Pattern calls for heavier yarn, so I made some adjustments in order to use this aran weight. Love the heathered gray color of this yarn, and it’s machine washable too. (This yarn was formerly marketed at Jo-Ann as “Purl Essence”.)

MY NOTES about what I did differently:

Pattern is knitted in the round from the bottom up.

Long-tail cast-on 136 sts very tightly over TWO size 7 (US) needles. Remove 2nd needle for a very loose cast-on at lower edge. Distribute sts evenly over two 29-inch long circulars (68 sts on each needle).

Using size 7 US needles, K2, P2 rib for 2 inches.

Switched to size 8 US needles and continued with 4 rounds stockinette stitch before starting waist shaping (only on sides, not back).

I worked with two 29-inch long circular needles, with half the stitches on each needle. So beginning and end of each needle mark sides. No stitch markers necessary.

(1) Decrease Round:
First needle: K1, K2tog, continue to last 3 sts, SKP, K1. Repeat same on 2nd needle to complete 1st decrease round. (132 sts)

(2) Knit 4 rounds without any decreases.

Repeat 1 & 2 above 4 more times. I had 116 sts at the narrowest point of waist.

(3) Increase Round:
First needle: K1, M1L, continue to just before last stitch, M1R, K1. Repeat same on 2nd needle to complete 1st increase round. (120 sts)

(4) Knit 9 rounds without any increases.

Repeat 3 & 4 above four more times, ending with step 4, but do not knit the last 4 sts in the round. (136 sts)

At this point I reached the armpits - about 8.5 inches above narrowest point of waistline.

Put 8 sts from EACH side on stitch holder (4 from front needle and 4 from back needle on each side). The remaining 120 sts will eventually be added to sleeve sts to form yoke. I placed these 120 sts on a 60-inch long Addi circular needle to hold them while I knit each sleeve from the bottom up.

“Owl” stitch pattern is a repeat of 10 sts, so the total number of sts for the yoke must be divisible by 10. I planned 40 sts for top of each sleeve, so…

4 owls - above right sleeve
4 owls - above left sleeve
6 owls - front body
6 owls - back body
(20 owls total for yoke)

SLEEVES:

Cast on 32 sts very tightly over TWO size 7 US needles (long tail cast-on). Remove one needle which results in a VERY loose, nice looking cast-on edge. Distribute sts evenly over two circular needles (16 sts on each needle) for knitting in the round. Join to form a ring, being careful not to twist loop.

K2, P2 rib for 2 inches (10 rounds).

Switch to size 8 US needles.

K 13 rounds.

(1) Increase round: K1, M1R, knit to 1 st before end of round, M1L, K1 (34 sts)

(2) Knit 8 rounds without increasing

Repeat 1 & 2 above SEVEN times (48 sts)

Knit 11 more rounds, but stop before last 4 sts. Place those 4 sts on a stitch holder. A large safety pin works well. Break yarn and repeat for 2nd sleeve. Do not break yarn after knitting 2nd sleeve. You’ll continue knitting / joining to body at this point.

JOIN SLEEVES TO BODY

I put all sleeve and body stitches (200 sts) onto TWO long, size 8 US circular needles - a 36-inch Boye and a 47-inch Addi cable so that I could try the sweater on for fit during knitting. I placed markers in between the body and sleeves:

40 sts left sleeve
60 sts back
40 sts right sleeve
60 sts front

Knitted 5 rounds before starting the owls.

After completing the owls, I followed directions for size 5 in the pattern up to the point where I had decreased down to 90 sts. Then I knit 7 rounds straight. Otherwise, the sweater would have been too tight under the arms. At this point, I deviated from the pattern instructions once again.

I now had the following number of sts on my needles:

18 sts - above each sleeve
27 sts - front
27 sts - back

SHORT ROWS:

I decided to do my short rows much differently than in the pattern. Instead of just doing a few short rows across the back, I started the short rows at one side of the front and continued around the entire neckline to the opposite side of the front. This resulted in 2 inches (5 cm) additional fabric at the center back neck. Before starting short rows, I divided my stitches between two needles as follows:

17 sts on front needle (29” long cable)
73 sts on back/shoulders needle (47” long Addi cable)

Short rows were only done on the longer cable. Ideally, you want to have the row of owls going straight across the front, shoulders and back without the owls riding up onto the shoulders. Following the pattern instructions would not have allowed this (at least with worsted weight yarn), and would have resulted in too much tightness under the arms (very uncomfortable).

I do my short rows like Carol Sunday. Here’s Carol’s video demonstrating her wrapless short row method:

https://search.yahoo.com/search?fr=mcafee&type=C011US...

How I did the short rows on my Owls Pullover:

SSR = Sunday Short Row

Starting at front of right shoulder, knit all the way to the end of the long cable. Turn/SSR. (This will leave a space.) Purl back to within 2 sts of end. Turn/SSR. (This will leave a space.)

^(Knit back to within 2 sts of previous space. Turn/SSR.
Purl back to within 2 sts of previous space. Turn/SSR.)

Repeat from ^ until there are 5 spaces on one side, ending with a purl row.

Turn and knit all the way around (including front needle).
AT THE SAME TIME, close all the spaces/gaps using SSR method AND decrease 2 sts evenly across back. (I did K2tog decrease 9 sts from center back on each side.) There are now 88 sts total around neckline.

SWITCH TO SIZE 7 US NEEDLES.

Beginning 13 sts away from center back stitch, do K2, P2 ribbing for 5 rounds (= 1 inch at my gauge). Cast off using Jeny’s Surprisingly Stretchy Bind-off.

Before closing the underarm openings, I picked up 5 extra sts (total 13 sts each side). Then I closed the openings with Kitchener stitch grafting.

If I make this for myself, the waistline circumference could be a tad smaller. Also, I’d have to make the sleeves longer.

Very cute sweater and completed in only 1 week! (I wasn’t working at the time.) I used studs for the owl eyes. Pack of 60 purchased at Jo-Ann. Sweater requires 40 for 20 owls. There are 4 little metal prongs in back of each stud. I used my thumbnail and the back of a spoon to attach them rather quickly. Amazingly, the prongs get lost in the yarn and can’t be felt at all next to the skin.