This year, I really wanted to challenge myself with my knitting and learn some new techniques. I planned for a few projects that looked challenging, but also really fun to knit and wear/use. I think the project that I was most excited about was this Marled Magic Sweater by Stephen West. This sweater was so much fun to make and I am so happy with how it turned out; here’s my knitting experience:
What really drew me to this sweater were the different textures and stitches. I had been seeing cute pictures of brioche knitting on instagram and searched Ravelry for a pattern. I eventually found some bright, fun patterns with brioche by Stephen West and loved that this sweater used the marling technique (which I had just used in my Le Pouf sweater). I bought the pattern and began obsessing over it studying it, and thinking about what I wanted mine to look like.
YARN
I am still really new to knitting so whenever I’ve knit a project, I buy yarn specifically for that project; I don’t have a stash. On one hand, I really like it that way — I get to carefully tailor my yarn to each project and each purchase is intentional. But on the other hand, I low key wish I had a small stash of beautiful yarns to just grab whenever I’m ready to start something new. This Marled Magic Sweater is meant to be a “stash buster” — a way for you to just use up the scraps of leftover yarn from other projects, but I specifically ordered a beautiful rainbow of colors from @sweetnesting.
PREPARATION
Brioche
I had learned two-color brioche and was excited to use it with this sweater, but I realized that the pattern only calls for one-color brioche. While I was waiting for my yarn order to arrive, I did a small test knit just to see how I liked the one-color brioche. One-color brioche is nice; it’s just as squishy and pretty, but to me, two-color brioche is more eye-catching and next level. I knew that I wanted to use two-color brioche in my Marled Magic Sweater. So I did a small test knit with two-color brioche, but something was wrong with the decrease edge and it looked really bad.
If you’re interested in two-color brioche knitting flat, this is the video that taught me. I really liked how she explains what to look for so you know what row you’re on, and the mental directions she uses to keep her on track.
I was annoyed and frustrated that my decrease edge wasn’t working right, so I went through Ravelry to see if anyone left any notes on how they modified their brioche section to be two-color, but I couldn’t find anything. I discovered the Marled Magic Shawl KAL forum from a couple of years ago and went through literally every post for section 3 to see if there were any instructions. I did find a couple of comments but nothing specific, and the one that I did find seemed to be resulting in my same wonky decrease edge. It was like everyone who was skilled enough to know two-color brioche didn’t think it was a big enough deal to comment on it. I thought I’d have to settle with the one-color brioche, but finally, after much trial and error, I finally figured it out!
Section 3 brioche modification:
To modify Section 3 from one-color to two-color brioche:
Do set-up rows in the Contrast Color as stated in the pattern. Do Row 3 in the Main Color as stated in the pattern; slide stitches.
Row 4 (RS/Contrast Color): K1 (S1YO, BrP) until last two stitches, S1YO, S1WYIF. Turn Work
Row 5 (WS/Main Color): K1, BrP (S1YO, BrP) until last stitch, S1WYIF. Slide Stitches
Row 6 (WS/ Main Color): K1, (S1YO, BrK) until last two stitches, S1YO, K1
I really hope these instructions help you if you’re making the same modification. 🙂
NOTE: I didn’t use the one-color brioche method, and I had some difficulty lining up my panels in Section 14 that I think resulted from this modification.
Yarn Winding + Extras
When my yarn order arrived, I was tempted to start knitting as soon as possible, but I waited to wind each skein into center-pull balls first. I wanted to give myself the option of each color rather than having to pause knitting to wind the yarn. Winding by hand can take some time, but I really like to spend that extra time with my yarn and enjoy it even more. Plus, I feel like you get a more uniform/tighter ball by hand versus using a yarn winder. I did end up ordering a yarn swift, but it didn’t arrive until I’d finished winding. I’ll definitely be using it for my next project though.
This yarn is super beautiful; definitely check out @sweetnesting on instagram. I felt so inspired, having so many colors to choose from.
The pattern mentions using mohair for a lighter overall feel and adding more structure, so I ordered two Sugar Bush yarns that I thought I could work in nicely.
