The Moby Sweater by PetiteKnit uses a combination of textures and cables to make this beautiful, classic sweater. I already knit the Moby mini version for my niece, and I wanted to knit one for myself. Keep reading for my experience, plus my tips for knitting the Moby Sweater.
MOBY SWEATER
The Moby Sweater is a beautiful mix of textures and cables. It’s slightly oversized with 6-8″ of positive ease. The Moby Sweater is worked top-down, starting at the back yoke. It uses German short row shaping for the shoulders and then is joined to work the front yoke. The front and back are joined in the round, and then worked straight to the hem. Stitches are picked up at the arm and then worked in pattern with slight decreasing throughout the sleeve. The folded over collar is picked up and knit in ribbing, and closed by knitting together with the pick up edge.
CHOOSING YARN
The Moby Sweater uses a DK weight yarn held together with a lace weight mohair. The pattern gives a few recommendations of what yarn to use. I wanted to use the recommended yarn, but I couldn’t find the quantities I needed or the colors I wanted.
Yarnsub + Ravelry
If I’m not sure about what yarn to use, I usually start with yarnsub.com to find yarns that are similar to the recommended yarn. I like yarnsub because it’ll list out the areas that the yarn is similar or different to the recommended yarn. It lists out similarities in texture/gauge/fiber/density/etc. It’s helpful for me to consider what characteristics I want in my project.
I also like to look through others’ completed projects on Ravelry and see what yarn they used. Ravelry has a “yarn ideas” tab on each pattern detail page that groups the yarns that others have used in their projects. It’s helpful to see what yarns are popular or just get more ideas for substitutions.
I researched different yarn options and found a lot of possibilities, but because the pattern uses a yarn + mohair, I had some issues. Either I couldn’t find the quantities I needed in the matching yarn or mohair, or there wasn’t an exact match mohair pair. I was concerned that the color combination could clash since I was shopping online. Of course, you only need a DK yarn that meets pattern gauge, but I wanted the additional mohair for the glow and gentle marl.
Even though mohair is so thin, it can really impact the overall color of a fabric. When I knit my Tundra Jumper, I was surprised how much of an impact a lace weight yarn could make. I’m sure this process would have been easier if I went into an actual yarn store vs. trying to find color matches online.
YARN
Ultimately I decided to use Knitting for Olive Heavy Merino because a few others had used it and it looked really pretty. I was able to find the quantitates I needed with a similar color mohair.
Because I was knitting the size M Moby Sweater, I ordered 6 balls of the Soft Silk Mohair in “Oat” and 11 balls of the Heavy Merino in “Oatmeal”. I might have been able to get away with just 10 balls of the Heavy Merino, but I wanted to be sure I had enough after swatching and everything.
Swatching
The Moby Sweater gauge is 20 sts x 28 rows = 4″ x 4″ in texture pattern using US 6 needles. The pattern doesn’t specify what the texture pattern swatch should be so I did a little sample of almost everything. I knit the twisted stitch columns, the cable, and the mock cables in my swatch. The gauge swatch is a great way to see how your yarns work together and good practice for working the pattern.
I washed the swatch and pinned it to my blocking square to dry. I got gauge on the mock cable section, but I was a little off on the actual cable — 21 sts x 28 rows. Since everything else was spot on with gauge, I would just need to block my cable part a little more aggressively to get the cable to open up a more to meet gauge in that section.
I was really happy with that and ready to cast on my sweater! I could have probably gotten gauge with just the heavy merino. I’m never sure how much weight a lace weight mohair actually adds, but I love that glowy halo of fluff.
Knitting for Olive
I really like the look of the mohair halo, but I know it’s not for everyone. I knit the Favo Sweater held together with a strand of mohair and really liked the feel and drape. The fluff just felt extra special so I knew that’s what I wanted to use for this Moby Sweater.
This Knitting for Olive yarn is really beautiful; it’s a tiny bit rustic but the fabric feels soft and nice. I love the color — it’s like a slightly toasted, warm gray; I guess “oatmeal” color. In some lighting, it looks more warm brown-gray; in others it looks more light, cool gray. The core of the mohair is lighter than the heavy merino, so the marl is noticeable up close. But the heavy merino is slightly heathered already, so the mohair blends pretty well.
CAST ON + SHORT ROWS
I used my US 6 needles on a 22″ cable to cast on with the German twisted cast on. The back yoke on this sweater is really unique and fun to knit. I like how the pattern is charted and how the yoke starts to grow.
