I genuinely can’t believe that another year has passed so quickly that it’s time to talk about the NY Sheep and Wool Festival again! It definitely encourages me to pause and reflect on not only my favorite season of the year, but our currently chaotic season of life too.
Anyway! I am continuing my happy habit of releasing a design (or two – check back tomorrow!) in the leadup to Rhinebeck. This is the Allspice Pullover.
Those of you who have been reading this blog for a long time will recall how much I love working with Catskill Merino yarn, a woman-owned business in New York State. Dominique has such experience caring for her flock and that dedication translates to her beautiful yarns. She produces multiple different weights of 100% Merino wool yarn that is soft enough for even the most sensitive skin. I’ve made several cabled pieces with CM yarn in the past (like my Flint Hill Shawl, Full Heart Pullover, and Until Forever Cardigan) so this time I wanted to play around with some (simple) colorwork in sport-weight yarn.
Dominique dyed a beautiful “cocoa powder” brown that I combined with her undyed natural yarn into a classic “houndstoothy,” tweedy pattern. For a bit of fun, and to give the eye a break from all of that patterning, I added a vertical stripe in both colors on the front and back of the pullover. And because I enjoy a side seam, whether it’s a real seam or a “faux” one like you see here, I added another stripe along the side of the garment to maintain the sense of long, flattering lines.
If you’re new to colorwork knitting, you might find all of this patterning a bit daunting. But fear not: the truth is that this pullover uses a super-simple, 4-row slip stitch pattern. Unlike stranded knitting, you only work with one color at a time! So you get all of the visual payoff of more complicated colorwork patterns without any additional stress.
In keeping with my intention to make this design a thoughtful introduction to colorwork, I also simplified certain aspects of the garment shaping. The lower body is knit all at once without any waist shaping. When it’s time to shape the shoulders with short rows, I only use one color, which has the added bonus of creating a beautiful detail. (I also decided to seam the shoulders so that the seam is visible on the outside of the garment for an added visual highlight, but that’s optional!) The garment features modified drop shoulders to simplify the armhole shaping. The sleeves are picked up from the armholes and knit in the round in one color. The result is a considered garment that is easy to make and easy to wear, casual but still classic.
The fully-edited pattern features 10 different sizes covering a range of finished chest circumferences between 37 and 74 inches. The body is knit in the round from the bottom up to the armholes. The front and back are each knit flat and then seamed at the shoulders. Stitches are picked up around each armhole to work the sleeves in the round down to the cuff. The bottom hem, neckband and sleeve cuffs include professional (and optional) tubular edges.
I would suggest choosing a size that gives you 5-6″ extra inches of ease in the chest for comfort and layering purposes. I personally enjoy layering a thin turtleneck under my sweaters in the depths of winter!
You can find the Allspice Pullover pattern here at DCD or here on Ravelry.
Let’s move on to the fun Rhinebeck sale news. From now until midnight EDT on Sunday 10/18/2026, ALL of my self-published patterns, including Allspice, are 25% off with NO code needed!
And if you’re curious, here’s just a sampling of the 80+ other designs that are included in the sale:
Happy knitting!
xoxo Danielle
