The Guilloche Pullover: Yarn Selection Guide
The Guilloche Pullover original pattern sample
Folklore Yarns Traditions, Fossil colourway
As an independent knitting pattern designer, it is important for me to distinguish my role from that of a yarn salesperson. Regardless of what yarn I choose to use for sample garments, my patterns are never written ‘for’ a specific yarn; they are designed to work with any yarn that suits the pattern’s gauge.
The obvious benefit of this approach is inclusivity. Knitters all over the world, and with different budgets, can choose whatever yarns suit their preferences. But the drawback is that sometimes too much choice can lead to uncertainty and confusion.
This is particularly true with a pattern like the Guilloche Pullover, where the type of yarn you use will determine how the sweater drapes, feels, fits, and even looks. For that reason, and considering we are getting ready for the Guilloche-Along, I have put together a guideline.
Decide what kind of sweater you would like your Guilloche Pullover to be. Then refer to the suggestions below.
The Traditional Irish Cable Sweater
A traditional Irish cable sweater is as much about the yarn as it is about the design. These sweaters were intended to be fairly dense, hard-wearing, windproof and water resistant - qualities that are achieved with a heavy, resilient yarn that comes from the fleeces of mountain sheep raised in the same type of cold, wet, and windy environment as the sweaters will be worn in, and spun in a way conducive to withstanding years of active wear. Donegal tweed is the yarn I opted for, because it is local to me, familiar to work with, and I love the colour pallet. But what you want to look for in general is: an Aran-weight (160-190 meters per 100g), minimally processed, 100% wool with high mountain fleece content.
Some possibilities for this category:
Folklore Yarns Traditions (this is the yarn in my samples)
Studio Donegal Aran Tweed
Kerry Woollen Mills Aran
JC Rennie (Scottish) Aran
The Light & Airy Cable Sweater
Not everybody needs their cable sweater to be a stiff, windproof coat of armour. There is something to be said about the elegance of the type of floaty, lightweight sweaters that are currently trending. One way to achieve this type of sweater is to work with a yarn such as unspun wool or cashmere, both of which are intended to be worked ‘above gauge’ (This means that while, in meterage, the yarn is technically DK weight or lighter, it can - or even should - be worked at a gauge normally used with Aran weight yarns). Another possibility is to hold together a fingering-weight yarn (for example, commercial sock yarn) with a lace-weight mohair. The resulting blend is the meterage equivalent of a light-DK, but suitable for working at an Aran-weight gauge.
Some possibilities for this category:
Honer och Eir Nutiden (held double)
Drops Flora + Drops Kid Silk (1 strand of each held together)
Yarntelier Cashmere (1 strand Gilli & 1 strand Lace held together)
The Soft, But Structured Cable Sweater
If you like the structure and the cable definition of the traditional Irish cable sweater, but can’t cope with the ‘rustic’ nature of traditional Irish yarn, an Aran-weight merino, BFL (Blue Faced Leicester), or similarly soft wool blend is a good alternative. Your sweater will not be as warm or as hard-wearing as a traditional Irish jumper, but it will be extremely soft, considerably more stretchy (less stiff), and it will show off the cables just as brilliantly.
Some possibilities for this category:
West Yorkshire Spinners BFL or Shetland Croft
Jill Draper Makes Stuff Empire
Neighbourhood Fibre Co Organic Merino
Knitpicks Wool of the Andes Worsted
The Machine-Washable Cable Sweater
This one is the same as the previous category, but with the added requirement of being low maintenance - the sort of sweater that you can throw in the washing machine after a muddy hike! These days it’s nearly easier to find a superwash merino than a non-super wash one. And while Aran-weight merino yarns are less common, consider combining two strands of fingering-to-sport yarn instead, such as commercial sock yarns. This makes the possibilities more or less limitless. If this is the type of sweater you want and you do not live in a particularly cold climate, consider also using an Aran-weight cotton or linen yarn.
Some possibilities for this category:
Drops Big Merino
Cascade 220 Superwash Aran
Opal Uni-Colour Sock Yarn (held double)
Drops Fabel (held double)
Rico Creative Cotton Aran
Needless to say, the linked possibilities are not meant to be exhaustive; they are only some example ideas to get you thinking. Also, just to state this clearly: these are not affiliated links (I do not benefit financially if you purchase); I do not use affiliate links on this website.
I hope this guideline has been helpful for those considering knitting the Guilloche Pullover.
The Guilloche-Along starts on the 16th of September.
More information here!
