Quilt Dreams Pullover
WHEN I WAS A KID, I saved all the little scraps that fell from the kitchen table as my mother or grandmother cut out sewing projects. Armed with plastic container and jar lids as my templates, a pair of scissors, and a needle and thread (no rotary cutter or sewing machine yet!), I would cut shapes and hand-stitch them into something new. I loved how discarded bits of fabric could combine to make something wholly unique.
I spent most of my childhood on a large farm in the foothills of Virginia's Appalachian Mountains, tromping through the woods—often with a little project bag of quilt pieces and several animals trailing behind. The first quilt I made was a yo-yo quilt arranged into alternating star and square motifs. I pieced it together slowly over several years, adding new colors and prints whenever fresh fabric scraps appeared. I'm not sure I ever truly finished that quilt, but I remember the satisfaction of watching it grow, piece by piece.
The Quilt Dreams Pullover is a knitted ode to that time—a sweater inspired by the same joy of assembling scraps of color into something cozy and whole. Worsted weight makes it a surprisingly fast knit despite the allover colorwork. The geometric motif is simple to memorize and creates that addictive "one-more-row" rhythm. And compound raglan shaping ensures it fits like a dream: polished enough to wear anywhere, cozy enough to feel like your favorite well-loved sweatshirt.
After all these years, not much has changed—I'm still piecing together colors, carrying a project bag wherever I go, and followed by animals. Just yarn instead of fabric now and usually just one cat!
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Design: The Quilt Dreams Pullover is a raglan sweater featuring allover colorwork in a simple 8-stitch repeat reminiscent of quilt squares. The sweater is worked seamlessly from the top down in the round and finished with classic 1×1 ribbing at the neckband, cuffs, and hem. It is designed to be worn with a range of positive ease, from minimal ease for a more fitted look to greater ease for a relaxed, sweatshirt-style fit.
Construction: This sweater is worked seamlessly from the top down. Stitches are cast on at the neckline, and the upper neck is worked flat before joining to work in the round. Short rows are integrated between colorwork motifs to shape the back neck while maintaining visual cohesion, and compound raglan shaping creates a custom fit. The colorwork is fully charted, and lifted increases are worked along the raglan seams. Once the yoke is complete, sleeve stitches are placed on hold while the body is knit. Sleeves are returned to the needles and finished in the round. Finally, optional duplicate stitch can be worked to add an additional row of motifs across the front neck and shoulders, filling the solid-color space created during the initial neck shaping.
Fit: This sweater is designed to be worn with 1 to 8 in. (2.5 to 20 cm) of positive ease at the upper chest. To determine your ideal size, begin by measuring your upper bust (just under the arms, above the full bust). Then add your desired amount of ease and select the size with a finished chest circumference closest to that total. If you are new to choosing a garment size based on your upper bust, I've created a road map that walks you through the process.
Stitch Patterns: The stranded colorwork stitch patterns in this sweater are only charted, so you should be confident in your chart reading skills—or be open to learning!
Choosing Colors: To make the colorwork motif stand out, select yarns with strong contrast between your main color (MC) and contrast color (CC). For best results, think about value contrast (light vs. dark) rather than just hue (blue vs. green). A light MC with a darker CC will create a very different effect than the reverse—and both can be beautiful! If you prefer a subtler look, this pattern also works well with lower-contrast pairings; just ensure there's enough distinction between your colors so the colorwork pattern doesn't disappear into the background. Swatching is the best way to preview how your colors will interact in fabric before committing to your final palette.
Yarn Estimates: The yarn estimates provided in this pattern are approximations, calculated to allow for both a sizable swatch and the sweater, with a small margin of error. Your actual yarn usage may vary based on factors such as your personal gauge, the yarn's characteristics (e.g., fiber content, ply, thickness), and any modifications you make to the pattern.
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SIZES
(1, 2, 3)(4, 5, 6)(7, 8, 9)FINISHED MEASUREMENTS
Chest Circumference (Upper)
(32.75, 33.75, 38.75)(39.5, 47.25, 48.75)(53, 54, 62.25) in.
(82, 84.5, 97)(99, 118, 122)(132.5, 135, 155.5) cmChest Circumference (Full)
(37, 40.5, 43.75)(47.25, 54, 57.25)(60.75, 64, 70.75) in.
(92.5, 101.5, 109.5)(118, 135, 143)(152, 160, 177) cmUpper Arm Circumference
(11.75, 13.5, 13.5)(15.25, 16.75, 18.5)(20.25, 22, 23.5) in.
(29.5, 34, 34)(38, 42, 46.5)(50.5, 55, 59) cmThis sweater is designed to be worn with 1 to 8 in. (2.5 to 20 cm) of ease at the upper chest. The sample is shown in Size 1, worn with 1.75 in. (4.5 cm) of ease at the upper chest and 5 in. (12.5 cm) of ease at the full chest in the full-length version on a woman who is 5 ft 8 in. (173 cm) tall. See the note above on fit for more information about choosing the right size for you!
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YARN
Worsted weightCropped Length
MC: (325, 380, 405)(460, 520, 585)(620, 690, 755) g / (620, 720, 770)(875, 990, 1110)(1180, 1310, 1435) yds or (565, 660, 705)(800, 905, 1015)(1080, 1200, 1310) m
CC: (195, 225, 240)(270, 305, 340)(360, 400, 440) g / (450, 520, 555)(625, 705, 785)(830, 925, 1015) yds or (410, 475, 505)(570, 645, 720)(760, 845, 930) mFull Length
MC: (360, 420, 450)(505, 570, 640)(675, 750, 825) g / (685, 800, 855)(960, 1085, 1215)(1285, 1425, 1570) yds or (625, 730, 780)(880, 990, 1110)(1175, 1305, 1435) m
CC: (210, 245, 260)(295, 335, 370)(395, 435, 480) g / (485, 565, 600)(680, 775, 855)(910, 1005, 1110) yds or (445, 515, 550)(620, 710, 780)(830, 920, 1015) mSUGGESTED YARN
Ritual Dyes Elder (100 g/190 yds (174 m)) – 100% Rambouillet
MC (cropped length): (4, 4, 5)(5, 6, 6)(7, 7, 8) skeins
MC (full length): (4, 5, 5)(6, 6, 7)(7, 8, 9) skeinsSpincycle Yarns Dream State (65 g/150 yds (137 m)) – 100% superwash American wool
CC (cropped length): (3, 4, 4)(5, 5, 6)(6, 7, 7) skeins
CC (full length): (4, 4, 4)(5, 6, 6)(7, 7, 8) skeinsThe sample sweater is knit in the colorways Dune (MC) and Rusted Rainbow (CC).
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Needle A (body & sleeves): US 7 (4.5 mm)
Needle B (ribbing): US 5 (3.75 mm)For each needle size, you will need circular needles measuring 24 in. (60 cm) to 50 in. (125 cm), depending on the finished chest circumference of your chosen size and your preferred method for smaller circumference knitting (such as magic loop, short circular needles, or double-pointed needles). Use the needle size you need to achieve gauge, and size down 2 US needle sizes for ribbing.
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Measure gauge on Needle A in the round, after blocking.
19 sts and 21 rows = 4 in. (10 cm) in stranded colorwork
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Knitting
Purling
Increasing
Decreasing
Knitting flat
Knitting in the round
German twisted cast-on
German short rows
Stranded colorwork
Backwards loop cast-on
Chart reading
Picking up stitches
Tubular bind-off
Duplicate stitch (optional)