It definitely helped that I knit the Moby Mini for my niece before. I was familiar with the pattern already and kind of knew what to expect. Not all of the double moss stitch is charted in the adult Moby pattern which confused me for a second since I still had a lot of turning stitches left to work. The chart explains that not all the stitches are shown, but I didn’t see that right away.
To complete the back yoke, the pattern has you work the next chart until the back measures a certain length for each size. Since I had taken my gauge swatch, I knew 28 rows equaled 4″. I just did the math to figure out how many rows I needed to knit in order to get to the required length. It takes a lot of the guesswork out when the pattern is charted/numbered since you’re already counting rows as you work the charts.
SHOULDERS
The pattern explains picking up stitches for the shoulders and references a video on the petiteknit website, but the video isn’t linked within the pattern. Here’s the video:
I found this video helpful to see the pick up spot for the twisted stitches, and as a reminder to ensure that the pattern aligns on the WS.
Left Shoulder
I used my 14″ cable to pick up stitches along the left shoulder, but it wasn’t unto I got to the WS that I saw that the knit columns (purl columns on the RS) weren’t lining up as nicely. I ripped back and got a nicer pick up the second time.
Right Shoulder
With the right shoulder pick up, I noticed that the garter bumps in between the twisted stitch columns weren’t looking right. I ripped back and saw that the pick up wasn’t the problem; I knit stockinette instead of one of the garter rows. I was pretty bummed; I wanted this sweater to be *perfect*. The error was actually at the cast on edge (not at the shoulder pick up), so I couldn’t even drop down and fix it.
I examined the WS row of the shoulder and I could see the extra purl row (which confirms the stockinette look on the RS). So I guess I just messed up both of the right shoulder columns on the right side as I was establishing the pattern and working the short rows. I considered dropping down to try to fix it (69+ rows) once I joined the front and back in the round.
Then I saw the green Moby sweater at the end of her YouTube video and hers has a similar look. So I decided to not worry too much about it. Plus, it’s kind of in the back of the sweater and near the seam, so it’s in the “best” possible spot. 🫠
FRONT
I used a 30″ cable to knit through both shoulder panels, casting on the stitches in between to join the two. All of the sudden, my Moby Sweater was coming together. I was super happy with how it was looking.
Dropped Mohair Stitch
Then I noticed a dropped stitch of mohair in one of the cables. 🙁 Knitting with a strand of mohair can be tricky, especially when manipulating the stitches for the cables, mock cables, and twisted stitch columns. It wasn’t the first time I’d dropped a mohair stitch, but I usually caught it on the next row — this time I noticed it 11 rows down.
I knew how to drop down and fix cables from knitting my Honeycomb Aran Sweater, so I worked over to where the dropped stitch was and dropped down. I used my US5 DPNs to pick up the stitches and work them back up. It’s a little easier to use a smaller needle in this part because the yarn is so short. Once I worked a row, I’d pull the stitches individually to even out the tension. The fix was pretty easy, but I was nervous that there might have been other secret dropped mohair stitches. I did an inspection front and back, and everything looked good!
Charted Pattern
I loved working a charted pattern, and seeing exactly how everything was supposed to line up. I use my iPad Air to work all my knitting patterns. It’s so convenient because I can highlight/erase rows to track my place, make notes to myself, zoom in if a chart/text is too small, and I can look up a new technique on YouTube in another window if I need help.
The pattern has you finish the Front Panel chart and then work the repeats until 10 rows longer than the Back Panel. I had an issue with this direction when I knit the Moby Sweater Mini for my niece, but no issues this time. Once the Front Panel is 10 rows longer than the back, the stitch patterns should be in the same place so that they line up when joining in the round.
BODY
I insert a lifeline through the front and back panels before joining in the round. I like to have a safety net in case something crazy happens, but hopefully I never need to use it.
I knit through the front panel then through the back to join in the round with my same 30″ cable. It’s slightly tricky to continue the pattern in the round because there is no longer a WS of the work. You just read through the charts from right to left for each round. So it’s not any more difficult, but little things (like ptbl/purling on the WS) don’t apply like when working the panels flat. Just something to be mindful of as you get used to reading the charts for working in the round.
The pattern instructs you to work the repeats until the sweater measures the required length for your size. The pattern makes a note to “stretch sweater to correct width” first so that you get an accurate length measurement. I used my gauge math again to help me calculate which row I needed to work to. Since I took gauge from a swatch knit flat, it’s possible that my gauge in the round could be different.
