Audrey’s Pullover Tips Page
On this page you’ll find tips and tutorials for all the techniques used in my Audrey’s Pullover pattern! I review the following topics on this page:
- 1-row stripe tip
- Working sleeves (dpn’s or magic loop)
- Working v-neck rib trim
- Techniques:
- Long-tail cast-on
- m1-R and m1-L increases
- Underarm divide & cable cast-on
- ssk and k2tog decreases
- Weaving in ends
- Blocking
Picking a size
In Audrey’s Pullover, I suggest picking a size whose finished circumference is approx. 3-6” larger than your actual bust measurement, depending on your desired fit. For reference, in the pattern photographs, Audrey is wearing her sweater with approximately 4″ of positive ease in the chest. To see the ease amounts my test knitters chose (along with photos), check out this blog post.
This range I have provided is what is typically found in knit garments with raglan-construction. But of course you can choose to pick a size outside of this range as well if that is what your preferred fit is! Another thing to consider with top-down raglans is that some people find that using their upper torso (or “high bust”) as your starting point instead of their actual full bust provides a better fit. This is often especially true if you have a larger bust but smaller shoulder width. For more information about this as well as general info about ease, check out my blog post here.
And one last tip if you aren’t sure or are in-between sizes – measure the widths of pullovers in your closet that you love the fit of! Even if they are store-bought sweaters, this helps to give you an idea of the typical widths you like to wear on your body and can be helpful when deciding between sizes.
If you need any help with deciding on a size, feel free to reach out to me!
Yarn options
In this pattern I suggest DK- or Worsted-Weight yarn. This is because the gauge (which is 20 sts & 29 rnds = 4″) is the type of gauge that can typically be achieved with either of those 2 weights of yarn. DK at that gauge will likely create fabric that is a little on the loose side and Worsted will likely create fabric that is a little on the dense side (but fiber content will play a big part in this as well).
In the sample shown in photographs I used the Worsted-weight yarn Vintage by Berroco. It’s a great workhorse sweater yarn, is machine-washable, has a nice price point and has so many great colorways to pick from too. But this sweater is very versatile and would look great in a variety of different types of yarns and fiber types.
You’ll need 2 colors as a contrasting color is used for your stripes. Refer to the pattern for exact yardage amounts if you prefer to just use stash yarn for this contrasting color.
Do you plan on following the A-line body shaping instructions? If so, you will need to add approx. 40 yards of the main color to the totals listed in the pattern.
Do you plan to lengthen your sweater? If you think you may want to lengthen your sweater (note: scroll down to the “Deciding on Shaping & Length” for additional info and tips about this), you’ll need additional yardage. I estimate that for every 1″ of body length you want to add, you will need an additional 35 (40, 40, 45, 45) (50, 50, 55, 55, 60) yards.
Swatching & gauge
Because everyone’s tension can be a little bit different, it’s important to swatch before you start so you know what needles you should be using with your chosen yarn and personal tension. There are 3 important points I want to make about swatching and gauge when it comes to this sweater:
1. Swatch in the round
First, you should swatch in the round because the body circumference of this piece is knit in the round and that is what the finished measurements are based upon. So when it comes to matching the pattern gauge of the pattern (20 sts & 29 rnds = 4″), you should aim to match this gauge when working in the round. If you are new to swatching in the round, you can check out my tutorial here.
2. Stitch gauge is more important than round gauge
Stitch gauge is more important than Round gauge in this case (stitch gauge determines widths in the sweater and round gauge determines lengths). So if you are able to match stitch gauge but your row gauge doesn’t match exactly, that is ok. I provide tips throughout the pattern on how to adjust the lengths in different areas should your round gauge be a little off.
3. Understand your flat gauge as well
Although the body of this sweater is knit in the round, the very top part of the sweater is actually worked flat as you shape the neckline. Once the v-neck is shaped, then your fronts are joined together and you work the remainder of the sweater in the round (until the hem). So what exactly does this mean and why is it important?
This sweater is knit in the stockinette stitch. When worked in the round, this means knitting every round (no purling). But when stockinette stitch is worked flat, you knit on right-side rows and purl on wrong-side rows. This is important because many people’s purl stitches are looser than their knit stitches, which means that their fabric in stockinette stitch flat can be looser than their fabric in stockinette stitch in the round. This means a different gauge as well as a difference in how the fabric looks.
