Parker Head Pullover

Description

Parker Head Pullover is available as a custom-gauge, custom-size pattern via my CustomFit custom pattern generator. Upon purchase, you’ll receive a credit for a custom version of Parker Head and instructions on how to create it.

Parker Head was one of the designs from the fall 2015 make. wear. love. retreat in coastal Maine. Our lovely vendor that year, The Woolen Rabbit, offered a variety of beautiful yarns in subtly-shaded colors. I wanted to design something that would work in a variety of gauges and really maximized the richness of her dye process – and Parker Head was born.

I used a wide mock-turtleneck pullover silhouette to start, with waist shaping located on the back of the sweater only so as not to disrupt the stitch patterning. The front, I worked in an easy-to-memorize slip stitch texture called Dot stitch – the little slips of color work with the tonal nature of the yarn to create a lovely fabric.

The sweater is shown here on Maya with long, set-in sleeves and a long length. It’s shown on Jackie with 3/4 set-in sleeves and an average length. You can adjust the construction, silhouette, and sleeve and sweater lengths if you like.

Sizing

Parker Head is available as a custom-gauge, custom-size pattern for the yarn and measurements of your choice via CustomFit. It’s shown here on Maya in an “hourglass relaxed fit”, and Jackie in an “hourglass average fit”, both with an hourglass silhouette and set-in sleeves. It’s available in a-line, straight, and tapered silhouettes and other fits as well as the modified drop-shoulder construction.

Gauge

Your own customized version of the Parker Head pattern will be written to your gauge, whatever it may be. This design works well at any gauge up to around a light worsted.

Materials

For Maya’s sweater, I used The Woolen Rabbit WW Kashmir, in the color “Enchanted Forest”. WW Kashmir is a beautifully soft, lustrous blend of merino, cashmere, and nylon.

For Jackie’s sweater, I used The Woolen Rabbit Emma, in the color “Grey Goose”. Emma is a luscious, warm, comfortable polwarth-silk blend that comes in a ton of drool-worthy colors, and I can’t recommend it highly enough.

I like the Emma at a gauge of roughly 5.5 stitches to the inch. At this gauge, to make a standard-size 30 (32, 34, 36, 38, 40, 42, 44, 48, 52, 56, 60)’’ / 76 (81.5, 86.5, 91.5, 96.5, 101.5, 106.5, 112, 122, 132, 142, 152.5) cm sweater, you’ll need approximately 3 (3, 4, 4, 4, 4, 5, 5, 5, 6, 6, 7) hanks of Emma.

For other yarns, CustomFit will give you a yardage estimate before you finalize a custom pattern, but you can also use Hannah Fettig’s Stashbot app or pamphlet to estimate yarn requirements when purchasing yarn.

Construction

Parker Head is worked in pieces from the bottom up and then seamed, with set-in or modified drop-shoulder sleeves.