Valley Yarns Leaden Sieves Pullover Knitting Pattern

Valley Yarns Leaden Sieves Pullover

What is Being Made

The Leaden Sieves Pullover is a fitted pullover sweater with set-in sleeves, designed by Kirsten Hipsky. This advanced beginner knitting project features a charcoal base color accented with panels of natural white that create a woven, un-knit visual effect. The design is inspired by Emily Dickinson's poem "It sifts from Leaden Sieves," with the contrasting color panels evoking the imagery of powder sifting through sieves. The pullover is available in seven finished sizes ranging from 32 inches to 56 inches.

Techniques Used

This sweater employs several intermediate to advanced knitting techniques that elevate it beyond a basic project:

• Intarsia Colorwork: The sweater features a floating color pattern that creates woven-looking panels of natural white against the charcoal background. This technique uses strategic yarn slipping to float colors on specific sides of stitches, creating a dimensional visual effect without traditional stranding.
• Bottom-Up Construction: The sweater is worked from the bottom edge upward, beginning with ribbed cuffs and progressing through the body and armhole shaping before moving to the sleeves.
• Seamed Assembly: The individual pieces (back, front, and sleeves) are worked flat and then seamed together, allowing for precise fit and professional finishing.
• Worked Flat: All pieces are knitted on straight or circular needles in flat rows rather than in the round, giving the knitter more control over the intarsia pattern placement.
• Short Row Shaping: The floating color pattern incorporates short rows that wrap stitches, creating the dimensional effect where colors appear to float on alternating sides of the fabric.
• Set-In Sleeve Construction: Armhole and sleeve cap shaping creates a fitted, tailored silhouette characteristic of professional garment design.

Stitches Used

The Leaden Sieves Pullover utilizes fundamental knitting stitches executed with precision:

• Stockinette Stitch (St st): The primary stitch throughout the body and sleeves, created by alternating knit rows on the right side with purl rows on the wrong side. This creates the smooth, classic fabric base.
• Ribbing (k1, p1): Used for the 1.5-inch cuff at the lower edge, alternating single knit and purl stitches to create elastic, fitted edges that prevent curling.
• Slip Stitches (sl1wyif, sl1wyib): Essential to the floating color pattern, these stitches slip stitches with yarn held in front or in back to create the woven appearance without actually knitting them. The slipped stitches allow the floating color yarn to travel across the back of the fabric, creating the dimensional effect.

Materials

The Leaden Sieves Pullover is constructed from premium natural fibers chosen for their drape and softness:

• Yarn: Valley Yarns Deerfield, a luxurious blend of 80% Baby Alpaca and 20% Silk, with a yardage of 109 yards per 50-gram skein. The main color is Charcoal (color A), requiring 8 to 15 skeins depending on size, with 1 skein of Natural (color B) for the contrasting panels.
• Needles: US size 5 (3.75mm) circular needles in both 32-inch and 16-inch lengths, allowing flexibility for working different sections of the sweater. Circular needles are used here for their versatility in flat knitting rather than for working in the round.
• Gauge: 5.5 stitches and 7 rows per inch in stockinette stitch, a standard gauge that produces a fabric with good drape suitable for the fitted silhouette.
• Additional Materials: Stitch markers are essential for tracking pattern repeats and shaping points throughout construction.

Pattern Characteristics

The Floating Color pattern is a four-row repeat that creates the signature woven effect. On right-side rows, stitches are slipped with yarn held in back or front to alternate which side the floating color appears on. Short rows within the pattern wrap stitches, ensuring the floating yarn stays positioned on the correct side of the fabric. This creates a sophisticated, textured appearance that reads as w