Valley Yarns Woodstove Pullover Knitting Pattern

Valley Yarns Woodstove Pullover

Project Overview

The Woodstove Pullover is a classic men's and women's knit sweater designed by Kirsten Hipsky. This intermediate-level pullover features a traditional construction method with a focus on warmth and comfort. The sweater is worked flat on straight needles and seamed together, making it an approachable project for knitters with some experience. Available in six finished sizes ranging from 36 inches to 56 inches, this design accommodates a wide range of body measurements.

What Is Being Made

The Woodstove Pullover is a crew-neck pullover sweater with set-in sleeves. The garment includes a back panel, front panel with neck shaping, and two matching sleeves. The construction method is bottom-up, meaning pieces are knit from the cast-on edge upward toward the shoulders and neckline. All pieces are worked flat on straight needles rather than in the round, and then seamed together at the sides and shoulders to create the finished garment.

Knitting Techniques Used

Bottom-up construction: The sweater is built from the lower edges upward. The back and front are cast on at the hem and worked upward to the armholes, then continued to the shoulders. The sleeves are similarly cast on at the cuff and worked upward to the cap.

Worked flat: All pieces are knit back and forth on straight needles, creating rows that alternate between right-side and wrong-side rows. This is distinct from circular knitting and requires binding off and seaming to complete the garment.

Seamed construction: After all pieces are completed, they are sewn together using a seaming technique. The front and back are joined at the side seams, sleeves are set into the armholes, and the shoulder seams are closed.

Armhole shaping: The sweater uses bind-off decreases at the beginning of rows to create the armhole openings. Stitches are bound off on both sides of the back and front pieces to form the characteristic square set-in sleeve cap.

Shoulder shaping: Multiple bind-off rows at the shoulders create a structured neckline and proper sleeve cap fit. The pattern uses a two-step bind-off sequence to gradually reduce stitches.

Neck shaping: The front neckline is created by binding off a group of center stitches, then working each shoulder separately with its own yarn skein. Decreases are worked at the neck edge on right-side rows to create a gradual, sloped neckline.

Stitches Used

Garter Rib stitch: The primary stitch pattern throughout the sweater is Garter Rib, a simple two-row repeat worked over an odd number of stitches. Row 1 (wrong-side rows) is worked as K1, *P1, K1; repeat from *. Row 2 (right-side rows) is worked entirely in knit stitches. This pattern creates a textured, ribbed fabric with vertical lines of garter stitch (knit on both sides) alternating with reverse stockinette columns. The Garter Rib stitch is described as "super simple," making it accessible for intermediate knitters while providing excellent elasticity and recovery.

Stockinette stitch elements: While not explicitly named as a separate stitch, the knit rows in the Garter Rib pattern create stockinette-like texture on the right side.

Basic abbreviations used: K (knit), P (purl), rep (repeat), and st/sts (stitch/stitches).

Materials: Yarn and Needles

Yarn: Valley Yarns Northampton Bulky is the specified yarn for this project. This yarn is 100% wool, providing natural warmth, durability, and elasticity ideal for a pullover sweater. Each skein weighs 100 grams and contains 109 yards. The yardage requirements vary by size: 7 skeins for the smallest size (36"), increasing to 13 skeins for the largest size (56"). The sample garment shown was knit in Medium Gray, a neutral color suitable for versatile styling. The bulky weight yarn allows the sweater to knit up quickly, making this an efficient project despite the garment's size.

Needles: US size 10 (6.00mm) straight needles are recommended, though the pattern notes that the appropriate needle size should be selected to achieve the correct gauge. Straight needles are used throughout to work the flat construction method.

Gauge

The pattern