Valley Yarns The Space Heater Sweater Knitting Pattern

Valley Yarns The Space Heater Sweater

Project Overview

The Space Heater Pullover is a beginner-friendly knitted sweater designed by Kirsten Hipsky. This pullover prioritizes warmth and affordability, featuring a simple garter rib stitch pattern that creates substantial texture on the inside of the garment to trap and store heat without adding excess weight. The sweater is available in seven finished sizes ranging from 36 inches to 60 inches, making it suitable for a wide range of body types.

Construction Techniques

This sweater is constructed using a bottom-up, seamed, and worked-flat approach, which is ideal for knitters new to garment construction. The pieces are knitted individually on straight needles and then assembled through seaming, eliminating the need for complex in-the-round techniques. This method allows for easier pattern management and adjustments during the knitting process.

Stitch Pattern and Techniques

The primary stitch used throughout the sweater is a garter rib pattern, which alternates between knit and purl stitches on the wrong-side rows, with solid knit rows on the right-side rows. This creates a reversible texture that is particularly effective at trapping warmth. The pattern is straightforward enough for beginners while producing visually interesting results.

• Pattern Stitch Row 1 (WS): *K1, p1, rep from * to last st, k1
• Pattern Stitch Row 2 (RS): Knit across
• Neck Ribbing: K1, p1 ribbing worked in the round for ½ inch

Garment Components

Back Panel: Cast on using larger needles with 91 (101, 111, 121, 131, 141, 151) stitches depending on size. The back is worked in the established pattern stitch until armholes are reached, then stitches are bound off at the beginning of rows to shape the armholes.

Front Panel: Constructed identically to the back, with both sides worked even in pattern stitch until the armholes match the back armhole length. Armhole shaping is achieved by binding off 7 (9, 11, 11, 13, 15, 15) stitches at the beginning of the next 2 rows, followed by 8 (9, 10, 12, 13, 14, 16) stitches at the beginning of the next 4 rows.

Sleeves: Two identical sleeves are created by casting on 41 (43, 45, 47, 49, 51, 53) stitches with larger needles. Sleeves are increased by 1 stitch at the beginning and end of every 6th (or 5th or 4th, depending on size) row a total of 20 (21, 23, 24, 26, 27, 29) times, resulting in 81 (85, 91, 95, 101, 105, 111) stitches. Sleeves are worked to a length of 19 (19.5, 20, 20.5, 21, 21.5, 22) inches or to desired length.

Neckline: The neck ribbing is worked in the round using a smaller circular needle. Stitches are picked up around the neckline starting with the back neck stitches, and k1, p1 ribbing is worked for ½ inch before binding off loosely.

Assembly and Finishing

The sweater is finished through the following steps: shoulder seams are sewn together, sleeves are inserted into armholes with careful attention to matching the bind-off row of the sleeve to the vertical portion of the armhole and sewing the top vertical inch of the sleeve to the 8 bound-off stitches at the base of the armhole. Side seams and sleeve seams are then sewn. Light blocking is optional.

Materials and Gauge

The sweater is knitted with Valley Yarns Northampton, a 100% wool yarn in the color Ocean Heather. Yardage required is 5 (6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11) skeins, with each skein containing 247 yards and weighing 100 grams. The pattern calls for US size 7 straight needles for the main body and US size 5 straight needles and a 16-inch circular needle for the ribbed neckline