Thistle Song Sweater

Thistle Song Sweater — A Nordic Wildflower Design A Scandinavian-inspired raglan pullover with an allover diamond pattern and hand-embroidered thistle blooms. Worked in baby alpaca held double, with a ruffled wave border at hem and cuffs and a soft, oversized fit — this one's meant to be lived in. Sizes XS/S, M/L, XL (XS/S is the designer's original, fully test-worn; M/L and XL are graded from it and not yet test-knit — see note below) Finished Measurements Bust circumference, approx. 7.5 in (19 cm) positive ease built in for the intended oversized fit: XS/S: 42.5 in / 108 cm (fits 35 in / 89 cm bust) M/L: 46.9 in / 119 cm (fits 39.4 in / 100 cm bust) XL: 50.8 in / 129 cm (fits 43.3 in / 110 cm bust) Yarn Lang Yarns Baby Alpaca, held double throughout. Off-white (MC): approx. 10 balls (XS/S; scale up proportionally for M/L, XL) 145 Mauve (CC1): approx. 4–5 balls 1 ball each: 080 Viola, 098 Olive, 198 Dark Olive Melange, 110 Steel Blue, 133 Denim, 012 Baby Yellow (optional) Needles 5 mm (US 8) circular, for the body 3.5 mm (US 4) circular, for ribbing, borders, and transition rounds Gauge 15–16 sts / 4 in (10 cm) in stockinette stitch, washed and blocked. Row gauge should be measured separately. Notions Stitch markers, tapestry needle (for duplicate stitch embroidery), waste yarn Construction Worked in pieces from the bottom up: sleeves and body are each cast on separately with a ruffled wave border, then joined at the underarm with no extra cast-on stitches. From there, raglan decreases shape the yoke upward to the neck in one piece, finished with a folded, stretchy-bound-off neckband. Techniques Used Ruffled wave border (identical technique at both sleeve cuff and body hem; built from 10-stitch repeats — cast-on is a multiple of 10 for every size) Stranded colorwork in the round for the body's thistle/diamond motif, sometimes carrying three colors in a single row Duplicate stitch embroidery for the sleeve floral motif, worked after knitting is complete (the body motif can alternatively be embroidered instead of stranded, if preferred) Raglan yoke shaping with paired decreases at four transition points A Note on Sizing XS/S is the original, fully test-worn size. M/L and XL are graded up using standard ready-to-wear conventions at the same ease — the stitch math checks out, but neither has been test-knit yet. If you're knitting M/L or XL, I'd love your fit notes. Blocking This yarn grows 2–2.75 in (5–7 cm) in length after blocking — knit pieces shorter than your target finished length to allow for it. Block gently; do not over-stretch, or the finished piece will end up larger than planned.