Pastel Rainbow Pullover: A Simple Sweater Knitting Pattern
Like many others born in the '90s who was, therefore, a teenager in the noughts, I spent most of my time in high school (okay... and college) wearing mainly black and feeling sorry for myself. If I was feeling extra bold that day, I would throw in a hint of color or some contrasting white, but for the most part, my uniform consisted of black jeans, a black band tee, and sometimes even black hair.
I still feel pretty sorry for myself, but, finally, at the ripe old age of 27 I've been forcing myself to add a little more color into my wardrobe.
By that, I mean I'll wear lighter jeans once a week and a colored top maybe 20% of the time. Baby steps.
For someone who can only be described as a "colorphobe," I've always been heavily inspired and influenced by color. I'm fascinated by color theory, how and why certain colors look nice together, the psychological effect that various colors can have on people, branding, graphic design, you name it. It's all so freaking cool.
I'm also extremely picky about color. Like your standard emo hipster 2000s teen, it's very important for me to feel ~*~unique~*~ and dIfFeReNt, and my color choices need to be bold and unusual, but still pleasing to the eye. Take my wedding, for example; my fiancé and I spent literal hours deciding what color scheme we wanted for our wedding, and neither of us really care about weddings. We settled on a sort of surfer-influenced '70s-inspired scheme of #1a3f65, #843a43, #e67355, and #d3bb66. That's right, hex codes. It's that serious. And, yes, it's basically a circus color scheme, but it's going to look dope, or at least that's what I'm telling myself.
My point here is that I'm experimenting. And, actually, using multiple colors in my knitting has always been my favorite way to shake things up, beyond cables and lace and textures. So, when I discovered Paintbox Yarn, I lusted after it for a while. Stay tuned for my next pattern, because I use more of it. That one won't be a rainbow, but will come from one of those variety color packs that LoveKnitting offers. The scheme they chose was just so pleasing.
So, when I'd grabbed a good coupon code from my last ill-advised LoveKnitting purchase, and was able to combine it with a general sale on Paintbox yarn, I decided I wanted to use as many colors as possible—how better to do that than with a rainbow? But a normal rainbow is too mainstream. I needed a pastel rainbow. And then it turned into this weird '80s/'90s flex with balloon sleeves because I'm dangerously in love with balloon sleeves.
This has the added benefit of being my go-to sweater for any and every Pride event this year.
NOTE: So, before I get into the pattern (they're thinking "what else could she possibly have to say?") I feel obligated to be transparent about the fact that, although there are multiple sizes listed, I have only knit the smallest size. I myself am a size small, typically, and I knit this to be the exact measurements that I wanted in a sweater, and just looked up typical measurements for larger sizes and adjusted stitch counts according to gauge. For that reason, the skein numbers for medium-xl sizes is also estimated based on how much of each skein I used in my sweater. I'm just a girl sharing something she knit on her blog. I will say that it's a very basic stockinette stitch sweater with puffy sleeves and thicc stripes, so if you're suspicious of my stitch counts for larger sizes, feel free to check out another free top-down sweater knit on bulky yarn before you pick your final cast-on number.
Yarn: Paintbox Yarn Simply Chunky
Gauge: 15 sts and 26 rows = 4" in stockinette stitch in the round on larger needles
Needles:
Other Materials:
In alphabetical order, beginning with A, knit approximately 3" in each color before switching to the next. Feel free to adjust this measurement based on the stripe thickness you want. Each stripe of mine worked out to about 18 rounds.
Round 1: *k2, p2; rep from * around.
Rep round 1 until neck measures ~3”.
Switch to larger double-pointed needles.
(Markers explained:
BOR to first marker = sleeve (right)
First marker to second marker = front
Second marker to third marker = sleeve (left)
Third marker to BOR = back)
Raglan Increases:
Round 1: k1, m1l, k to last st before next marker, m1r, k1; rep from * around. 68 (72, 76, 80) sts on needles.
Round 2: k around
Round 3: k to 1st marker, k1, m1l, k to last st before second marker, m1r, k1, k to 3rd marker, k1 m1l, k to last st before second marker, m1r, k1.
Round 4: k around
Rep last 4 rounds until you have 132 (148, 152, 168) sts on the needles (21 (24, 25, 28) for each sleeve and 45 (50, 51, 56) for each front and back). End after either a round 2 or 4.
Switch to circular knitting needles as needed as number of stitches on needles increases.
Next, rep only rounds 1 and 2 until you have 228 (244, 264, 288) sts on the needles (45 (48, 53, 58) for each sleeve and 69 (74, 79, 86) for each front and back). End after a round 2.
