Tressa Weidenaar For Purl Soho: Stages Pullover
Navajo designer Tressa Weidenaar created her Stages Pullover as a love letter to the art of Navajo weaving that has inspired her since childhood. Named for the classifications of Navajo Chief Blankets, “stages” (or “phases”) outline how these woven blankets developed over time, from simple striped patterns to rich and complex designs.
Just as a Chief Blanket wraps around the wearer’s body, providing warmth and protection from the elements, Tressa’s colorwork yoke makes for a cozy layer around the shoulders. Knit in the round from the top down, Tressa strove to develop her own motifs that, while honoring existing Navajo designs, are unique to this sweater.
Knit in our 100% fine Falkland merino Wigeon, the Stages Pullover is soft and warm. The classic spin of this sportweight yarn also gives great stitch definition, allowing the distinctive colorwork of this design to really shine!
Tressa was particularly excited by Wigeon’s colors as she searched for a yarn that would represent the deep blue, bright red, and earthy yellow used in many Navajo Chief Blankets. She found her perfect palette in Wigeon’s Blue Abyss, Orange Carmine, and Yellow Curry!
We love the way Tressa’s Stages Pullover taps into her past, her heritage, and her current love of knitwear design… And we’re so grateful she’s shared that inspiration with all of us!
Designed for Purl Soho by Tressa Weidenaar. Tressa is a Navajo knitwear designer, weaver, and maker who has had designs published in Taproot Magazine, Making GIFTS, and PomPom Quarterly. She lives in Gallup, New Mexico with her family, where she enjoys exploring the high desert canyons and mesas of the southwest.
Share your progress and connect with the community by tagging your pics with #PurlSoho, #PurlSohoBusyHands, #PurlSohoStagesPullover, and #PurlSohoWigeon. We can’t wait to see what you make!
Materials
- Purl Soho’s Wigeon, 100% fine Falkland merino wool. Each ball is approximately 359 yards/ 100 grams.
- Color A: 4 (4, 5, 5) (6, 6, 6, 7) balls; approximately 1275 (1385, 1530, 1680) (1850, 1985, 2125, 2295) total yards required. We used Gray Mist.
- Color B: 1 ball; approximately 85 (90, 105, 115) (130, 140, 150, 155) total yards required. We used Orange Carmine.
- Color C: 1 ball; approximately 125 (135, 160, 175) (195, 205, 225, 230) total yards required. We used Blue Abyss.
- Color D: 1 ball; approximately 35 (40, 45, 50) (55, 60, 65, 65) total yards required. We used Yellow Curry.
- US 3 (3.25 mm), 16- and 24- or 32-inch circular needles, depending on size you are making
- US 4 (3.5 mm), 16- and 24- or 32-inch circular needles, depending on size you are making
- US 5 (3.75 mm), 16- and 24- or 32-inch circular needles, depending on size you are making
- A set of US 3 double pointed needles or long circular needles for Magic Loop
- A set of US 4 double pointed needles or long circular needles for Magic Loop
- Stitch markers
- Stitch holders or scrap yarn
- A Stages Pullover Pattern
GAUGE
NOTE: See Special Instructions (in pattern PDF) for more information.
23 stitches and 33 rounds = 4 inches in one-color stockinette stitch with medium-size needles
23 stitches and 32 rounds = 4 inches in colorwork chart with largest needles
SIZES
38¼ (41¾, 46, 50) (54¼, 57¾, 62, 66)
To fit actual chest circumference of approximately 32–36 (36–40, 40–44, 44–48) (48–52, 52–56, 56–60, 60–64) inches with 2–6 inches of ease
- Finished Chest Circumference: 38¼ (41¾, 46, 50) (54¼, 57¾, 62, 66) inches
- Finished Length from Back Neck to Bottom Edge: 22 (22½, 23, 23½) (24, 24½, 25, 25½) inches
- Finished Sleeve Length from Underarm: 17¾ (18, 19, 19¼) (19¼, 19¼, 19¼, 19¼) inches
Sample: The sweater shown here is size 41¾, worn with 6 inches of ease.
PATTERN
The Stages Pullover Pattern is available for purchase as a PDF download only.
Beautiful! Is this knit from the top down or bottom up?
Thanks!
Dianne
Hi Diane,
Thank you for your question! We’re so glad to hear this pattern caught your eye. The Stages Pullover is knit from the top down, starting with the colorwork in the yoke!
We hope you decide to cast on for this pullover!
All the best,
Margaret
Hi, am I reading the pattern correctly: the only place I would need the largest needle size is potentially in the color section for multi-color rows?
