Dissent Tutorial Roundup
Deanna leans against a white post wearing a pink and brown Dissent Pullover.
Wongela is laughing and wearing a grey and teal Dissent Cardigan.
I’ve designed two sweaters inspired by US Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s jabot or decorative collar that she wears to read dissenting opinions. I’m really inspired by her story, and as a person who creates clothes for myself and patterns to help others make their own clothes, I feel really strongly that fashion and feminine symbols are powerful. I love the idea of a feminine decoration as a visual symbol for independent, assertive ideas.
My first Dissent sweater, shown on the right above, was a cardigan in worsted weight yarn with a bit of a boxy shape and folded up cuffs. The second was Dissent Pullover, above on the left, a fingering weight sweater with waist shaping, slender sleeves, and options for standard and cropped lengths.
After writing those patterns, I wanted them to be more versatile, so I’ve created a whole bunch of tutorials and guides to help knitters create the perfect Dissent sweater. Both versions have free hacks so you can make a worsted or fingering weight pullover or cardigan, and I’ve got tips and videos on colourwork, short row shaping, adding waist shaping, and more.
Here’s a roundup of all the helpful posts to get you going with your Dissent sweater.
Dissent (Worsted Weight)
Introducing Dissent — Info about the story behind the sweater, along with sweater details and yarn choice ideas
Prepping for Dissent — Help with choosing a size and more in-depth thoughts about yarn
Pullover Hack — Make your worsted weight Dissent into a pullover
Short Row Shaping — Info on wrap-and-turn short rows and a helpful video for finishing that last pesky wrapped stitch
Waist Shaping Mod — How and where to add shaping to your worsted weight sweater
Dissent Pullover (Fingering Weight)
Dissent Pullover Introduction — Details and yarn recommendations
Yoke Length Mod — How to change the length of the colourwork section and the armhole depth of your sweater so that it looks exactly how you want. This method will work for the worsted weight version too.
Winding 2 Yarns Together — Video showing how to wind two yarns together if you’re doing the mohair/silk held with a strand of wool thing
Cardigan Hack — Make your fingering weight sweater into a cardigan. This post has all the math to get you through the knitting.
Fabric Video — Very up-close look at the four Dissent Pullover samples I made in four different kinds of yarn to help you choose what kind of Dissent you want.
General Help
Steeking Video — Step-by-step video on how to prep and finish a steeked sweater using the sewing machine method. Warning, this shows me cutting my sweater up! This post is useful for anyone wanting to use the sewing machine method for steeking any sweater.
Catching Floats in Colourwork (video)
Stretch Bind-Off (video)
Steeking Crochet Method (video)
Estimate Yarn Yardage by Weight (video) — Help figuring out if you’ve got enough yarn in those leftover partial skeins
Get the Patterns
If you know me, you’ll already know that I’m inspired by American Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. This is my second design that’s an interpretation of Justice Ginsburg’s Dissent jabot, a decorative collar that she wears when she reads dissenting opinions in the court. This fingering weight pullover comes with several versions to mix and match, including different sleeve and body lengths. I was thinking of persistent women as I knit all three samples. Wear yours with feminist defiance.
There’s also a worsted weight cardigan and a hat version of this design available.
U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg is known for her dissenting opinions. When she reads a dissent, she often wears a particular collar, or “jabot.” It’s a striking visual adornment and as soon as I saw it, I knew I wanted to design a yoke sweater inspired by it. This sweater, Dissent, is my tribute to RBG. May we all channel her when wearing our own Dissent.
A fingering weight pullover and a hat version of this pattern are also available.
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