Valley Yarns Geneva Pullover Knitting Pattern

Valley Yarns Geneva Pullover

What Is Being Made

The Valley Yarns Geneva Pullover is a cropped, seamless pullover sweater designed for intermediate knitters. This unstructured garment features a simple silhouette with an easy-to-modify length, making it an ideal layering piece. The pullover is available in five finished sizes: 36, 40, 44, 48, and 52 inches, accommodating a wide range of body measurements.

Construction Method and Techniques

The Geneva Pullover is constructed using top-down seamless construction, a technique that allows knitters to easily adjust body and sleeve length to personal preference without seaming. The garment is worked in the round using circular needles, which creates a continuous fabric and eliminates the need for finishing seams. This method is particularly beginner-friendly for intermediate knitters because increases are worked symmetrically throughout the yoke, and the piece grows outward from the neckline.

The yoke features cable stitches as the primary decorative element, adding visual interest and texture to the upper body. The cable pattern repeats across the front and back sections, with the design incorporating both front crosses (FC) and back crosses (BC) to create a dynamic, interlocking appearance. The pattern is repeated a total of 2 to 4 times depending on size, allowing the cables to develop fully across the yoke before transitioning to stockinette stitch on the body and sleeves.

Stitches Used

The Geneva Pullover employs several fundamental and decorative knitting stitches:

• Stockinette stitch forms the base fabric throughout the body and sleeves, creating a smooth, classic knit appearance
• Cable stitches are the signature design element, worked using a cable needle to cross stitches over one another. The pattern includes front crosses (FC: slip 2 stitches to cable needle and hold to front, knit 2, then knit 2 from cable needle) and back crosses (BC: slip 2 stitches to cable needle and hold to back, knit 2, then knit 2 from cable needle)
• Make 1 Left (m1L) and Make 1 Right (m1R) increases are used to shape the yoke symmetrically. These invisible increases are worked by picking up the running strand between stitches and knitting into it, creating balanced shaping on either side of stitch markers
• Knit stitches form the foundation of the pattern, worked in the round to create the seamless fabric

Materials: Yarn and Needles

The Geneva Pullover pattern calls for Valley Yarns Buckland, a premium blend yarn composed of 60% Fine Superwash Merino, 20% Mulberry Silk, and 20% Nylon. Each skein contains 50 grams and 109 yards of yarn. The yardage required depends on the finished size: 8 skeins for size 36 inches, 9 skeins for size 40 inches, 10 skeins for size 44 inches, 11 skeins for size 48 inches, and 12 skeins for size 52 inches. The pattern sample is shown in the color Stone Blue.

Needles required include US size 9 (5.50 mm) circular needles in both 24-inch and 16-inch lengths, as well as double-pointed needles of the same size for working the sleeves in the round. The pattern specifies "or size needed to get gauge," allowing knitters to adjust needle size if necessary to achieve the correct tension. Additional materials include 4 stitch markers to denote pattern sections and a cable needle for working the cable crosses.

Gauge and Sizing

The pattern is worked to a gauge of 4 stitches and 6 rows per 1 inch in stockinette stitch. Achieving proper gauge is essential for obtaining the correct finished measurements. The five available sizes range from 36 to 52 inches in finished bust measurement, with proportional adjustments to yoke depth and sleeve circumference for each size.