The Note says that the larger size may be needed to maintain gauge and prevent rippling. I presume that I should work up two swatches to see whether I need to use the larger needle size, but I’m also interested in understanding why the larger size would solve the potential problem. (I’ve had little experience with multi-color projects and this seems counter-intuitive to me.) Thanks, and I’m looking forward to the project!
Hi Diane!
Thank you for your question. You are correct! We suggest using a larger size circular needle if necessary to help maintain gauge in the two color rounds. Since some knitters have a tighter tension in the two color rounds, a larger needle size helps to offset this tighter section to maintain the overall gauge! Your idea to make a gauge swatch is fantastic, and is exactly what I would recommend to see if you need to change needle sizes throughout your colorwork section of the yoke to adjust for any tension changes.
I hope this helps, and happy swatching!
All the best,
Margaret
Love the knit! How difficult is the pattern? Would it be appropriate for an advanced beginner?
Hi Pat!
Thank you for your question. This would be an exciting challenge for an advanced beginner, and a fun opportunity to try colorwork! While I wouldn’t recommend this as a first ever sweater, it would be a great first colorwork sweater, and we are always happy to help if you have any questions along the way.
All the best,
Margaret
Hi, love the pattern! I am about to finish the yoke and was wondering, how to measure the “until Yoke measures 83⁄4 (9, 91⁄2, 93⁄4) (10, 10, 101⁄4, 101⁄4) inches from center front Neck.”? Is that measured down from cast on?
Thanks,
Barbara
Hi Barbara,
Thanks for reaching out, and that’s a good question! You’ll actually be measuring, not from the cast-on edge, but from the bottom of the ribbing around the neck. This way, the 3/4 inch of ribbing plus the 8 3⁄4 (9, 9 1⁄2, 9 3⁄4) (10, 10, 10 1⁄4, 10 1⁄4) inches of the rest of the yoke equals the full length of the yoke, as indicated in the schematics on the final page!
I hope this helps clarify things!
All the best,
Lili
Great, thanks for the response, Lili! Big relief here, I already thought I was getting too long :-)!
Is this sweater pattern offered with written directions for the yoke or just a chart?
Hi Janice,
Thanks for writing in! The colorwork section of the yoke is only in chart form in this pattern.
All the best,
Lili
Good morning! I adore the cut of this sweater and am interested in knitting it in a solid color. Would you please tell me how many skeins/balls of Wigeon I would need to knit it for the size 41 3/4” (36-40” chest)? I added the yardage for all of the colors for this size and got a total of 1650 yards, which should be covered by 5 skeins/balls. Does this sound right? Also, do you think the pattern would be easily knit in a solid color?
Thanks so much 🙂
Hi Megan,
I’m glad to hear that this sweater has caught your eye! Your math is correct, so 5 balls of Wigeon would work to make this sweater in one color. However, I think the pattern will be very tricky to follow, since it’s written specifically for stranded colorwork and only includes a chart for the yoke. I’d recommend checking out some of our other similar patterns that were originally designed for one color only!
Fundamental Top-Down Pullover
Top-Down Circular Yoke Pullover
These patterns seem like they might be exactly what you’re looking for! And if you want to keep the ribbing around the neckline, cuffs, and hem, like in the Stages Pullover, you can easily just add that onto either one of these patterns.
All the best,
Lili
Hi, I’m in the middle of knitting the color chart and have a quick question. The pattern says “repeat first line to the end of round 27 (….) times…” It doesn’t say how many times, and none of the illustrations show any repetitions of the chart pattern. Is this perhaps a typo? It seems to make more sense to just knit the chart straight through. What a fun sweater, and the Widgeon yarn is a delight to work with!
Hi Michelle,
Thanks for reaching out! The number of times you will repeat the small segment shown in the chart is indicated by the numbers following that instruction. For the first size, you’ll repeat it 27 times, for the second size, 29 times, for the third, 32 times, etc.
It might help to visualize these repetitions by looking at the photo of the sweater on the cover of the pattern! Every time an element of it is repeated (like the red “C” shapes), that’s another repetition of the small segment of stitches of each round the chart shows.
I hope this helps, and please let me know if you have any other questions!
All the best,
Lili
Could I just swap out Wigeon for Purl SoHo’s Knitting Yarn? Any necessary adjustments?
Hi Meagan,
Thanks for writing in! Unfortunately, I would not recommend using Knitting Yarn for this pattern. Knitting Yarn is a DK weight yarn, so it’s likely too thick for the gauge of this pattern, since it was designed for a sportweight yarn.
All the best,
Lili