Valley Yarns Twilight Short Sleeve Sweater Knitting Pattern

Valley Yarns Twilight Short Sleeve Sweater

What Is Being Made

The Valley Yarns Twilight Short Sleeve Sweater is a knitted pullover garment designed by Linda Burt. This sweater features a classic short sleeve construction and is available in six finished sizes ranging from 35 inches to 54 inches in width, making it suitable for a range of body measurements. The design includes a structured front placket with buttonhole placement and a fitted neckline finished with a neckband.

Construction Technique

This sweater is constructed using a bottom-up, worked-flat seamed method. The garment pieces are knitted individually in flat rows rather than in the round, and are then sewn together at the seams. This traditional approach allows for precise shaping and control over the fit, particularly in the armholes, neckline, and sleeve cap. The front placket features three strategically placed buttonholes that are worked during the knitting process using yarn-over decreases (k2tog, yo), allowing the sweater to open and close at the front.

Stitches and Pattern Details

The Twilight Sweater features a lace pattern stitch that repeats over a multiple of 6 stitches plus 4 additional stitches. The pattern alternates between knit and purl rows to create texture and visual interest. Specifically, the pattern stitch follows a 12-row repeat:

• Rows 1 and 7 combine knit and purl stitches in a specific sequence
• Rows 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, and 12 are worked entirely in purl
• Rows 3, 5, 9, and 11 are worked entirely in knit

This combination of knit and purl stitches creates a textured lace-like appearance throughout the body and sleeves. The sweater also incorporates standard shaping techniques including bind-offs at the armholes and neckline, as well as strategic decreases along the neck edges and sleeve caps to achieve proper fit and silhouette.

Materials and Gauge

The Twilight Sweater is designed to be knitted with Valley Yarns Goshen, a blend yarn composed of 48% Peruvian Cotton, 46% Modal, and 6% Silk. This fiber composition creates a garment with breathability and drape. The yarn is available in color #12 Lake and requires 6 to 13 skeins depending on the finished size selected. The pattern calls for Size 6 and Size 8 needles, with the smaller needles used for ribbed edgings and the larger needles for the main pattern work. A 16-inch circular needle in the smaller size is also needed for the neckband finishing. The working gauge is 4.5 stitches and 6 rows per 1 inch when worked in the pattern stitch using the larger needles. Three buttons are required to complete the front closure.

Sleeve Construction

The sleeves are worked flat and feature a short length of approximately 2.5 to 3 inches. They begin with a cast-on of 46 to 70 stitches depending on size, with the first 4 rows worked on smaller needles before switching to the larger needles for pattern work. Shaping is incorporated through increases at the beginning and end of every fourth row during the initial growth phase, followed by strategic bind-offs and decreases at the cap to create proper sleeve head shaping and armhole fit.