Vargö pullover

The Vargö pullover is knitted seamlessly top-down starting at the neckband. The yoke is knitted in stranded colorwork. The patterns are easy to knit with short pattern repeats (the maximum length of floats is 5 stitches on 3 rounds only). The sleeves and body are separated at the end of the circular yoke and knitted separately. The back is shaped with optional short-rows to improve the fit. Choose two colors with high contrast (one dark color, one light) for the patterns to show.

Vargö is a part of Suomenlinna island situated in front of my hometown Helsinki. On calm and sunny days, it is a popular day trip destination for people living in Helsinki, but the weather can get quite rough on a stormy day when the wind blows from the open sea. The word Vargö means “the island of wolves”.

PS. If you have a dog, I also have this same pattern as a dog sweater.

Sizes
1 (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9)
Finished bust circumference: 85 (95, 105, 115, 125, 135, 145, 155, 165) cm / 33.5 (37.5, 41.25, 45.25, 49.25, 53.25, 57, 61, 65) inches including the intended ease of 10 cm / 4 inches
Length from hem to underarm (adjustable): 28 (28, 28, 30, 30, 30, 32, 32, 34) cm / 11 (11, 11, 11.75, 11.75, 11.75, 12.5, 12.5, 13.5) inches
Yoke length: 26.5 (26.5, 26.5, 27.5, 27.5, 27.5, 28.5, 28.5, 28.5) cm / 10.5 (10.5, 10.5, 10.75, 10.75, 10.75, 11.25, 11.25, 11.25) inches
Sleeve length from cuff to underarm (adjustable): 40 (40, 42, 42, 42, 44, 44, 44, 44) cm / 15.75 (15.75, 16.5, 16.5, 16.5, 17.25, 17.25, 17.25, 17.25) inches
Upper arm circumference: 27 (30, 33, 36, 39, 43, 46, 48, 51) cm / 10.75 (11.75, 13, 14.25, 15.25, 17, 18, 19, 20) 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
MC: 6 (7, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13) skeins skeins of Knitting For Olive Heavy Merino (100 % wool; 125 m / 137 yards per 50 g), shown in colorway Mushroom rose, or 720 (790, 870, 950, 1050, 1150, 1270, 1400, 1530) m / 780 (860, 950, 1040, 1150, 1260, 1390, 1530, 1680) yards of similar worsted weight yarn.
CC: 2 (2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 3, 3, 3) skeins of Knitting For Olive Heavy Merino (100 % wool; 125 m / 137 yards per 50 g), shown in colorway Dark moose, or 150 (160, 180, 200, 220, 240, 260, 290, 320) m / 160 (180, 200, 220, 240, 260, 290, 320, 350) yards of similar worsted weight yarn.

Needles
3.25 mm / US3 DPNs or a circular needle with a cable suitable for small circumference knitting for cuffs
3.25 mm / US3 circular needle with a cable length of 40 cm / 16 inches for the neckline
3.25 mm / US3 circular needle with a cable length of 80 cm / 32 inches for smaller sizes and 100 cm / 40 inches for larger sizes for the hem
4 mm / US6 circular needle with a cable length of 40 cm / 16 inches for smaller sizes and 60 cm / 24 inches for larger sizes for the sleeves
4 mm / US6 circular needle with a cable length of 80 cm / 32 inches for smaller sizes and 100 cm / 40 inches for larger sizes for the main part

Note: Always use the needle size that gets you the right gauge! You might need to knit the colorwork using a needle one size larger than you would normally use for Stockinette stitch with the same yarn weight, so swatch carefully and change needles after finishing the colorwork section if necessary.

Gauge
20 sts and 24 rounds = 10 cm / 4 inches of charted pattern in the round on larger needles, after blocking
20 sts and 28 rounds = 10 cm / 4 inches of Stockinette stitch in the round on larger needles, after blocking

Notions
2 stitch markers
waste yarn
sewing needle
blocking tools