How to remedy this: What I did in this sweater is that when working stockinette stitch flat in the top part of the pattern (so Raglan Sections 1, 2 & 3), I always used 1 needle size smaller when working my wrong-side rows (so whenever I purled). So I would work my right-side rows with a US 7 but then work my wrong-side rows with a US 6. I highly recommend you do this as well if you are also a “loose purl-er!” It may sound like it’s cumbersome working with 2 circulars but it really isn’t bad at all. If you’ve never done it before, check out my video tutorial here!
How to know if you are a “loose-purl-er”? Not sure yet if your stockinette stitch flat tension is different than your stockinette stitch in the round tension? The best way is to compare swatches! So after making your in the round swatch and deciding on the needle size you’ll need to match the pattern gauge, use that same needle and make a stockinette stitch flat swatch (so knit on right-side rows, purl on wrong-side rows). This will tell you how your tension may change and if you should use my tip of working wrong-side rows with 1 needle size smaller.
Top-down raglan construction
In this type of sweater construction, you are starting at the neck and working your way down, working increases around markers that are placed at 4 intervals (to mark the fronts, back and sleeves). You place markers right after you cast-on, at the locations of each of these diagonal lines. It typically looks like this:
I have this video lesson that shows how I cast-on and work the raglan set-up row in a different top-down raglan pattern (Audrey’s Cardigan). Although it’s a different pattern the overall techniques I use are the same (just different number of stitches) so if you’re new to this construction it may be helpful to watch.
Joining Fronts Together
After the v-neck has been shaped, you’ll encounter the “Front Joining” section of the pattern. I have a photo tutorial that guides you through this entire process – click here to view it.
Measuring Armhole Depth
A common question I get about raglan sweaters is how to exactly to measure the armhole depth. It’s not measuring the diagonal raglan line – instead, your measuring straight down from the top of the shoulders when your sweater is laid flat. And so technically your raglan depth includes not only all the rows involved in the raglan shaping but a piece of your sleeve cast-on as well. Here’s a visual to show you how to measure your armhole depth with your garment laying flat (note: in the picture below, my neck ribbing has already been worked and you’ll likely be measuring your depth before this occurs):

Underarm Divide
The Underarm Divide section is when the sleeves are separated from the body and underarm stitches are cast-on as well. If you have never worked this technique before, I highly recommend that you check out my Underarm Divide tutorial page here. In it I provide both a video lesson example as well as photo tutorial lesson.
Note: in the tutorials on that page, I use scrap yarn to transfer sleeve stitches onto a holder. However, more recently I have discovered stitch holder cords and they are now my go-to tool instead of scrap yarn. To learn more about them, click here for my blog post.
Deciding on shaping & length
No-shaping or A-line shaping?
After you work the Underarm Divide, it’s time to work the underarm-to-hem length! Before we talk about length, we first need to decide on if we’re doing the A-line shaping or not. In the version show in the pattern photos (the orange/pink color) I did not do any shaping – so the body just goes straight down from the underarm to the hem. However if you prefer your hem circumference to be a little wider than your bust circumference, you can follow the A-line shaping instructions. The shaping is subtle – approx. 3″ overall, so 1.5″ on each back/front. Below are photos of both. Just note that the no-shaping version is knit in size 1 whereas the A-line shaping version is knit in size 2 (so they are different sizes, but you can see the subtle A-line shape of the size 2).
Deciding on length (and if you need to adjust)
Once you’ve decided on if you’re doing shaping or not, then it’s time to think about the length. I designed Audrey to be slightly on the cropped side but “cropped” can be very subjective as it depends on your own personal torso length (whether your high-waisted or short-waisted). The best way to know whether or not you want to adjust the length is to do this:
- Determine what you want your overall sweater length to be from top of shoulder (at neck edge) down to the front hem. You can use a measuring tape to determine this or measure a sweater in your closet that you love the length of.
- Compare that total length to the “Total Garment Length” measurement for your size on the schematic on page 10. Whatever the difference is, add that amount to your underarm to hem length. For example, if your favorite sweater measures 21″ from top of shoulder (at neck) down to the hem but you’re making size 2 of Audrey’s Pullover which has a total garment length of 20″, then you will want to add 1″ to the underarm to hem length.
