Ballard pullover

The Ballard pullover is named after the cozy and hip neighborhood in northern Seattle. It is known for its Nordic roots, the sandy beaches at Golden Gardens Park, the Sunday farmers market, and an extensive craft brewery scene. 

The Ballard pullover has a boxy fit and dropped shoulders. It is knitted with an allover cable and rib pattern. The pullover is started at the back neck and increased to the full width of the back. The increases over the cable pattern are fully charted. Then stitches are picked up for the shoulders and worked as the front of the pullover. The front and back are joined at underarm and the body is then worked in the round. Stitches are then picked up from the body for the sleeves and the neckband. The sleeves are also worked in the cable pattern. The hem and cuffs are finished with a tubular bind off, which provides a beautiful and stretchy edge that looks like the stitches roll over the edge to the other side of the ribbing. 

For the stitch patterns to show best, I recommend choosing unicolor or slightly tonal colorways. The Ballard pullover is worked in DK weight yarn but you can also knit it by holding one strand of fingering weight yarn together with a strand of silk mohair.

The length of the body and sleeves are easily modified to suit your own body measurements. I recommend trying the sweater on every now and then while working on it to make sure you get the perfect length for your style. Note: You can easily modify the body shorter for a cropped look. For a cropped sweater I would only work 15-20 cm / 6-8 inches for the body. 

Sizes

• 1 (2, 3, 4, 5) (6, 7, 8, 9)
• Finished bust circumference: 92 (105, 112, 121, 132) (141, 152, 161, 172) cm / 36.25 (41.25, 44, 47.75, 52) (55.5, 59.75, 63.5, 67.75) inches including the intended positive ease of 15-20 cm / 6-8 inches
• Length from hem to underarm (adjustable): 31 (31, 31, 31, 33) (33, 33, 35, 35) cm / 12.25 (12.25, 12.25, 12.25, 13) (13, 13, 13.75, 13.75) inches
• Sleeve length from cuff to underarm (adjustable): 42 cm / 16 inches
• Upper arm circumference: 34 (36, 38, 40, 43) (46, 49, 52, 55) cm / 13.25 (14.25, 15, 15.75, 16.75) (18.25, 19.25, 20.5, 21.75) inches

Note: Please be aware that adjusting the lengths of the garment will also affect the amount of yarn needed to finish the project.

Yarn

Note: If you wish to work the pullover with fingering weight yarn and mohair, you will need the given yarn amount for both yarns. Work the whole pullover holding the yarns together. 

880 (960, 1060, 1170, 1280) (1410, 1550, 1710, 1790) m / 960 (1050, 1160, 1270, 1400) (1540, 1690, 1860, 1960) yards of DK weight yarn.

Sample: 4 (4, 5, 5, 6) (6, 7, 7, 8) skeins of Les Petits Points Parisiens Yak DK (50% merino, 50% yak; 250 meters / 273 yards per 100 g) shown in the colorway Gris.

Needles

• 3 mm / US 2.5 circular needles with a cable of 40 cm / 16 inches for the neck ribbing
• 3 mm / US 2.5 DPNs or circular needles with a cable suitable for small circumference knitting for the cuffs
• 3 mm / US 2.5 circular needles with a cable of at least 80 cm / 32 inches for the hem

• 3.5 mm / US 4 DPNs or circular needles with a cable suitable for small circumference knitting for the sleeves
• 3.5 mm / US 4 circular needles with a cable of at least 80 cm / 32 inches for the body

Gauge

22 sts and 28 rows = 10 cm / 4 inches of Main chart on larger needles, after blocking

Notions

6 stitch markers

4 locking markers

cable needle, if using

waste yarn

tapestry needle

blocking tools