Polina pullover

Polina pullover is inspired by the naive art of Ukrainian self-taught painter, Polina Raiko. Everything in her house — walls, ceilings, doors, and fence — Polina covered in enamel-painted drawings of fantastic birds and flowers, Christian iconography, and the artist’s own interpretations of her dreams and life events. 

Unfortunately most of her work is lost due to the flooding of the house after the destruction of Kakhovka dam in June 2023. Sadly, the war keeps destroying the cultural heritage of my homeland. So this is my humble love letter to her. 

The pullover is knit top-down in the round with a large botanical colourwork pattern on the yoke and a smaller one on the body and sleeves. The pattern also comes with three neck options: ruffled mock (as shown in my sample), double folded and a regular crew neck. 

You can take a closer look at my sample and learn more about the source of inspiration and design process in this podcast episode.

Sizes

• The pattern is written for six sizes 1 (2, 3) (4, 5, 6) with a finished bust circumference of ca. 95 (111, 127) (143, 158, 174) cm // 38 (44.25, 50.75) (57, 63.25, 69.75) in incl. at least 10-15 cm (4-6 in) of the recommended positive ease. 
• The sample is shown in size 1 on a 160 cm (5.3 ft) tall model with 84 cm (33 in) bust circumference. For more of the finished garment measurements, please refer to the schematic. 

Yarn

• MC: ca. 225 (255, 290) (325, 360, 390) g or 3 (3, 3) (4, 4, 4) skeins of Darnie from Studio Donegal, 100% merino wool with 410 m (448 yds) in 100 g, shown in colourway 8812 Oatmeal;

or ca. 923 (1046, 1189) (1333, 1476, 1599) m // 1009 (1144, 1301) (1458, 1615, 1749) yds of any other sport weight yarn with a matching gauge. The estimated yardage for MC includes 10% extra. 

• CC: ca. 55 (65, 70) (75, 85, 90) g or less than one 100 g skein of No.3 from G-Uld, 100% New Zealand lambswool, with 450 m (492 yds) in 100 g, shown in colourway Heather;

or ca. 248 (293, 315) (338, 383, 405) m // 271 (320, 345) (369, 418, 443) yds of any other fingering/sport weight yarn with a matching gauge.

Needles and notions

• 3.0 mm (US 2.5) and 3.5 mm (US 4) circular needles; 
• spare cables, spare circular needles or scrap yarn to keep sts on hold;
• a few stitch markers, one of which is removable;
• a tapestry needle or a crochet hook to weave in the ends.

Gauge

• 24 sts & 26 rnds in 10 cm (4 in) on 3.5 mm (US 4) needles measured over stockinette st and colourwork worked in the round after blocking;
• 26 sts & 36 rnds in 10 cm (4 in) on 3.0 mm (US 2.5) needles measured over 1x1 ribbing worked in the round after blocking (stretched);
• 22 sts & 26 rnds in 10 cm (4 in) on 3.5 mm (US 4) needles measured over 2x1 ribbing of the hem and cuffs worked in the round after blocking (stretched).

Adjust the needle sizes if necessary to obtain the correct gauge.

Language

• English
• Danish
• Dutch
• French
• German
• Italian
• Korean
• Norwegian
• Spanish
• Swedish
• Ukrainian