Knit a rainbow sweater with this beginner friendly top-down sweater pattern! The collar begins with ribbing followed by garter stitch short rows to raise the back of the neck for a comfortable neckline fit. Continue with circular yoke shaping as you create stockinette and reverse stockinette stitch stripes. Choose one main color to frame all of your contrasting color pops. The pattern is written for seven contrast colors for the rainbow rings, but you can use as many colors as you like. This design is perfect for featuring special single skeins or leftover bits of yarn. The knitting is very easy, allowing you to play with fun color combinations as you enjoy this relaxing knit!

Sizes
1 (2, 3, 4, 5) (6, 7, 8, 9)

Finished Measurements
32 (36, 40, 44, 48) (52, 56, 60, 64)″ / 81 (91, 102, 112, 122) (132, 142, 152, 163)cm finished chest circumference. Measurements taken after blocking.

Size 6 shown with about 8″ / 20cm of positive ease.

Sleeve, Body, & Yoke lengths are customizable.

Yarn
Fingering weight

Yardage
MC - 600 (680, 750, 950, 1050) (1150, 1250, 1350, 1450)yds / 549 (622, 686, 869, 960) (1052, 1143, 1234, 1326)m
CC’s - 450 (500, 540, 700, 800) (900, 1000, 1100, 1200)yds
/ 411 (457, 494, 640, 732) (823, 914, 1006, 1097)m

These yardage amounts are just estimations. The yarn required may vary depending on your chosen yarn and tension. You may need a bit more yarn if you choose to knit longer sleeves or a longer body.

The CC yardage represents the total amount recommended for all CC’s. The sample features 7 CC’s used equally throughout the sweater. It’s always best to have a bit more than the recommended yarn for your CC stripes.

Shown in
West Wool Bicycle (100% South American Merino Wool; 191yds / 175m per 50g skein)
MC - Greykjavik

Neighborhood Fiber Co. Organic Rustic Fingering (100% Merino Wool; 475yds / 434m per 114g skein)
CC1 - Bolton Hill (red)
CC2 - Oaklee (orange)
CC3 - Oliver (yellow)
CC4 - Rosemont (green)
CC5 - Washington Circle (bright blue)
CC6 - Palisades (dark blue)
CC7 - Sandtown-Winchester (purple)

Needles
US 2 / 2.75mm circular in 40″ / 100cm length or 2 sizes smaller than your larger needle
US 4 / 3.5mm circular in 40″ / 100cm length or size needed to obtain gauge

Magic loop method is used for knitting smaller circumferences in the round.

Notions
1 stitch marker, tapestry needle

Gauge
24 sts & 44 rnds = 4″ / 10cm in pattern (4 rows stockinette stitch + 4 rows reverse stockinette stitch) after blocking, using main needle (US 4 / 3.5mm recommended)

26 sts & 48 rnds = 4″ / 10cm in 2x2 ribbing, using a needle 2 sizes smaller than your main needle (US 2 / 2.75mm recommended) after blocking

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All rights reserved. Pattern for personal use only.