Cheshire Cat Pullover

Introduction
The Cheshire Cat Sweater is worked from the top down with a circular yoke.
The ribbing at the neck edge is folded and knit (or later sewn together) to form the neckline.

It is designed to have a very tapered waistline and balloon sleeves.

If your chest is not the widest part of your bust you may either size up and decrease at the ribbed edge to obtain
the puffy look or skip the decrease round at the bottom and give the sweater a straight fit. These changes may
affect the quantity of yarn needed.

Ribbing at the bottom of the sweater is obtained after a substantial round of decreases so I recommend using a
very stretchy bind off technique (see notes for technique suggestion).

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Size guide
The Cheshire Sweater is designed to have approximately 5-10 cm (2 -4 inches) of positive ease, meaning it is
designed to be 5-10cm larger in circumference than your largest bust measurement.
The measurements for the finished garment are on the following table (these measurements are only achieved if
the sweater is knitted on the correct gauge).

The length of the garment is just a suggestion and it is used to estimate the yarn weight. It can be modified
to fit your body.

95 100 105 110 115 120

A Bust cfr. finished 95cm 100cm 105cm 110cm 115cm 120cm

garment
37,4” 39,4” 41,3” 43,3” 45,3” 47,3”

C Yoke depth 26cm 27cm 28cm 29cm 31cm 33cm

10,2” 10,6” 11” 11,4” 12,2” 13”

D Upper arm cfr 35cm 37cm 39cm 41cm 43cm 45cm

13,8” 14,6” 15,3” 16,1” 16,9” 17,7”

E underarm to cuff knitted to fit your arm

F length from 34cm 34cm 36cm 38cm 38cm 38cm

underarm
13,4” 13,4” 14,1” 15” 15” 15”

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Gauge
16 sts x 21 rows in stockinette stitch on 5,5 mm needles with 1 strands of yarn = 10 x 10 cm [4 x 4 inches], after
blocking

Needles
Circular needles: 4.5mm (US 7) 40cm (16“) and 80 (32”) or 100 cm (40”) and 5,5 (US 9) 40cm (16“), 60cm (24”)
and 80 (32”) or 100 cm (40”)
Magic Loop, Double pointed needles, or mini circular needles can be used for the sleeves:
Sizes 4,5mm (US 7) and 5,5mm(US 9)
Needle sizes are just a suggestion please select needle sizes to obtain the correct gauge.

Materials
To obtain the Cheshire Cat with the colors from the motion picture.
Main Color 150g (150/200g) 200g (250g) 300g (1 Skein =50g =130m=142yds).

Suggested yarn:
Rico Design Fashion Light Luxury gray n.6 (dark gray) or Drops Design Melody gray n.04 (slightly lighter than
Rico’s)

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Contrast Color 100g (100/150g) 150g (150/200) 200g (1 Skein =50g =140m=153yds). Suggested yarn: Drops
Design Melody n.16 Turquoise

To obtain the Cheshire Cat with the colors of the animated movie:
Main Color Rico Design Fashion Light Luxury n. 25 purple
Contrast Color Rico Design Fashion Light Luxury n. 22 neon fuchsia

You may substitute yarns with similar gauge and composition or use finer yarns held together. Similar colors can be
found in Drops Design Alpaca, Kid Silk, Brushed Alpaca silk and Karisma. You can obtain similar gauge and a nice
furry look holding together:

● 1 strand of Drops Karisma and one strand of Drops Kid silk

● 1 strand of Drops Flora/Fabel or alpaca and 1 strand of Brushed Alpaca silk
● 1 strand of Drops Alpaca and 2 strands of Drops Kid Silk

Optional Knitting-in elastic, transparent.

Embroidery
The embroidery is optional, but it gives it a nice touch. I suggest a wool blend fingering weight yarn, such as:

● Drops Design Flora white, black and pink

● Drops Design Alpaca Turquoise n.2917 or Flora Yellow n 17 for the iris.

Satin stitch is used for the pupil on both version and the nose where present
Short and Long stitch is used for the iris in both versions
Satin and Short and long stitch for the eye outline of the Motion picture version.
Back stitch is used for the outline of the mouth in both versions.
Satin and Short and long stitch was used for the teeth in both versions.

You will also need some wash away stabilizer, a proper needle and a simple wooden embroidery hoop. Embroidery
pattern can be found in the appendix.

Yoke increases
The increases are worked evenly throughout the yoke. You’ll find a table with the number of increases and when to
work them. The suggested increase is M1R at all times. You can however substitute it with M1L.