Construction + Color Planning
I spent a lot of time visualizing the construction of this sweater and how I though I’d want it to look. I made this sort of guide/inspiration board to help me understand the different sections.
Once all my yarn was wound, I decided that I was going to let the marling “speak to me” as I knit and I didn’t want to be so strict with the planning/colors. Instead, I focused on one section at a time and using colors I thought would be pretty in each section.
MARLED MAGIC SWEATER
The Marled Magic Sweater by Stephen West isn’t a free pattern so I won’t share all the specifics that I usually would, but if you are interested, the pattern is really detailed and easy to follow. There are also links to some YouTube help/explanation videos, and there’s some explanation/recommendation within the pattern.
I used size US 7 needles throughout to get more of a medium size sweater, and US 6 needles for my brioche sections, collar, and cuffs.
SECTIONS 1-4
For my Section 1, I did a steady marl of mostly greens with some pink. This sections looks like wildflowers in the grass and I love the mesh. This was my first time creating this type of stitch (outside of my little test knit), and it was really fast.
Instead of continuing to marl my greens in Section 2, I decided to go a more color blocked route, and knit the seed stitch in burnt yellows, with pinks, orange, and some green. This section kind of took a while for me, but I think it is beautiful. I love working with @sweetnesting yarn because the colors are super pretty. I love the speckles and the fun, bright colors.
I was really excited to try my two-color brioche in Section 3. I knew I was going to use dark and light blue for max contrast. I love this section so much, and I’m so proud of myself for figuring out the decrease edge (directions above ^).
I used a life line between Sections 2 and 3 since the seed stitches were live going into the brioche. And I used life lines throughout the brioche section just because it’s a new stitch for me and I don’t know how to recover from mistakes. I’m really glad that I used them because I dropped an entire column of brioche after I joined a new contrast color, and the life lines really saved me from losing too much progress.
For Section 4, I used one of the Sugar Bush yarns throughout, and then marled a bunch of beautiful pinks with it. I was surprised how much the mohair color affected the section since the yarn itself was so thin. I think this section turned out super pretty, and it was the first time I’d knit garter short rows before. I was glad there was a video to show what “close the gaps” meant because that instruction is not clear.
I really liked how each section built off the previous, so there wasn’t any sewing/grafting. The videos were really helpful for me in this part so I could understand which stitches to pick up.
SECTIONS 5-8
With Section 5, I picked up stitches along two sections to work super long knit/purl ridges. I used a variety of pinks with some yellows to try and tie in the yellow from Section 2. This section reminded me of the baby afghan I knit with its edge decreases.
I wasn’t sure what colors I wanted for Section 6, but since it’s in the center of the sweater, I wanted it to be a good one. I decided on purple and a blue/purple; I love it so much. This section was really fast and easy.
Section 7 was another mesh section and I thought it would be nice to use my other Sugar Bush color. I did a steady marl with the mohair throughout and held with other yellows, pinks, and purple. I like the stripey look and the soft texture.
I used a lot of green and blue for Section 8 and I felt like my rainbow sweater was really coming along. This section was small and really fast to knit up. These colors are gorgeous; I’m seriously in love.
SECTIONS 9 – 14
The Section 9 seed stitch was super fast and fun. I used so many different pinks and I love how it turned out. These colors are so pretty and they look even better knitted up. I don’t really care for the seed stitch, I discovered, but the pattern switches it up with decreases/increases in the different sections.
I really looked forward to a new stitch in a new section, and getting to experiment with new colors. There is so much variety in this pattern that it was never dull or monotonous.
Section 10 was another brioche section and I decided to modify it to be two-color brioche again. I chose a purple and blue combo for MC, and orange, yellow, pinks for CC. I think this section looks so good. It was the first section where I combined contrasting colors and I love the result. Of course I used my lifelines again, but I never had to rip back because of a mistake.