Using backwards loop method, CO 3 (3, 5, 4) sts.
K across next 69 (74, 79, 86) sts. Remove marker.
Place next 45 (48, 53, 58) sts on scrap yarn or stitch holder.
Using backwards loop method, CO 3 (3, 5, 4) sts.
K across last 69 (74, 79, 86) sts. 144 (154, 168, 180) sts rem on the needles.
Round 1: K across.
K in stockinette stitch, continuing the striping patt, until body of sweater measures 7” (7.5", 8", 8.5") from underarm, or 2" shorter than desired length.
Hem:
Switch to size 9 needles.
Round 1: *k2, p2; rep from * around.
Rep ribbing until hem measures 2." Bind off.
Rounds 1-10: k around
Round 11: k1, m1l, k to last st, m1r, k1. 52 (56, 60, 64) sts on needles.
Rep last 11 rounds until you have 58 (62, 64, 72) sts on your needles.
Next 5 rounds: k around
Next round: k1, m1l, k to last st, m1r, k1. 60 (64, 66, 74) sts on needes.
Rep last 6 rounds until you have 64 (72, 76, 80) sts total on your needles.
Continue knitting in stockinette until sleeve measures around 20” (22", 23", 26") or 2" less than desired sleeve length, if it doesn’t already.
Next round: *k2tog around. 32 (36, 38, 40) sts on needles.
Cuff Ribbing:
Switch to size 9 needles.
Round 1: *k2, p2; rep from * around.
Rep this round until cuff ribbing measures 2”. Bind off.
I still feel pretty sorry for myself, but, finally, at the ripe old age of 27 I've been forcing myself to add a little more color into my wardrobe.
By that, I mean I'll wear lighter jeans once a week and a colored top maybe 20% of the time. Baby steps.
For someone who can only be described as a "colorphobe," I've always been heavily inspired and influenced by color. I'm fascinated by color theory, how and why certain colors look nice together, the psychological effect that various colors can have on people, branding, graphic design, you name it. It's all so freaking cool.
I'm also extremely picky about color. Like your standard emo hipster 2000s teen, it's very important for me to feel ~*~unique~*~ and dIfFeReNt, and my color choices need to be bold and unusual, but still pleasing to the eye. Take my wedding, for example; my fiancé and I spent literal hours deciding what color scheme we wanted for our wedding, and neither of us really care about weddings. We settled on a sort of surfer-influenced '70s-inspired scheme of #1a3f65, #843a43, #e67355, and #d3bb66. That's right, hex codes. It's that serious. And, yes, it's basically a circus color scheme, but it's going to look dope, or at least that's what I'm telling myself.
My point here is that I'm experimenting. And, actually, using multiple colors in my knitting has always been my favorite way to shake things up, beyond cables and lace and textures. So, when I discovered Paintbox Yarn, I lusted after it for a while. Stay tuned for my next pattern, because I use more of it. That one won't be a rainbow, but will come from one of those variety color packs that LoveKnitting offers. The scheme they chose was just so pleasing.
So, when I'd grabbed a good coupon code from my last ill-advised LoveKnitting purchase, and was able to combine it with a general sale on Paintbox yarn, I decided I wanted to use as many colors as possible—how better to do that than with a rainbow? But a normal rainbow is too mainstream. I needed a pastel rainbow. And then it turned into this weird '80s/'90s flex with balloon sleeves because I'm dangerously in love with balloon sleeves.
This has the added benefit of being my go-to sweater for any and every Pride event this year.
NOTE: So, before I get into the pattern (they're thinking "what else could she possibly have to say?") I feel obligated to be transparent about the fact that, although there are multiple sizes listed, I have only knit the smallest size. I myself am a size small, typically, and I knit this to be the exact measurements that I wanted in a sweater, and just looked up typical measurements for larger sizes and adjusted stitch counts according to gauge. For that reason, the skein numbers for medium-xl sizes is also estimated based on how much of each skein I used in my sweater. I'm just a girl sharing something she knit on her blog. I will say that it's a very basic stockinette stitch sweater with puffy sleeves and thicc stripes, so if you're suspicious of my stitch counts for larger sizes, feel free to check out another free top-down sweater knit on bulky yarn before you pick your final cast-on number.