Abbreviations
● k knit
● k2tog decrease; knit two stitches together
● M1R increase; make one right
● p purl
● RS right side of your work
● st(s) stitch(es)
● WS wrong side of your work
● BOR beginning of the round
● SM slip marker
● MC: Main Color
● CC: Contrast Color
● inc. Increase

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Pattern
Please read the whole pattern before starting to knit.

Neck edge

On 4.5mm (US 7) 40cm (16“) circular needles cast on loosely 54 (56) 56 (58) 60 (62) sts and join to knit in the
round, making sure that the cast-on edge is not twisted. Place a marker for the beginning of the round. Work 8 cm
(3,2”) of (k1, p1) rib for all sizes.

On the next round work together the sts on the needle with sts from the cast-on edge to form the folded neck edge.
Fold the neck band trying not to twist iit and align each rib. You will need to pick up the sts lifting the stitch from the
cast-on edge onto the left needle, then knit it together with the first regular stitch on the left needle. Continue
working this way, knitting and purling the sts together in the established rib pattern or you can sew the neck band
together with loose stitches at the very end.

If you don’t like a folded neckline because they tend to be a little bulkier, you can proceed with a regular ribbed
neckline knitting about 3,5cm (1,4”). Bear in mind that these brushed yarns tend to stretch out a lot in ribbed
stitches so you might want to use a transparent knitting-in elastic thread to keep it in place.

Change to 5,5mm (US 9) 40 cm (16”) circular needles. Knit the sts onto the new needles and proceed to the first
round of increases as follows.

95* 100 105 110 115 120**

n. of increases 16 14 14 12 10 8
EVENLY
SPACED

m1R every n. 3 - 4 sts 4 sts 4 sts 5 sts 6 sts 7 sts

(sts)

k4, M1R, k4, M1R k4, M1R k5, M1R k6, M1R k7, M1R
k3,M1R

Stitch count (sts) 70 70 70 70 70 70

Note* in Size 95 there are 16 increases. Try to space them evenly increasing alternatively every 3 sts then 4 sts.
Repeat until the end of the round. Check your stitch count.

Note** 120 has 8 increases spaced almost evenly. You will have to count and keep in mind the n. of increases,
once reached 8 inc. knit to end. Check your stitch count.

The marker becomes the center of the back from which the following step begins.

Neck shaping
Short rows will now be used to raise the neck. Use your preferred technique. Choose instructions based on your
size.

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Size 95 - Size 100 - Size 105
Num. of total short rows 8
Shaping intervals 3 sts

knit 15 (17) 17 sts turn your work on the next stitch

purl 15 (17) 17 sts, SM purl 15 (17) 17 sts turn your work on the next stitch
knit 15 (17) 17 sts SM.

knit 19 (21) 21 sts turn your work on the next stitch

purl 19 (21) 21 sts, SM purl 19 (21) 21sts turn your work on the next stitch
knit 19 (21) 21 sts SM.

knit 23 (25) 25 sts turn your work on the next stitch

purl 23 (25) 25 sts, SM purl 23 (25) 25 sts turn your work on the next stitch
knit 23 (25) 25 sts SM.

knit 27 (29) 29 sts turn your work on the next stitch

purl 27 (29) 29 sts, SM purl 27 (29) 29 sts turn your work on the next stitch
knit 27 (29) 29 sts SM.

Proceed to end of paragraph (§)

Size 110 - Size 115 - Size 120

Num. of total short rows 10
Shaping intervals 2 sts

knit 9 sts turn your work on the 10th stitch

purl 9 sts, SM purl 9 sts turn your work on the 10th stitch
knit 9 sts, SM.

knit 14 sts turn your work on the 15th stitch

purl 14 sts, SM purl 14 sts turn your work on the 15th stitch
knit 14 sts, SM.

knit 19 sts turn your work on the 20th stitch

purl 19 sts, SM purl 19 sts turn your work on the 20th stitch
knit 19 sts SM.

knit 24 sts turn your work on the 25th stitch

purl 24 sts, SM purl 24 sts turn your work on the 25th stitch
knit 24 sts SM.

knit 29 sts turn your work on the 30th stitch

purl 29 sts, SM purl 29 sts turn your work on the 30th stitch
knit 29 sts SM.
Proceed to end of paragraph (§)

(§) Place a removable stitch marker at this point to mark the end of the short rows shaping and the beginning of the
first increase round.

From this point the increase rounds will be distributed over the next 49 (49) 51 (51) 55 (59) rounds.

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Useful TIP: If by any chance your stitch count at the end of every increase round doesn’t match with the
designated number you can add the missing increases on the rounds where you are told to work even being sure
to evenly space them and leave at least 1 even knit round form the previous increase round. These furry yarns are
not easy to unravel but they are forgiving and a couple of increases on another round won’t show.

