The Design

The knitting of this pullover is straightforward—lovely fields of stockinette stitch! It’s the thoughtful styling details that add subtle elegance. The flattering dropped shoulder creates a roomy armhole (no fabric bunching under the arm), a little short-row shaping allows the front and back hemlines to hang evenly, and the length of the straight, boxy body is easy to modify! It’s a sweater you’ll wear and wear.

We knit this version of the Better-Than-Basic Pullover with one strand of Shibui Nest and one strand of Silk Cloud held together throughout. Nest is a bouncy, squishy, DK-weight yarn with an intriguing texture. Its blend of soft wool and alpaca melds perfectly with the silky fuzz of lace-weight Silk Cloud for a truly irresistible fabric!

The Details

SIZES
This pullover is designed with lots of ease (8–10"/20–25cm), relaxed shoulders and slim sleeves in sizes XS (S, M, L, XL).

Finished bust: 42½ (46½, 50, 54½, 59)"/108 (118, 127, 138, 150)cm, after seaming.
To fit bust: 32–34 (36–38, 40–42, 44–46, 48–50)"/81–86 (91–96, 101–106, 112–117, 122–127)cm.

LENGTHS
Finished body length measured from high shoulder (where shoulder meets neck) to hem.

Hip-length version (shown here): 23¼ (23½, 24¼, 24½, 25)"/59 (60, 61, 62, 63)cm.

Tunic-length version (shown on Ultra Alpaca project page): 30¼ (30½, 31¼, 31½, 32)"/76.5 (77, 79, 80, 81)cm.

Center back neck to cuff: 24 (25, 26, 27, 28)"/ 61 (63, 66, 69, 71)cm.

YARN
Hip-length version: 7 (7, 8, 9, 9) skeins Shibui Nest (175yds/160m each) and 3 (4, 5, 5, 5) skeins Shibui Silk Cloud held together throughout.

Or 1100 (1200, 1300, 1400, 1500) yds/1005 (1100, 1190, 1280, 1370)m each of a DK-weight yarn and a lace-weight yarn held together throughout. You’ll want to open it up just a little to a finished gauge of 4½ sts per inch.

To lengthen or shorten body: Add or subtract approx. 30 (33, 35, 39, 41) yds/27 (30, 32, 35, 37)m of yarn per 1"/2.5cm of knitted length.

Sample Shown: Hip-length with Funnel neck in size Small, color 2186 Dusk.

NEEDLES & NOTIONS
Funnel-neck version (shown here) with ribbing.
US 8 (5mm) 24"/60cm circular needles or size to obtain gauge.
US 6 (4mm)16"/40cm circular needles, or 2 US sizes/1mm smaller than gauge size.
Both versions: 2 ring markers; 6 locking markers; 4 stitch holders (we like to use extra circular needles, in gauge size or smaller, so you can knit off holder from either end); darning needle to finish.

GAUGE
18 sts/25 rows = 4"/10cm in stockinette stitch on larger needle, after blocking.