Pattern: Practical Procrastination Pullover

Well, it took a while, but here it is: the pattern for the short sleeved pullover I designed last year and reknit this January, newly christened the Practical Procrastination Pullover. The alliteration is a little painful, I know, but I just couldn't resist. Besides, it's quite true actually. I designed and knit this in a fit of procrastination come exam period (I actually did the majority of the knitting while listening to endless recordings of Restitutions Law lectures).

But despite these mildly deplorable origins, it's actually a very practical thing to knit. It's good to throw on over a tank top for a little bit of extra warmth when it's not quite warm enough to go without - I've been wearing it quite a lot like this in the current autumn weather, throwing a scarf into the mix on colder mornings. Come winter, I imagine it'll be great for layering. And if one wants to extend the 'practical' theme to finding a use for some of those past impulsive yarn purchases, this pattern lends itself very well. It uses about 420 yards of DK weight yarn, so if you've got anything squirrelled away in an amount that isn't quite enough for a full size pullover, this hits the spot quite nicely. Or if you're feeling all frugal and virtuous, you can do what I did for the purple version - using only one 200g ball of yarn, it cost me a whole $11 to make!




I ummed and ahhed a little about how and when to post this one, if at all. Originally I'd toyed with the idea of braving some maths and then writing up instructions for other sizes, but then I realised that given how hectic my life is, it might take a while for me to get around to doing this. I'll update it when I do, but in the mean time, here's the original version - it probably wouldn't take too much work to up/downsize it. Raglans are pretty flexible that way, which is why we love them.

Also, a brief disclaimer: the following pattern has, as of right now, been test knit only by yours truly (though people are working on this!), and even though I am yet to find any, there may very well be mistakes lurking in the depths. If you find any, please do let me know!





Practical Procrastination Pullover:

This is a raglan style short sleeved pullover, constructed from the bottom hem upwards. Stitches are cast on for the body and worked in the round until being divided for the neckline opening, after which point it is worked back and forth flat. Sleeves are created by provisionally casting on stitches, which are later picked up and worked from the shoulder down once the body knitting has been completed.

Size: Fits a 36 inch bust with a small amount of ease.

Yarn: Variegated version used Sanguine Gryphon Free Range in 'Green Junglefowl' (2 skeins). I worked from both skeins at once, switching every two rows to avoid pooling, but you don't need to do that if you're not as neurotic as I am! Purple version used Bendigo Woollen Mills Rustic 8ply in 'Midnight Tweed' (1 ball). This is equivalent to approximately 420 yards of DK knit weight yarn.

Needles: 5.5mm circular needle for body, and 5.5mm double pointed needles as well if you're not keen on using the magic loop technique for the sleeves. Optional: 7mm needles for sleeves if working the flared sleeve variation seen in the variegated version.

Gauge: 15 sts / 24 rows = 4 inches on 5.5mm needles. Note: using this size needle with a dk yarn creates quite a light fabric, so upsize the yarn if you want something more substantial.

Abbreviations:
K: knit
P: purl
PM: place stitch marker
SM: slip stitch marker
K2tog: Knit next two stitches together (1 stitch decreased - right slanting decrease)
SSK: Slip next two stitches, one at a time, then knit together through the front (1 stitch decreased - left slanting decrease)
RS: right side
WS: wrong side
M1: Increase one stitch


Body:
Cast on 132 stitches. PM to mark beginning and join to begin working in the round.
In first round, PM after 66 stitches to mark halfway point of round (used for waist shaping).
Work next 6 rows in garter stitch in the round (i.e. alternating knit and purl rounds).
Change to stocking stitch (knit all rounds), and work 4 more rounds.

Waist Decreases:
Decrease round: K1, ssk, knit to 3 stitches before side marker, k2tog, K1, SM, K1, ssk, knit to 3 stitches before end of round, k2tog, K1. (total of 4 stitches decreased)

Work 5 rows even.

Repeat last 6 rows 3 more times (4 decrease rows worked, total of 16 stitches decreased, 116 stitches remaining).

Work even until piece measures 8 inches from cast on edge, or length desired before neck opening (note that I am Tall and probably have a longer torso than most, so this length may vary on someone else!)

Neckline set-up:
K 25, PM, P 8, PM, knit to end of round (these 8 purled stitches will form the garter stitch border for the neckline, so if you desire a wider/narrower border, alter your garter stitch count accordingly here. The important thing to remember is that these stitches are centred on the front half of the pullover).

Knit 1 round even.
Knit to first neckline marker, SM, P 8, SM, knit to end of round.
Knit to first neckline marker, K 4, turn work and (now knitting on the WS, working flat) knit to end, maintaining garter borders (i.e. knitting purl stitches and purling knit stitches).

Begin neckline decreases:
RS: Starting at right side of neckline, knit garter stitch border to marker, SM, ssk, knit around to 2 stitches before the other neckline marker, k2tog, SM, knit garter stitch to end (2 stitches decreased).
WS: Maintaining garter stitch borders, work even.

Repeat last 2 rows until 23 stitches remain on each front side (i.e. in between the neckline and the side marker, including the garter stitch border).

Note: maintain garter borders throughout rest of the body.

Waist Increases:
Continue working neckline decreases as described above, and at the same time:

RS: Work to 1 stitch before side marker, M1, K1, SM, K1, M1, work to 1 stitch before next marker, M1, K1, SM, K1, M1, then work to end, maintaining neck decreases and garter borders (4 stitches increased).
Work 5 rows even.

Repeat last 6 rows 1 more time (total of 8 stitches increased). Stitch total should now be as follows: 4 stitches (neckline), 15 stitches (front), 62 stitches (back), 15 stitches (front), 4 stitches (neckline). 100 stitches total.