Yoke
The yoke is worked in the round on 5.5 mm circular needles. Change to longer cable needles along the way to
accommodate the increasing number of sts.

First increase round: on the next round proceed to increase as follow: *[k7, M1R], repeat * to the end of the round
You now have 80 sts.
Work even for the next 4 rounds.

Second inc. round: on the next round proceed to increase as follows: *[k2, M1R], repeat * to the end of the round
You now have 120 sts.
Work even for the next 7 (7) 7 (5) 5 (5) rounds

Third inc. round: on the next round proceed to increase as follows: *[k3, M1R], repeat * to the end of the round
You now have 160 sts.
Work even for the next 7 (7) 7 (7) 7 (7) rounds.

Fourth inc. round: on the next round proceed to increase as follows: *[k4, M1R], repeat * to the end of the round
You now have 200 sts.

Between this and the next increase round the yoke should reach a measure of about 15-18 cm (6-7”) from the back
neckline (bottom of the ribbing). This is where the Embroidery will be placed. To have a visual aid you can print the
stitch pattern in Appendix 1 and place it at will. (Read the note for the printing scale).

Now it’s time to start the striping with CC.

Change color at the beginning of the round and be sure to use a method to obtain a jogless change of color (see
note at the end of the pattern). Every stripe will consist of 6 rounds (roughly 3 cm -1.2” at this gauge). You can
however choose another height for your stripes. From now on remember to change color every time you reach the
desired stripe height.

NOTE: Color change for the stripes is not mentioned in the pattern if not in specific passages when it’s
linked with the structure of the pattern.

Work even for the next 6 (6) 6 (6) 6 (7) rounds, sm, work the following increases on the next round

95 100 105 110 115 120

n. of increases 20 25 25 20 25 40

m1R every n. 10 8 8 10 8 5
(sts)
k10, M1R k8, M1R k8, M1R k10, M1R k8, M1R k5, M1R

Stitch count (sts) 220 225 225 220 225 240

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Work even for the next 6 (6) 6 (6) 6 (7) rounds, sm, work the following increases on the next round

95 100 105 110 115 120

n. of increases 10 15 15 20 25 20

m1R every n. 22 15 15 11 9 12
(sts)
k22, M1R k15, M1R k15, M1R k11, M1R k9, M1R k12, M1R

Stitch count (sts) 230 240 240 240 250 260

Work even for 0 (0) 0 (4) 4 (6) rounds, sm, work the following increases on the next round

95 100 105 110 115 120

n. of increases 0 0 0 10 10 20

m1R every n. 0 0 0 24 12 13
(sts)
k24,M1R k12,M1R k13,M1R

Stitch count 230 240 240 250 260 280

(sts)

Work even for 5 (0) 5 (5) 5 (0) rounds and on the following round work 2 (0) 4 (2) 6 (0) increases as evenly spaced
as possible.

Final Yoke Stitch count:

95 100 105 110 115 120

Stitch count (sts) 232 240 244 252 266 280

Work even for the next 7 (13) 9 (7) 10 (16) rows. The Yoke should now consist of 49 (49) 51 (52) 55 (59) rounds
from the removable marker

The yoke should have roughly the following measures from the bottom of the back neck.

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 95 100 105 110 115 120

C Yoke depth 26 cm 27 cm 28 cm 29 cm 31 cm 33 cm

10,2” 10,6” 11” 11,4” 12,2” 13”

Yoke is supposed to give about 5 cm (2”) of ease to the underarm. If this measure is not enough for you or your
vertical gauge is slightly different from the required tension, you can work even to increase the yoke depth at will.

In the next round we will divide for body and sleeves. This could come easier if you find yourself in the middle of a
stripe and not at the change of color round, so, if you wish, you can work another round before the next step.

Body
Now divide the sts for sleeves and body following the next table, while at the same time casting on new sts at each
underarm using the backward loop method.
Remember we have our BOR at the middle of the back.

95 100 105 110 115 120

knit (half of the back) 34 35 36 37 39 41

Place next sts on 48 50 50 52 55 58

leftover yarn (sleeve)

Cast on new sts 8 10 12 14 14 14

(underarm)

knit (front) 68 70 72 74 78 82

Place next sts on 48 50 50 52 55 58

leftover yarn (sleeve)

Cast on new sts 8 10 12 14 14 14

(underarm)

knit (half of the back) 34 35 36 37 39 41

Body Stitch count 152 160 168 176 184 192

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There are now 152 (160) 168 (176) 184 (192) sts on the needles.
Place the beginning of the round in the middle of the new cast on sts on the left underarm.

