This pattern is for a Christmas tree ornament -- and you’ll be surprised at how easily you’ll memorize this pattern if you knit a few of these. The gauge isn’t really that important -- if you knit it with dk instead of sport yarn, you may want to increase the needle sizes to #2 and #4. The size of the sweater will just be a bit larger.
The needle size is smaller than may be customary for the yarn weight, but the sweater looks best when it’s “tightly” knit.
I have always knit these with scraps of 100% wool yarn, often from Irish knit sweaters I’ve knit for children.