Cable Call Out
I noticed that some of my cables sometimes looked a little off. Like the s-shape wasn’t as crisp in some of the cables and they appeared to “bubble” in a weird way. I hoped that this would sort itself out with blocking, but I noticed it in some of the other Moby Sweater project pages as well.
I started searching online for how I could fix these cables and came across some pages on the knitting subreddit that had this exact same issue. Apparently, this issue with the cable can happen when you use a cable needle that is smaller than your working needles.
I was using a smaller cable needle, and I never thought that that could affect the cable since I still knit from it using my regular US 6 needles. But once I switched to my larger cable needle, I no longer had that issue!
These are some of the posts that helped me: post 1, post 2, post 3; although I’m no longer using reddit since they’ve changed their API pricing which forced third party apps like the one I used, Apollo, to shut down.
Try On Check
I connected my 30″ cable with a spare 50″ cable I had so that I could try on the sweater. The sweater looked great but it’s a little hard to get a true idea of the fit because it wasn’t blocked. I mostly was looking at the length and just getting an idea of what it could look like when blocked.
Hem + Italian Bind Off
I knit the pattern until I reached length I calculated from my gauge math. The sweater looked good after trying it on, but I knew that it would also grow/even out with blocking.
I switched to my US 4 needles and started to work the ribbing. The pattern recommended to knit until 3.25″ of ribbing before knitting the tubular rows. That seemed a little long for me, so I tried it on again and decided to knit until 7cm.
When I finished the tubular set up rows, I cut the mohair strand. I didn’t want to mess with it getting tangled or bunched up while working the Italian bind off. I had recently finished the tabs on my Honey Purse, so I was familiar with the bind off directions. This video is super clear in showing the steps, and in closing the gap at the end:
I was getting really excited about my sweater. The Moby sweater finishes are so polished and professional-looking.
SLEEVES
Left Sleeve
I placed some removable stitch markers along the left sleeve pick up edge to mark the halfway point and the quarter points. The stitch markers are a good guide to help you evenly pick up stitches.
I used my US 6 needles on an 8″ cable to pick up the left sleeve stitches. It was easier to work the sleeve over a small circumference compared to the body. The pattern was easy to memorize and work through the decrease rows.
I did need to swap my needles down from the 3″ shorties to the 2″ shorties as I got close to the final decreases. I don’t really like working with such short needles because I don’t have a lot of room to grip. But I usually prefer knitting with circular needles than with DPNs. Thankfully, I only had two more pattern repeats once the decreases were done before moving to the cuff.
After trying on the sweater again to get an idea of how long I wanted the cuff to be, I was worried because I knew the sweater would grow with blocking, and the sleeve was already close to a good length. I decided to knit the cuff to 2″ before knitting the tubular set-up rows.
I knit the Italian bind off with the merino and mohair held together since it wasn’t that many stitches. This bind off is rounded and so polished; I really love the look!
Right Sleeve
My right sleeve pick up was a little trickier because of the shoulder seam. Somehow I found it more stiff to pick up around there. It was more difficult to make sure I was getting even stitches picked up because the fabric was more gathered in that area.
I picked up all my stitches and knit a few rows before deciding to rip back and try again. My second attempt gave a much better pick up and everything looked good.
I felt like the second sleeve went a lot faster because I used one 3″ needle and one 2″ needle on a 6 inch cable once the decreases made the circumference too small. Having one longer needle gave me the grip I like, while the shorter needle and cable helped the circumference feel comfortable.
I completed the right sleeve like the left — knitting to 17.25″ in pattern (based on gauge math), a 2″ cuff, and then the tubular set up rows and bind off.
NECK BAND
Pick Up
The collar is picked up and knit in ribbing on US 2.5 needles. My regular set of interchangeable needles doesn’t have a US 2.5, but my mini set does. I used the US 2.5 mini needles on a 14″ mini cable to pick up my stitches.
Getting a good pick up on the neck band was really important for me. I didn’t want there to be any holes and I wanted the stitches to be even. I mapped out a little sketch of how many stitches I needed to pick up in each area of the neck, and I placed stitch markers.
There was a knot in my last ball of Heavy Merino while knitting the collar, so I cut it out, left long tails, and then joined it again as if I was changing balls. I followed the pattern as written.