How to adjust length in this pattern
If you’re not working any shaping, then you will simply add (or subtract) the length you want in the “Body” section, before you work the “Stripes” sub-section.
But if you’re working on the A-line shaping version, there are a couple of calculations you want to make. Below is what I think the easiest option will be
- Decide how many inches you want to add and multiple that by the row/round gauge. So let’s say you want to add 2″ of length. And the row/round gauge in this pattern is 7.25 rounds per inch. So 2″ x 7.25 = 14.5 rounds. Let’s round that and say then that you want to add 14 rounds to the length.
- Divide that number into 2 parts, as equally as possible. So in this example, 14 divided by 2 = 7. So I’ll have 2 parts that are both 7 rounds.
- Take your first part (in this case, 7 rounds) and add that to the number of rounds to work after the first increase round.
- Then take the second part (in this case, 7 rounds) and add that to the number of rounds to work after the second increase round, before the stripe sequence.
If you have a unique situation and need some additional advice, feel free to reach out to me!
1-row stripe tip
This pattern features three 1-row stripes on the body and one 1-row stripe on the sleeves. These stripe accents are optional of course though so you can omit if you prefer. But if you want to work the stripes, I have some tips to share.
Because we’re working in the round, stripes will naturally have a “jog”. This means that when you end a round with a stripe, it will appear slightly higher up than when you started the round. It’s not a big deal and some people don’t mind, but if you prefer to have a more even look to your stripe, there was a particular technique I used in my sample which gave me a very seamless look (techniques I learned via multiple videos from the fabulous designer and teacher Patty Lyons). I created a video lesson that shows how I utilized Patty Lyon’s techniques specifically for this pattern – you can check it out below!
Note: It may be helpful to practice this technique first on a small in-the-round swatch/demo piece. In my demo sample for this video lesson I had cast-on 68 stitches on a 16″ circular and it made a great practice piece.
For a written-out outline of how to work this technique (for quick reference), refer below:
Working jog-less 1-row stripes in the round:
This is 3-round process, so I’ve broken it up into these 3 rounds.
Round 1:
- On the round where you’re instructed to join CC, before doing this, slip the 1st 3 stitches purlwise from LN to RN.
- Then, join CC to 4th stitch by inserting right needle into next stitch on left needle, draping CC yarn over the right needle (leaving a long tail), and knit.
- Continue the entire round with CC until you get to the BOR marker.
Round 2:
- Slip the BOR marker and then knit the first 3 sts with the CC.
- Cut CC, leaving a long tail. You’ll have 2 tails now at this spot – the tail from when you joined the yarn and the tail from ending
- Now slip the next stitch on the left needle knitwise onto the right needle.
- Twist your tails together in the back of the work as follows: take the ending tail and put it under the beginning tail and then hold again with your right hand (so it’s twisted around the beginning tail).
- With the left needle, insert needle tip from back to front into 1 stitch stitch below the stitch on the right needle. A new loop is now on the left needle.
- Insert the right needle into the back of this loop.
- Take ending tail and bring over the top of right needle and knit this loop. This creates a double-loop stitch.
- Slip this double-loop stitch from right needle to left needle as well as the other 3 sts on the right needle before the BOR marker (so you’re back to the BOR).
- With the main color, knit the first 3 stitches, and then insert the right needle into the back of the double-loop stitch and knit it.
- Then cinch up the tails on the wrong side.
- Continue knitting this round with your MC, back to the BOR marker.
Round 3:
- When starting the next round, insert right needle into 1 stitch below the next stitch on the left needle (the CC stitch), from back to front, and place this stitch on the left needle.
- With MC, knit this together with next stitch and knit around with MC.
Working sleeves
In the beginning of the sleeve section, I suggest using DPN’s or that you can use your 32″ circular and work the magic loop method. If you are new to one or both of these options, I have video demonstrations that you may find helpful! It’s for a different pattern (Audrey’s Cardigan) but because it’s also a top-down raglan construction, the techniques I use are the same regardless.
Click here for video demo of working sleeves on DPN’s.
Click here for video demo of working sleeves using the “magic loop method”.
Working v-neck rib trim
I have a photo and video tutorial of the entire process of working the v-neck rib trim, including how to pick-up and knit the front center stitch as well as how to work the CDD (center double decrease). Click here to access that page.
Techniques
Below are other technique used in this pattern: