Valley Yarns Stone Rose Pullover Knitting Pattern

Valley Yarns Stone Rose Pullover

Project Overview

The Stone Rose Pullover is an advanced-level seamless knit sweater designed by Kirsten Hipsky. This fitted pullover features bold colorwork on a circular yoke and is constructed using a bottom-up method, making it an excellent project for experienced knitters looking to master stranded colorwork techniques and seamless garment construction.

What Is Being Made

This is a women's pullover sweater with a fitted silhouette and circular yoke. The garment is available in seven sizes with finished chest measurements ranging from 32 inches to 56 inches (shown in size 36"). The design combines a solid-colored body with a striking two-color stranded colorwork pattern featured prominently on the yoke.

Construction Techniques

• Bottom-Up Construction: The sweater is knit from the lower body upward, beginning with the body and sleeves worked separately before joining at the yoke.
• Seamless, Worked in the Round: The entire garment is worked circularly using double-pointed needles and circular needles, eliminating the need for seaming and creating a smooth, continuous fabric.
• Stranded Colorwork: The yoke features bold two-color stranded colorwork using Deep Rose (color A) and Stone (color B), a classic Fair Isle technique where both colors are carried across the round.
• Turned Hem: The sleeves and lower body incorporate a turned hem created using a provisional cast-on method, with stitches folded and grafted for a finished edge.
• Incremental Sleeve Increases: Sleeve shaping is achieved through strategic increases worked at the beginning and end of every 6th to 10th round (depending on size), creating a gradual, fitted sleeve cap.

Stitches and Stitch Patterns

• Stockinette Stitch: The primary stitch throughout the body and sleeves, worked flat in rounds to create a smooth, classic knit fabric.
• Stranded Colorwork: Two-color Fair Isle patterning on the yoke, requiring the knitter to carry both yarn colors across the round and switch between them according to the stitch pattern.
• Garter Stitch Hem: The turned hem is created by alternating knit and purl rounds, which produces a fold line for turning.

Materials and Yarn Specifications

The Stone Rose Pullover uses Valley Yarns Superwash DK, a hand-dyed yarn by Manos composed of 100% Extrafine Merino Superwash. Each skein weighs 100 grams and yields 274 yards. Yardage requirements vary by size: the smallest size (32") requires 5 skeins of Deep Rose and 1 skein of Stone, while the largest size (56") requires 10 skeins of Deep Rose and 2 skeins of Stone. The superwash treatment makes this yarn ideal for easy care and durability.

Needles and Gauge

The pattern calls for US size 4 (3.50mm) double-pointed and circular needles for the main fabric, with US size 3 (3.25mm) double-pointed and 32-inch circular needles reserved for the turned hem. Circular needles in multiple lengths are recommended to accommodate the increasing stitch count as the yoke is worked. The working gauge is 24 stitches and 32 rounds over 4 inches in stockinette stitch, which is essential to achieve the correct finished measurements.

Advanced Techniques for Experienced Knitters

This project is rated advanced and incorporates several sophisticated techniques. Knitters must be comfortable with provisional cast-ons, working with multiple needles simultaneously, managing yarn tension in stranded colorwork, and executing seamless yoke construction. The combination of bottom-up construction with circular yoke shaping requires careful stitch management and the ability to pick up stitches accurately. The stranded colorwork on the yoke demands proficiency in carrying two colors evenly and maintaining consistent tension to prevent loose floats or puckering.