Paintbox Yarns Everyday Surrealist Sweater Knitting Pattern

Paintbox Yarns Everyday Surrealist Sweater

What Is Being Made

The Everyday Surrealist Sweater is an intermediate-level knitted pullover garment designed to fit chest sizes ranging from 32-34 inches up to 56-58 inches. The finished sweater features a modern, artistic aesthetic with finished chest measurements ranging from 40¼ inches to 63 inches, and length to back neck measurements from 23¾ inches to 27¼ inches. Sleeve seams measure approximately 17¾ inches for smaller sizes, tapering to 17 inches for larger sizes.

Techniques Used

This sweater is constructed using several key knitting techniques that define its intermediate difficulty level:

• Intarsia: The primary technique employed in this pattern, intarsia allows for the creation of large, detailed color-work designs by using separate yarn lengths or bobbins for different colored sections. This technique produces a flat, professional finish on the right side of the fabric while maintaining structural integrity.
• Seamed Construction: The sweater pieces are knitted separately and then sewn together using seaming techniques, which creates clean, finished edges and allows for precise garment shaping and sizing.
• Worked Flat: Rather than being worked in the round, this sweater is constructed by working back and forth on straight needles, creating flat panels that are later assembled. This approach is particularly well-suited to intarsia work, as it allows the crafter to easily manage multiple yarn colors across rows.

Stitches Used

The Everyday Surrealist Sweater is primarily constructed in stockinette stitch (also called stocking stitch in UK terminology), which creates the classic smooth, V-textured fabric that serves as an ideal canvas for intarsia color work. The pattern utilizes standard shaping techniques including:

• Knit (k): The fundamental stitch forming the right-side texture of stockinette
• Purl (p): Used to create wrong-side rows in stockinette stitch
• Knit two together (k2tog): A right-leaning decrease used for shaping
• Purl two together (p2tog): A decrease worked on purl rows
• Make 1 (m1): An increase created by picking up the loop lying between needles and working into the back of it, used for gradual shaping

Materials

The Everyday Surrealist Sweater is worked in Paintbox Yarns Wool Blend Super Chunky, a substantial yarn that creates fabric quickly and produces striking color definition in intarsia work. The pattern requires three coordinating colors:

• Magenta Pink (A): 4 to 6 balls depending on size (approximately 3½oz/100g per ball)
• Periwinkle (B): 3 to 5 balls depending on size
• Crimson Red (C): 3 to 6 balls depending on size

The pattern calls for two pairs of knitting needles: US 11 (8mm) needles and US 13 (9mm) needles. The US 13 (9mm) needles are used for the main fabric, which produces a gauge of 9 stitches and 12 rows to a 4-inch (10cm) square in stockinette stitch. Additionally, 2 stitch holders are required to temporarily hold stitches during construction. All yarn is available through LoveCrafts.

Additional Pattern Information

This is a free downloadable PDF pattern from Paintbox Yarns. The pattern is graded across eight different sizes to accommodate a wide range of body measurements. Instructions are written using US knitting terminology with UK terminology provided in italics for international crafters. The pattern includes comprehensive abbreviations and finished measurements for each size, allowing knitters to select the appropriate dimensions for their project.