I love Heidi Kaiser’s designs. Her patterns are always well written with excellent fit.

I use Tatyana’s (Heavenlyclassy on Ravelry) technique for knitting with two colors as shown in this video. Note that this method only works when knitting in the round. With this method, you will see no floats on the wrong side.

Size 2 has 23 repeats of the yoke chart.

Pattern says that the finished bust circumference is:

33.9 (37.8, 39.4, 41.7, 45.7, 48.4, 51.2) inches

86 (96, 100, 106, 116, 123, 130) cm

Gauge: 20 sts / 30 rows = 4” (10 cm) in Stockinette stitch

If you do the math using number of stitches after separating body from sleeves, I found that the actual bust circumference will be:

34.4 (38.4, 40, 42.4, 46.4, 48.8, 52) inches

87 (98, 102, 108, 118, 124, 132) cm

So don’t be surprised if your pullover ends up measuring slightly larger than what the pattern states.

Needles used:

Size 4 US - Neck ribbing, lower ribbing and sleeve ribbing

Size 6 US (4.25 mm) - Yoke colorwork. Note that Ravelry calls size 6 US a 4 mm. However, my size 6 needles measure 4.25 mm.

Size 5.5 US (4 mm Addi) - body and sleeves

What I did differently:

• Made the bottom ribbing 3” wide rather than 1.2”.

• I did not do any additional short rows following completion of the yoke chart colorwork because it was unnecessary. My row gauge was long, so after completing the yoke chart colorwork, I immediately separated body from sleeves and worked straight (no shaping) to the bottom ribbing. In other words, I skipped the “Final Yoke Shaping” section on page 4 of the pattern.

• With Heidi’s permission, I made the sleeves fuller by increasing rather than decreasing as follows:

When resuming work on the sleeves, I picked up 2 extra stitches under each arm for a total of 64 sleeve stitches to start. I knit 20 rounds straight and then increased 2 sts (4 times) for a total of 72 sts over 84 rounds. (Before starting the sleeve chart, you must have a multiple of 8 sts.) So when I started the sleeve chart (at this point), I had 9 repeats of the sleeve chart rather than 7 repeats.

• I did not follow the sleeve chart exactly because I was running short on the darker, contrasting color yarn. After completing Row 34 of the chart, I mirrored Rows 11 - 16 about Row 25. I “K2tog” all around on Row 11 (main color only) = 36 sts for ribbing. After switching to size 4 US needles, I did 14 rounds of 1 x 1 ribbing and then bound off using JSSBO. This makes a very stretchy sleeve cuff. I used the main, lighter color for the sleeve ribbing.

I only had 13 yards of yarn left (darker, contrast color) when garment was complete. Whew! That was close, but I did not need an extra ball of the darker CC yarn.

I absolutely LOVE this yarn. It comes in the most beautiful, sophisticated, healthered colors - all of which can be appreciated by both sexes. Initially, I purchased sweater quantities in 3 colors from joann.com (Sunstone, Evergreen and Plumberry). After finishing this sweater, I tried to order 4 additional colors. My order was accepted, but several days later, I received emails from Jo-Ann saying that part of my order had been cancelled. So although the amounts requested were available on their web site, apparently they were not available in their warehouses. None of the retail stores have any of it and michaels.com is also completely sold out at the moment. I don’t think that Lion Brand has discontinued this yarn, so maybe I’m not the only person who loves it. It has a chain construction, is very soft and knits up like a worsted weight. So it was probably a little heavy for this pattern even though I was able to match stitch gauge. Looking at a strand of this yarn, I would have thought it would work up like DK weight, but it surprised me when it turned into more of a weighty fabric. There are so many solid color yarns available these days and very few that are heathered like the Re-Spekt. So I hope that Jo-Ann and Michaels will replenish their stock soon. Also, I love that they use recycled yarn in this machine washable and dryable product!

Weight of finished garment: 1 lb, 2.7 oz.(18.7 oz)

Measurements (BEFORE shrinking in a warm dryer):

Body circumference - 39”

Armhole depth - 9”

Length from underarm to lower edge - 13” (10” + 3” ribbing)

Length of sleeves from underarm - 20” (12” MC + 6” colorwork + 2” ribbing)

Yoke colorwork - 7”

Sleeve colorwork - 6”

Center front to bottom edge - 20”

Center back to bottom edge - 21”

Sleeve width at underarm - 12”

Widest part of sleeves - 13.5”

Measurements (AFTER shrinking in a warm dryer):

Body circumference - 37” (shrank 2”)

Armhole depth - 8.5” (shrank .5”)

Length from underarm to lower edge - 12” (9.5” + 2.5” ribbing) (Shrank 1”)

Length of sleeves from underarm - 18” (16” + 2” ribbing) (shrank 2”)

Yoke colorwork - 6.25” (shrank .75”)

Sleeve colorwork - 5.5” (shrank .5”)

Center front to bottom edge - 19” (shrank 1”)

Center back to bottom edge - 20” (shrank 1”)

Sleeve width at underarm - 11.5 (shrank .5”)

Widest part of sleeves - 13” (shrank .5”)

I was surprised that this garment shrank more in width than in length. Usually it’s the other way around. This might have something to do with the chain construction. It contains 25% cotton. I have to say that it came out of the dryer looking beautiful- wrinkle free and pill free. Before putting it in the dryer, turn it inside out and put it in the dryer with a bunch of clean, dry towels. If you use a cool dryer, it will probably shrink less Also, you don’t have to leave it in the dryer until it’s completely dry. I was just trying to prepare for the worst case senario since young adults often do not have time to hand wash and lay flat to dry.

Learn about this yarn.

Color Dominance Info (for stranded knitting)

Test Knit Forum