Plymouth Yarn Top Down Yoke Pullover Jumper Knitting Pattern

Plymouth Yarn Top Down Yoke Pullover

What is Being Made

This is a seamless, top-down pullover sweater featuring a decorative yoke worked in stranded colorwork. The pattern is available in eight finished bust measurements ranging from 32¾ inches to 55¼ inches, making it suitable for a wide range of sizes from small to extra-large. The pullover is constructed with a fitted yoke that transitions to the body and sleeves, offering a classic and versatile design suitable for everyday wear.

Techniques Used

This pullover employs several advanced knitting techniques to create a professional, well-fitting garment:

• Top-down construction: The sweater is worked from the neckline downward, allowing for easy fitting adjustments and the ability to try on the garment as you progress.
• Worked in the round: Using circular needles, the entire pullover is knitted seamlessly in continuous rounds, eliminating the need for seaming and creating a smooth, polished finish.
• Stranded colorwork: The yoke features a Fair Isle pattern worked with multiple colors held together while knitting, creating intricate geometric designs without cutting the yarn.
• Short-row shaping: Short rows are strategically placed at the underarms to enhance the fit and comfort of the finished garment, allowing for better movement and a more tailored silhouette.
• Yoke shaping: The pattern includes strategic increases worked throughout the yoke section to transition smoothly from the neckline to the wider body and sleeve openings.

Stitches Used

The pattern utilizes fundamental knitting stitches combined with shaping techniques:

• Stockinette stitch (St St): The primary stitch used throughout the body and sleeves, creating a smooth, flat fabric with characteristic V-shaped columns.
• Ribbing: A knit-one, purl-one (K1, P1) ribbing pattern is worked at the neckline for approximately 2 inches, providing elasticity and a finished appearance at the neck opening.
• Make one increases (m1): Used to add stitches during yoke shaping, creating nearly invisible increases that maintain the fabric's integrity.
• Fair Isle colorwork: Stranded knitting technique used in Chart A, where multiple yarn colors are carried across the back of the work to create the yoke pattern.

Materials and Gauge

The pattern is designed for two yarn options, each offering different fiber content and color palettes:

Davila Yarn Option: This yarn comes in 50-gram skeins. The pattern requires 7 to 10 skeins of the main color (MC #31 light grey), along with smaller quantities of contrast colors: naturale (CC1 #30), raisin (CC2 #36), and walnut (CC3 #38). The specific yardage requirements vary by size.

PimaRino Yarn Option: Available in 50-gram balls, this option uses 8 to 12 balls of the main color (MC #25 royal purple), paired with natural (CC1 #01), kiwi (CC2 #17), and violet (CC3 #16) contrast colors. This yarn choice offers a different aesthetic while maintaining the same pattern structure.

Gauge and Needle Requirements: The pattern is worked at a gauge of 20 stitches and 26 rows over 4 inches in stockinette stitch using US Size 7 (4.5 mm) needles. The complete needle set includes US Size 6 (4 mm) circular needles in both 16-inch and 24-inch lengths for the ribbed neckline, US Size 7 (4.5 mm) circular needles and double-pointed needles in the same lengths for the main body and yoke, and optionally US Size 8 (5.0 mm) needles if gauge adjustment is needed for the Fair Isle colorwork sections. Maintaining consistent stitch gauge throughout ensures proper fit and finished measurements.

Additional Notions: The pattern requires stitch markers for tracking pattern repeats and round beginnings, waste yarn for holding stitches, and a tapestry needle for weaving in yarn ends and any finishing work.