Sleeves:
Knit to 3 stitches before side marker. Slip next 6 stitches onto two separate pieces of waste yarn - 3 stitches per piece (removing first side marker), PM, provisionally cast on 42 stitches for the first sleeve, PM, work to 3 stitches before second side marker, slip next 6 stitches on waste yarn as previously described, PM, provisionally cast on 42 stitches for second sleeve, PM, work to end.

Note: neckline decreases cease from this point onwards.

Purl next round.

Raglan decreases:
Row 1 (RS): Knit to first sleeve marker, SM, k2tog, work to 2 stitches before next marker, ssk, SM, k2tog, work to 2 stitches before next marker, ssk, SM, k2tog, work to 2 stitches before last sleeve marker, ssk, SM, work to end. (6 stitches decreased)
Row 2 (WS): Purl
Row 3: Work as for Row 1
Row 4: Purl
Row 5: Knit to 2 stitches before first sleeve marker, ssk, SM, k2tog, work to 2 stitches before next marker, ssk, SM, k2tog, work to 2 stitches before next marker, ssk, SM, k2tog, work to 2 stitches before last sleeve marker, ssk, SM, k2tog, work to end. (8 stitches decreased).
Row 6: Purl.

Repeat the last 6 rows 2 more times.

Work as for Row 5 on all RS rows, purling WS rows, for 18 rows more. Stop decreasing when 48 stitches remain (you should have 5 stitches remaining on each front - including garter border, 8 stitches on each sleeve, and 22 stitches on the back).
Work 4 rows garter stitch.
Bind of all stitches

(Optional: On the purple version, I decreased 1 stitch on each neckline edge in the last 2 rows before the bind-off, just to make the corners a little less pointy).

Sleeves:
Starting middle of armpit, knit 3 held stitches onto needle (circular or dpn, depending on how you choose to work the sleeves). Pick up 1 stitch between these stitches and the sleeve stitches, then carefully undo the provisional cast on and knit these stitches. Pick up 1 stitch in gap between sleeve and held stitches. Knit remaining 3 held stitches.
Place marker to mark start, then work in the round for 3 rounds.

Work 4 rows garter stitch in the round (optional: if you want a slightly flared sleeve, switch to 7mm needles at this point).

Loosely bind off all stitches.

Weave in ends, block, and you're done!

If anything in this doesn't make sense, or you have questions, drop me an email!


Pattern and photos © 2010. Permission is given for personal use only. Please don't copy this pattern or sell items made from it without talking to me about it first.

Productivity. And a Cat

Well, life has been a bit crazy here. But that's just normal really - I've noticed that I tend to say that every week. On the bright side, I'm on mid semester break from today, so hopefully the crazy will subside as I catch up on some sleep and get on top of my exam revision (and by get on top of my revision, I mean ignore it and play outdated computer games... as usual).

Sylvi is getting there slowly. I've finished both sides, and now I just have a couple more inches of the top part of the back. Then I can seam it and get stuck into the hood, and after that all of the substantive knitting is done and it's just the endless finishing to go. So I'm nearly done. Umm, sort of...

How about I shut up and present you with more tangible evidence that I've been constructive on the knitting front? Yes, let's do that!




The specific yet unhelpful part: This is, well, um, Anna's short sleeved pullover, by, um, me! I'll give it a proper name if/when I write the pattern up. Yarn is Sanguine Gryphon Free Range - about 1.7 skeins of the Green JungleFowl colourway (100% wool). Knitted on a 5.5mm circular needle.

The part where I ramble for even longer than usual: Yay - I tackled bottom-up raglan designing and actually produced something that fits! Yep - I did all of the maths and everything. I am inordinately proud of myself for this. I took detailed pattern notes too for a change, so I'm thinking that I'll try knitting it again some time in order to iron out the kinks, and then post the pattern up if anyone is still interested.

I am mostly happy with how it turned out. I would have preferred slightly less ease - it grew a little on blocking because of my loose gauge - but that's just personal preference. It really does fit just fine as it is. I'm not entirely happy with the sleeves, though. I ended up doing basic stockingette cap sleeves with a garter edging in needles several sizes up to make them flare out slightly, but I'm not sure that the experiment was a wholly successful one. It requires some fine tuning. So fine tune I shall, at a later date.

This yarn. Nom. I love Sanguine Gryphon so, so much. Admittedly I am yet to lay eyes (or hands and needles) on the fabled Bugga yarn that everyone else is foaming at the mouth over, but I just can't bring myself to feel too disappointed about that, given that all of her other stuff is just so lovely too. Knitting with yarns like this one is hardly a consolation prize! Seriously - it's beautiful. Just look at those colours! Click the photo and actually look at them!




Seriously - it's beautiful. I never thought that I'd feel compelled to knit a garment from variegated yarn, but these colours made me do it anyway! I had no choice in the matter! Great yardage too - I made this with less than two skeins! I mean, I don't normally use that much yarn for projects since I often opt for looser gauges, but less than two skeins! I still have one and a bit to do other things with!

Anyway, so now that this happy diversion has been concluded, it's high time that Sylvi got finished. If I ever get the cat out from under my feet long enough to actually work on it. Family are away, so he has gotten mega-clingy over the last week. Do you know how hard it is to do your tai chi practice when there is a cat determined to sit 15cm from your feet at all times? And if I leave anything that I've been wearing unattended for more than ten seconds, I come back to find him sitting on it. Not just jackets and t-shirts either. Yesterday it was my university bag, and then I found him trying to balance on top of one of my hats. Idiot.




He's *my* idiot though... Poor sweet old man - we've found a compromise where I accidentally-on-purpose leave my tracksuit pants unattended on the floor next to my bed. So hopefully that will keep him happy for a while.