I used the US size 6 needles again for this section, and I think the stitches look really crisp. The only thing I wonder about is if I really should have used two strands of each MC and CC. I feel like the effect is “thicker” than using two strands for one-color brioche, and maybe I should have accounted for that. Possibly, I could have used one strand of MC and two of CC. I don’t think mine looks bad or weird, but it took a ton of yarn that I don’t think the one-color brioche would have taken.
You’re supposed to leave the finished section 10 on waste yarn or spare needles, but my stoppers were already being used on my finished section 5. I moved the stoppers to my section 10 to better “protect” the brioche stitches, and then used a safety pin to connect my section 5 cable together. I’d seen someone post about using a safety pin on reddit, and it works really well. Overall, I am so happy with my interchangeable needles purchase. I’ve been able to do so much more and it’s so easy to swap cables; definitely worth the investment.
There was more seed stitch for Section 11, and I chose to use a variety of blues. I liked this section because I joined the two sections with a SSK. It’s so cool combining sections without having to sew/graft together after. It all just comes together; like zipping a zipper.
Sections 12 and 13 were basically identical and fun to knit. I like doing the short rows because it feels like you’re making a lot of progress quickly. I loved using the three-needle bind off, and how neatly everything joined together. I used a different color yarn for the bind off to help me see what I was doing better.
I didn’t have any issues, but I wished I would have used life lines before joining the two sections. The three-needle bind off was new to me, and I was a little nervous that I would drop the live stitches. It ended up being fine, but I definitely recommend life lines just to be safe.
I was excited to do a rainbow fade for Section 14. It was a little awkward to join Sections 3 & 9 and 5 & 10, but not too bad. I really liked doing a rainbow fade and marling all of my colors together. I did have some issues lining up my sections though; I think it had to do with my doing a two-color brioche modification. Overall, I made it work and I think it looks so pretty.
FINISHING
I’d never done an I-cord bind off before, and was really excited to try it out. The pattern directions weren’t clear to me so I searched for a YouTube video. This video helped me understand what needed to happen:
The directions only said to “slip stitch onto left needle”, but the video shows that you have to transfer all three stitches back to the left needle.
The I-cord bind off was tedious, but I think it looks so cool. I chose a neon orange/pink color and I love the pop/contrast against the edges. I followed this YouTube video for joining the I-cord in the round because it left a gap otherwise:
I choose to work the collar next to make sure I had enough yarn to match the hem. I used a size 6 circular needle, and I was so excited to knit in the round. The directions say to pick up along the back (RS facing), then Section 9, 6, and 3. Somehow when I did it in that order, I was knitting WS. I got pretty far before I realized and started over — picking up the back, the Section 3, 6, and then 9.
I bound off the collar normally, and it was way too tight that I couldn’t fit my head through 🙁 So, I had to tink it back and I re-did it with Jeny’s Surprisingly Stretch Bind Off. I’ve used this bind off before and I love it. I don’t know why I tried to use anything else.
I used DPNs for the cuffs, and I made them 4.5″ long. The cuffs went by really quickly, and it was fun to use DPNs for a while. I followed the same directions for joining the I-cord bind off as I did for the hem.
OVERALL THOUGHTS
Knitting this Marled Magic Sweater was so much fun! Except for a few spots I mentioned, the directions were super clear and the videos were really helpful. I loved working on the different sections and learning new stitches.
I love the marling in this sweater and working with all these gorgeous color yarns. I really enjoyed working a two-color brioche for the first time in a project, knitting short rows, a three-needle bind off, and the I-cord bind off.
It took me just over a month and a half to finish this Marled Magic Sweater and I really enjoyed it. With all the time and the special yarn that went into it, I feel like this sweater is a priceless, one-of-a-kind piece that I will treasure forever. After making this sweater, I still have a good amount of yarn left from @sweetnesting, so I guess this is the start of my own little stash ♡. I already have the yarn for my next project — another Tundra Jumper — but I think I have more than enough in my new stash to make a Pengweeno for my niece.
If you’re looking for your next knitting project, I definitely recommend the Marled Magic Sweater. Check out my Knitting Inspiration post for other projects I’ll be working on this year, or check out my Ravelry page for more finished objects ♡.
