Valley Yarns Nimbus Pullover Knitting Pattern

Valley Yarns Nimbus Pullover

What is Being Made

The Nimbus Pullover is a warm-weather knit sweater designed by Julie Turjoman for Valley Yarns. This pullover features a graceful allover lace pattern combined with gentle A-line shaping, making it a flattering garment suitable for all figure types. The sweater is available in seven sizes, ranging from 32 inches to 56 inches in bust measurement, with the pictured sample shown in Size 36 inches. The finished pullover includes ¾-length sleeves worked in Stockinette stitch and is designed to fit with 0–2 inches of positive ease for a comfortable, relaxed fit.

Construction and Techniques

The Nimbus Pullover employs a bottom-up construction method, with the garment worked in separate pieces that are later seamed together. The main body sections are worked flat on circular needles, allowing for the integration of the lace pattern across the front and back pieces. The design incorporates narrow Stockinette stitch side sections that enable A-line decrease shaping without disrupting the continuity of the lace motif, simplifying the knitting process.

After the body pieces are completed and seamed at the shoulders and sides, the sleeves are added using a top-down approach. The sleeves are worked in the round from the armholes downward and feature short-row shaping at the sleeve caps, which creates a smooth, professional fit at the shoulder area. This combination of bottom-up body construction and top-down sleeve construction is a classic technique that ensures proper fit and allows for easy adjustments during the knitting process.

Stitches and Stitch Patterns

The primary stitch pattern featured in the Nimbus Pullover is the Feather lace pattern, which creates the graceful, allover texture that defines this garment. The lace pattern is worked using fundamental lace-knitting techniques including yarn overs (abbreviated as Yo) to create the decorative holes characteristic of lace, combined with decreases to maintain stitch count and shape the lace motif.

The sleeves and the narrow side sections are worked in Stockinette stitch, the fundamental knit fabric created by knitting all right-side rows and purling all wrong-side rows when working flat. The sleeve caps incorporate short-row shaping (abbreviated as W&T for Wrap and Turn), a technique that creates gradual shaping by working partial rows and wrapping stitches to avoid visible holes at the turning points. Common decrease techniques used throughout the pattern include knit 2 together (K2tog), slip, slip, knit (SSK), and slip, knit, pass slipped stitch over (Skp), all of which are single-stitch decreases that lean in different directions to create visually balanced shaping.

Materials and Yarn Specifications

The Nimbus Pullover is designed to be worked with Valley Yarns Conway, a yarn composed of 60% Pima Cotton and 40% Acrylic. This fiber blend is specifically chosen for warm-weather wear, as Pima cotton provides a soft hand against the skin and breathability, while the acrylic component adds durability and easy-care properties, making the finished garment simple to launder and maintain. The yarn is provided in 50-gram skeins, each containing 127 yards of yardage.

The yardage requirements vary by size: Size 32 inches requires 8 skeins, Size 36 inches requires 9 skeins, Size 40 inches requires 10 skeins, Size 44 inches requires 11 skeins, Size 48 inches requires 12 skeins, Size 52 inches requires 13 skeins, and Size 56 inches requires 14 skeins. The pictured sample is worked in Color 13, Bluestone, a sophisticated neutral shade.

Needles and Tools

The pattern calls for US size 5 (3.75 mm) needles in multiple configurations: 16-inch circular needles, 24–32-inch circular needles, and double-pointed needles (DPN). These larger needles are used for the main lace pattern and body construction. US size 4 (3.50 mm) needles in 16-inch and 24–32-inch circular needle lengths are also required; these smaller needles are used for ribbed edgings or other sections requiring a tighter gauge, or may be substituted if gauge adjustments are needed.

Additional notions include stitch markers for tracking pattern repeats and construction points—including one marker in a unique color