reading more carefully.
But I am happy to know it can be done as you describe 😊
I love this pattern, but I would prefer it to be longer or not cropped. Is it possible to simply knit it to fall at the hips?
Hi Cathy,
Thanks for writing in! To make this design longer, just continue the Hem section until the body of the sweater is as long as you want it to be. Hope this helps!
All the best,
Lili
OMG, the same question I have were asked and answered! Now I have to decide what color I want… maybe more than one?…
Hi Louise,
I’m so glad to hear that you were able to find the answer to your question right away! Let me know if you’d like any assistance in choosing a color (or colors)!
All the best,
Lili
I like the two toned version that is shown. How many of each color would it take to make that in the first two sizes?
Hi Wendy,
Thanks for reaching out. I’m afraid that we’ve only made this pattern in a single-color version! Where are you seeing a version that uses two colors? I can certainly try to estimate the yardage, but I’ll need a reference!
Thanks,
Lili