Valley Yarns Nora Pullover Knitting Pattern

Valley Yarns Nora Pullover

What Is Being Made

The Nora Pullover is a seamless, top-down raglan pullover sweater designed by Kirsten Hipsky. This garment features a boat neckline and is constructed to fit chest sizes from 32 inches up to 56 inches, with finished chest measurements ranging from 36 to 60 inches. The pullover is specifically designed as a layering piece for cool weather, making it a versatile addition to any wardrobe.

Construction Techniques

This advanced beginner knitting project employs several sophisticated construction methods:

• Seamless, Top-Down Construction: The sweater is knitted from the top down in a single piece, eliminating the need for seaming. This technique begins at the neckline and progresses downward toward the hem.
• Worked in the Round: The garment is primarily worked circularly using circular needles, creating a seamless fabric with no side seams. This method produces a clean, professional finish.
• Raglan Shaping: The yoke features raglan-style increases that create diagonal lines from the neckline to the underarms. Increases are worked using m1L (make 1 left) and m1R (make 1 right) techniques to add stitches at strategic points, allowing the sleeves and body to expand proportionally as you work downward.
• Boat Neckline: The design incorporates a wider, horizontal neckline that sits closer to the shoulders, creating a classic and flattering silhouette.

Stitches and Stitch Patterns

The Nora Pullover features a lightly cabled stitch pattern that adds visual interest and texture without overwhelming the design:

• Cable Pattern: The cable pattern repeats over a multiple of 8 stitches and is worked in the round. The pattern alternates between knit rounds and cable crossing rounds across a 16-round repeat.
• Cable Crosses: The pattern includes two types of cable crosses: FC (front cross) and BC (back cross). FC involves slipping 2 stitches to a cable needle and holding them to the front, knitting 2 stitches from the left needle, then knitting the 2 stitches from the cable needle. BC reverses this process by holding the cable needle to the back. These crossings create the characteristic twisted rope effect of cable knitting.
• Increases: The raglan shaping utilizes m1L (make 1 left) and m1R (make 1 right) techniques, which are invisible increases made by picking up the strand running between stitches and knitting into it. These increases are distributed throughout the yoke to create the raglan sleeve cap shaping.
• Foundational Stitches: The pattern uses basic knit stitches as the foundation, with stitch markers placed to denote pattern repeats and construction sections.

Materials and Tools

Yarn: The Nora Pullover is designed to be worked in Valley Yarns Amherst, a 100% merino wool yarn. Yardage requirements vary by size, ranging from 7 skeins for the smallest size (32" chest) to 16 skeins for the largest size (56" chest). Each skein contains 109 yards and weighs 50 grams. The pattern shown is worked in the Ash colorway.

Needles: Construction requires US size 9 (5.50 mm) circular needles in two lengths—a 32-inch circular needle for the body and yoke, and a 16-inch circular needle for smaller circumferences. Double-pointed needles of the same size are also needed for working the sleeves when they become too small for circular needles. Needle size may be adjusted to achieve proper gauge.

Additional Notions: The project requires 4 stitch markers to denote pattern repeats and construction sections, and a cable needle for executing the cable crosses.

Gauge and Sizing

The pattern is worked to a gauge of 4 stitches and 6 rows per 1 inch in the cable pattern. Achieving proper gauge is essential for the finished garment to fit correctly across the seven available sizes.