Pastel Rainbow Pullover
Yarn: Paintbox Yarn Simply Chunky
- A: Blush Pink (353) - 1 (1, 2, 2) skein(s)
- B: Melon Sorbet (316) - 1 (1, 1, 1) skein(s)
- C: Daffodil Yellow (321) - 1 (1, 1, 1) skein(s)
- D: Pistachio Green (324) - 1 (1, 1, 2) skein(s)
- E: Washed Teal (332) - 1 (1, 2, 2) skein(s)
- F: Duck Egg Blue (335) - 1 (2, 2, 2) skein(s)
- G: Pale Lilac (345) - 1 (1, 1, 1) skein(s)
Gauge: 15 sts and 26 rows = 4" in stockinette stitch in the round on larger needles
Needles:
- 24" size 9 circular needles
- 24" size 10 circular needles
- Set of size 9 double-pointed needles
- Set of size 10 double-pointed needles
Other Materials:
- Two stitch holders or scrap yarn
- Four stitch markers
- Small: 35" bust
- Medium: 38" bust
- Large: 41" bust
- X-Large: 43" bust
In alphabetical order, beginning with A, knit approximately 3" in each color before switching to the next. Feel free to adjust this measurement based on the stripe thickness you want. Each stripe of mine worked out to about 18 rounds.
Pattern
Using smaller double-pointed needles, co 60 (64, 68, 72) sts. Join to work in the round, being careful not to twist your sts.Round 1: *k2, p2; rep from * around.
Rep round 1 until neck measures ~3”.
Switch to larger double-pointed needles.
Yoke
Round 1: k9 (10, 11, 12), pm, k21 (22, 23, 24), pm, k9 (10, 11, 12), pm, k21 (22, 23, 24).(Markers explained:
BOR to first marker = sleeve (right)
First marker to second marker = front
Second marker to third marker = sleeve (left)
Third marker to BOR = back)
Raglan Increases:
Round 1: k1, m1l, k to last st before next marker, m1r, k1; rep from * around. 68 (72, 76, 80) sts on needles.
Round 2: k around
Round 3: k to 1st marker, k1, m1l, k to last st before second marker, m1r, k1, k to 3rd marker, k1 m1l, k to last st before second marker, m1r, k1.
Round 4: k around
Rep last 4 rounds until you have 132 (148, 152, 168) sts on the needles (21 (24, 25, 28) for each sleeve and 45 (50, 51, 56) for each front and back). End after either a round 2 or 4.
Switch to circular knitting needles as needed as number of stitches on needles increases.
Next, rep only rounds 1 and 2 until you have 228 (244, 264, 288) sts on the needles (45 (48, 53, 58) for each sleeve and 69 (74, 79, 86) for each front and back). End after a round 2.
Body
Place first 45 (48, 53, 58) sts on scrap yarn or stitch holder. Remove marker.Using backwards loop method, CO 3 (3, 5, 4) sts.
K across next 69 (74, 79, 86) sts. Remove marker.
Place next 45 (48, 53, 58) sts on scrap yarn or stitch holder.
Using backwards loop method, CO 3 (3, 5, 4) sts.
K across last 69 (74, 79, 86) sts. 144 (154, 168, 180) sts rem on the needles.
Round 1: K across.
K in stockinette stitch, continuing the striping patt, until body of sweater measures 7” (7.5", 8", 8.5") from underarm, or 2" shorter than desired length.
Hem:
Switch to size 9 needles.
Round 1: *k2, p2; rep from * around.
Rep ribbing until hem measures 2." Bind off.
Sleeves
Using size 10 needles, pick up and knit 45 (48, 53, 58) sts from either sleeve off of scrap yarn. Pick up and knit 5 (6, 5, 4) sts from underarm cast on stitches, and gap on either side if necessary. Place marker either exactly or roughly in the middle of these stitches to denote the new beginning of round. Join to work in the round. 50 (54, 58, 62) sts on needles.Rounds 1-10: k around
Round 11: k1, m1l, k to last st, m1r, k1. 52 (56, 60, 64) sts on needles.
Rep last 11 rounds until you have 58 (62, 64, 72) sts on your needles.
Next 5 rounds: k around
Next round: k1, m1l, k to last st, m1r, k1. 60 (64, 66, 74) sts on needes.
Rep last 6 rounds until you have 64 (72, 76, 80) sts total on your needles.
Continue knitting in stockinette until sleeve measures around 20” (22", 23", 26") or 2" less than desired sleeve length, if it doesn’t already.
Next round: *k2tog around. 32 (36, 38, 40) sts on needles.
Cuff Ribbing:
Switch to size 9 needles.
Round 1: *k2, p2; rep from * around.
Rep this round until cuff ribbing measures 2”. Bind off.
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