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I am so excited to introduce the next beginner friendly crochet sweater pattern to the Tinderbox library - The Louise Pullover!

In this blog post I will give you a brief overview of the design and then share all my testers photos, including what size they made, what yarn they used and how much.

Like with any garment I do not recommend her for an absolute beginner - it is important for you to have a basic understanding of crochet stitches, how to get and maintain gauge, how to increase and decrease and how to read a crochet pattern. Not familiar with any of these things? Check out the educational section of my blog here!

What’s in a name?

The name Louise is a family name for me. My great great grandmother’s name was Louise and each generation since her has had at least one Louise in her honour, including myself and the newest addition to the family - my niece!

How it’s made

The Louise Pullover is made in 5 sections - front panel, back panel, each sleeve and the collar. Unlike most drop shoulder designs that use a darning/yarn needle and scrap yarn to seam together the pieces, this pattern uses a crochet hook and single crochet stitches to seam it all together. This gives the seam a little pop, elevating the very basic design to something slightly more fun!

To make your own Louise Pullover you will need:
• 2.75 mm crochet hook
• Approximately 1180(1225, 1350, 1485, 1635)(1800, 1980, 2180, 2400) metres of DK weight yarn
• Gauge square or measuring tape
• 4 stitch markers
• Yarn needle
• Scissors

Choosing your size

Like with the vast majority of my designs, I recommend you choose your size based on your actual bust measurement. I use the Craft Yarn Council women’s bust measurements at my standard measurement system. So if you have a 37 inch bust you should make the size medium to get a similar fit to my sample and the testers’ finished objects. Not sure which size you are? Check out page 2 of the pattern PDF or the Craft Yarn Council’s measurement page here.

Below are the finished measurements of each size. The goal is to pick the size that is 6-9 inches larger than your actual bust measurement for a similar fit to mine.

What yarn to use to make the Louise Pullover

For my sample I used The Frosted Stitch Nordic NSW DK base in the colourway Firn. I always used to be afraid of NSW, thinking it would be scratchy and irritating to my skin but I am happy to report this base is silky smooth and SUPER cozy! And has the added benefit of not stretching as much as a superwash base would. Christa, the genius behind The Frosted Stitch has some amazing dyed to order yarn available on her website - check it out!

If you’d like to know more about how to choose the perfect yarn I have a whole blog post covering yarn weights, fibres, ethics, colours and more available here.

Where to get the pattern

The pattern is available to download on my website and Ravelry via the links below:

https://www.ilovetinderbox.com/shop/louise-pullover

https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/louise-pullover-2

Modifications & Questions

As with all of my designs I want you to know you are welcome to make any and all modifications that you like - if you want it longer - make it longer, if you want to add waist shaping - go wild! With these styles of modifications for personal preference I am unable to help. But should you find yourself making the sweater and something isn’t working or fitting right please reach out to me via email at courtney@ilovetinderbox.com and I will help you out!

The Testers

Without further ado - here are the testers of the Louise Pullover. Testers used hook sizes ranging from 2.75mm through 4mm - so it is super important for you to make a gauge swatch and check your gauge regularly throughout making to have the perfect fit!