The body of the sweater is designed to fold at your waist just like a balloon sleeve and then proceed with a body
fitting ribbed waist. To obtain this look, work in stockinette stitch until the sweater measures roughly 6/8 cm
(2,5-3,2”) under your belly button. Finish on the end of a stripe.

Working top down with a light yarn you can definitely try on your sweater before knitting the ribbed bottom edge to
determine the perfect length and design for you. Please keep in mind that making your sweater longer might end
up changing the amount of yarn required.

Change to 4.5 (US7) mm 60 cm (24”) circular needles and proceed to decrease as follows, taking care to end with
an even number of sts.: k1, k2tog.
This will reduce your stitches by one third to obtain the tapered wait look.

Work even for about 12-14 cm (5-5,5”) of (k1, p1) rib for all sizes, continuing striping in 8 round stripes finishing
with a wider MC stripe at the bottom, if needed, to obtain desired length.

If you chose a wider stripe for the body you should increase the rounds for the ribbing section by 35-40%
Example: if you used 8 rounds in stockinette stitch then 8+(8*40/100) = 12,2, so they will become 12 in the Rib
stitch pattern.
The reason for this is that when wearing the sweater the ribbed pattern at the waist will stretch and the stripes will
appear optically equal to the ones in stockinette stitch.

Bind off in the established rib pattern using a very stretchy bind off (see notes at the end for tutorials I have used).

Useful TIP: To obtain perfect stripes on Rib stitch patterns when changing color just knit all along the first round
and start ribbing on the second one. This is to avoid seeing the intertwining colors that would occur on the purl
side.

Sleeves
The sleeves are worked in the round, in stockinette stitch on circular 5.5 mm (US 9) 40 cm (16”) needles.

Place the sts on hold for the first sleeve back on the needles. Pick up and knit 8 (10),12, (14), 14, (14) sts along the
sts that were cast on at the underarm for the body. There are now 56 (60), 62, (66), 69, (72) sts on the needles.
Place a marker for the beginning of the round in the middle of the underarm sts.

Work in stockinette stitch following the striped pattern, until the sleeve reaches roughly the bone on your wrist. Stop
when the last stripe has 2 rounds left. Work 10 (10),12, (14), 13, (14) sts decrease evenly spaced on the round.
There are now 46, (50), 50, (52), 56, (58) sts on the needles.

Knit one round more to finish your stripe.

Change to 4.5 mm (US7) needles for the magic loop technique (or any small cfr technique you feel comfortable
with) and proceed to decrease the with k2tog through the whole round taking care to end with an even number of
sts.
This will reduce your stitches in half to obtain a long tapered cuff. If you feel this decrease is too extreme for your
wrist you may use [k1, k2tog].

Work about 12 cm (5”) of (k1, p1) rib for all sizes, striping as in the body ribbing edge and finishing with a wider MC
stripe.
Loosely bind off in the established rib pattern.
Work the second sleeve.

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Finishing
Depending on your choice of neck ribbing now you may need to fold it and sew it. Fold over the top 4 cm (2”)
towards the WS and loosely sew the cast-on edge to the WS along the first reverse stockinette stitch row.

Weave in all ends.

Embroidery
Print the Design you find in Appendix 1. Be careful to choose the Option NO SCALE or 100% in the printer settings.
In larger sizes if you wish you can scale up to make it fit the yoke better. Transfer the design on Water Soluble
Stabilizer and proceed with your Embroidery.

Finally wash your garment gently and block it.

Tutorials:
How to knit Jogless stripes in the round
1. Before changing yarn always twist the new color on the last stitch before BOR marker
2. Row 1: change color and work one round normally
3. Row 2: Slip the first stitch purlwise on to the right needle then work the rest of the stitches in that row
following pattern
4. Keep on working following the pattern until it’s time to change yarn colors again, then repeat from step 1.

Video tutorial on How to knit Jogless Stripes in the round by Studioknit https://youtu.be/3u3nQZl5n5U

Video Tutorial on How to Knit a Simple Stretchy bind off by Very Pink knit https://youtu.be/SbzeEg6XMwM

Video tutorial for the embroidery :

● Satin Stitch by Paraffle Embroidery: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qkCq2p7PJOQ

● Back Stitch by Cutesy Crafts https://youtu.be/kqj_lUo1tJo

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Projects made using my patterns can not be sold.

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#cheshirecatsweater #knittingtherapyit @iknitso

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Appendix 1. Embroidery

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Color reference
Movie

Animated Movie

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