Valley Yarns Arcus Pullover Knitting Pattern

Valley Yarns Arcus Pullover

What is Being Made

The Valley Yarns Arcus Pullover is a casual drop shoulder tunic designed by Julie Turjoman. This 3-season knit features a deep split neckline and serves as an ideal layering piece for versatile seasonal wear. The pullover is available in eight finished bust sizes ranging from 34 inches to 62 inches, offering options for a wide range of body measurements.

Construction Method

This pullover is worked in the round from the bottom up, a construction technique that creates seamless fabric and allows for efficient knitting of large garment pieces. Working in the round eliminates the need for seaming and provides consistent fabric structure throughout the body of the garment.

Techniques Used

• Lace Knitting: The design features an easily memorized lace-textured hem created through a repeating 8-round pattern. This lace border incorporates yarn overs and decreases to create an openwork design that adds visual interest and texture to the garment's lower edge.
• Yarn Overs and Decreases: The lace pattern utilizes yarn overs (yo) for creating holes and multiple decrease techniques including s2kp2 (slip 2 stitches knitwise, knit 1, pass 2 slipped stitches over) to shape the lace motifs.
• Short-Row Shaping: The pattern includes wrap and turn (W&t) short-row shaping techniques for tailored garment fit.
• Circular Knitting: The entire garment is worked using circular needles, maintaining stitches on the needle throughout construction.

Stitches Used

• Stockinette Stitch: The primary fabric stitch, worked in the round as knit stitches every round, creating a smooth, classic knit fabric.
• Lace Stitches: The hem pattern incorporates yarn overs (yo), knit stitches (k), and slip-slip-knit decreases (s2kp2) arranged in a repeating 8-round lace pattern that creates an openwork texture.
• Increase and Decrease Stitches: The pattern uses make 1 left and right increases (M1L/M1R), knit 2 together (k2tog), and slip-slip-knit decreases (SSK) for shaping the garment.

Materials and Tools

The Arcus Pullover is knitted using Valley Yarns Northampton, a worsted weight yarn composed of 100% wool. Each skein contains 100 grams and 247 yards of yardage. The project requires 3 to 7 skeins depending on the finished size selected, with the size 38-inch shown garment requiring 4 skeins in the Nebula Heather colorway.

Needles required include US size 6 (4.00 mm) circular needles in 32–40 inch length for the main fabric, worked to a gauge of 20 stitches and 26 rows over 4 inches in stockinette stitch when blocked. US size 5 (3.75 mm) circular needles in both 32–40 inch and 24-inch lengths are used for ribbed sections and finer gauge work. Additional materials include stitch markers for tracking pattern repeats and a tapestry needle for finishing.

Difficulty Level

This pattern is rated as beginner level, making it accessible to knitters new to garment construction. The easily memorized lace pattern and straightforward bottom-up construction in the round provide an excellent introduction to working with lace techniques and circular knitting methods.