Folded Collar
When it was time to fold over the collar and bind off, I referenced this video:
The video mentions to weave in any ends before folding/binding off so that they aren’t just loose inside the collar. I used my darning needle to just weave the ends straight across a few stitches. My tails were really long, so I thought that weaving in straight across over a lot of stitches would be secure enough (vs weaving down and up and then trimming off the excess).
I used my larger cable needle to knit a little looser bind off. I was nervous that if I used my US 2.5 needles, the neck would have been too tight for my head to get through.
Once I was done with the collar, I was excited to start blocking. But looking at the collar, I could see that the woven in ends were visible in a few areas. I used a crochet hook to reach up from the back and pull the ends through. I didn’t want to block it like that, so I decided to figure out what to do with the tails after blocking.
FINISHING
Weave-In Experiment
I mostly knit shawls these days, and with so many switching colors, it’s just easier to weave in the ends as I go. Then I will wash and block; then once it’s dry, I’ll trim off the ends. But with my Moby sweater, I didn’t weave in any ends as I knit.
My theory was that weaving in as I went would create a change in my gauge somehow. It’s always a little bulky working the row after a weave-in-as-you-go round. I wanted to finish the sweater and block it so that it could bloom and even out my tension, and then I could secure the ends once it dried.
Washing
To block my sweater, I added some soap and cold water to my blocking tub. I submerged the Moby Sweater in the water and let it sit in there for 30+ minutes. I wanted it to have time to absorb all the water so it could fully bloom.
When I removed it, the water was an opaque brown color. I was really surprised at how dark the water was since I didn’t think the yarn was very dark and I didn’t expect it to bleed at all.
I squeezed as much water out as I could by just gently gripping it with my hands. The sweater was getting super heavy because it was full of water, and I didn’t want it to stretch out in a way I didn’t want. So once I got out as much water as I could by hand, I transferred the sweater over to a big beach towel. I gently rolled it up in the towel and pressed the water out, and then repeated the process with a second towel.
Blocking
I set out my blocking boards and laid out my sweater. It already felt pretty dry — just slightly damp and I was hopeful that it wouldn’t take too long to dry.
I used my blocking pins to help stretch out the cable pattern and open up all the purl columns.
Weaving in Ends
I’m not sure it made any difference, waiting to weave in the ends after blocking vs if I had done it along the way or even after I finished knitting but before blocking.
It definitely was “easier” to weave in the ends after blocking — the tails were smooth and the stitches were all relaxed. It was easy to find the stitches I wanted to catch. I mostly just wanted to avoid the WS row bulk after weaving in as you go, and this method definitely accomplished that, but I’m not sure there are any other benefits. It was an interesting experiment though.
I’ve read that you can weave and block in any order. I’ve seen some people say that weaving in before blocking (either as you go, or after the object is knit) can help the tails “fuse” into place during the blocking process. So everything would end up being more secure since the tails could bloom and lock into place during the drying. That seems to make sense especially with a non-super wash yarn.
MOBY SWEATER TIPS
These are just some tips that would have/did help me, and maybe they can help you!
Tip 1: Swatch
Knit a swatch. Yes, it’s good to check gauge, but your swatch will also help you practice reading the charts/working the stitches, and tell you if you like the color/fabric.
Tip 2: Clean Up The Pattern
Highlight relevant information/remove info you don’t need. I went through the pattern on my iPad and highlighted all the counts for my size, and scribbled out any charts I wouldn’t need. This pattern is considered 5/5 difficulty; make it easier by reading through the pattern and cleaning up the information.
Tip 3: Check Your Lighting
Make sure you have good lighting if you are knitting with a mohair. It’s easy to accidentally drop a stitch of mohair and it’s a bummer to have to drop down and rescue it.
Tip 4: Use a Similar Size Cable Needle
Use a cable needle or DPN that is close to the same size as your working needles to prevent “bubbles”/wonky cables.
Tip 5: Use Stitch Markers
Place stitch markers between the different cable motifs to make it easier to keep track of the pattern. I placed markers around each ladder section, each cable section, and the mock cable section.
MOBY SWEATER | FINAL THOUGHTS
This sweater was a lot of fun to knit. I found the pattern easy to follow, but I also had previously knit the mini version for my niece so I was familiar with the design.
I love the details and finishes on the Moby Sweater. It looks so polished and professional; definitely “custom/heirloom” vibes.
The fit is really nice and it’s definitely warm. Luckily I was able to wear it some before it starts to get too hot.
Thanks so much for reading and I hope this post helps you with your knitting! Check out my Ravelry to see my other projects and what I’m working on next.
