by Allie Matthews

Saint Rémy is a fitted top-down pullover with a celestial stranded yoke pattern inspired by Vincent van Gogh's most famous painting: the pre-dawn skyline from his bedroom window in the south of France.

I was first drawn in by the color palette -- the vibrant contrast of canary yellow against a deep, regal blue -- and all of my initial swatches resembled starry skies. It was inevitable. And as an art history major, I was struck by the similarities in color with the Dutch painter's work and the woolly Saint Rémy was born.

The deep blues and yellows are meant to evoke the abstracted skyline, and the gray, the sleepy, quiet town of Saint-Rémy-de-Provence below.

Saint Rémy is an elegant, fitted sweater suitable for work or play. The brilliantly colored yoke draws the eye upward to the wearer's face and the subtle waist shaping serves to flatter any body type.

SIZE
Women's XS[S, M, L, 1X, 2X, 3X]
shown in size S with zero ease

FINISHED MEASUREMENTS
Chest: 32.5[34.75, 37.5, 42.5, 46.5, 50.5, 54.5] inches
Length: 24.5[24.75, 26, 26.25, 28, 27.25, 27.5] inches

MATERIALS
Yarn
Quince & Co. Finch [100% wool; 221yd/202m per 50g skein]
[MC] Iceland; 5[5, 6, 6, 7, 8, 8] skeins
[CC1] River; 1[1, 2, 2, 3, 3, 3] skeins
[CC2] Goldfinch; 1 skein

Recommended needle size
[always use a needle size that gives you the gauge listed below -- every knitter's gauge is unique]
1 32-inch US #4/3.5mm circular needle
US #4/3.5mm needles for small circumferences in the round: set of five DPNs, 1 long circular for Magic Loop, or 2 short circulars
Note: A larger circular needle may be needed if your stranding work is tighter than your St st. If so, use a needle during the chart that will achieve the same gauge as in St st.

Notions
Waste yarn or 2 stitch holders
Stitch markers
Yarn needle

GAUGE

PATTERN NOTES
[Knitty's list of standard abbreviations and techniques can be found here.]

Saint Rémy is knit seamlessly from th top down. The yoke is worked in one piece to the underarm. The sleeves are then placed on holders and worked separately from the rest of the body.

Chart is worked in St st.

All increased sts are worked as M1.

When increasing evenly, stagger increases differently on each repeated round.

Underarm sts for the sleeve are cast-on and the underarms seamed together in finishing. Alternatively, you can pick up sts from the underarm to create a seamless finish.

K1, P1 rib:
Rnd 1: [K1, p1] around.
Rep this rnd for patt.

DIRECTIONS
YOKE
With CC1 and circular needle, CO 128[136, 144, 152, 160, 168, 176] sts. Place marker and join to work in the round, being careful not to twist sts.

Work in K1, P1 rib until work measures 1.5 inches from cast-on.

Knit 3 rnds.

Inc rnd 1: Knit, inc 10[11, 10, 12, 14, 16, 16] sts evenly around.

Rep last 4 rnds 0[3, 3, 3, 6, 7, 8] times more. 138[180, 184, 200, 258, 296, 320] sts.

Knit 3 rnds.

Inc rnd 2: Knit, inc 11[12, 11, 13, 15, 16, 16] sts evenly around.

Rep last 4 rnds 5[2, 3, 3, 1, 0, 0] times more. 204[216, 228, 252, 288, 312, 336] sts.

Begin chart:
Join MC.

Rnd 1: Work Chart, working 6-st rep a total of 34[36, 38, 42, 48, 52, 56] times.

Continue to work through Rnd 15 of chart, changing colors as indicated.

Break CC1 and CC2.

Inc rnd 3: *K6, M1; rep from * around. 238[252, 266, 294, 336, 364, 392] sts.

Knit 3 rnds.
Inc rnd 4: Knit, inc 13[12, 13, 16, 15, 17, 19] sts evenly around.
Rep last 4 rnds 3[4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4] times more. 290[312, 331, 374, 411, 449, 487] sts.

Knit 3 rnds.
Inc rnd 5: Knit, inc 10[10, 13, 12, 13, 17, 19] sts evenly around. 300[322, 344, 386, 424, 466, 506] sts.

Shape waist:
Next rnd: K26[28, 29, 34, 37, 41, 44], pm, k53[57, 59, 69, 76, 82, 89], pm, k52[56, 58, 69, 75, 82, 88], pm, k53[57, 59, 69, 76, 82, 89], pm, k26[28, 29, 35, 38, 41, 44].

Knit 7[9, 9, 3, 3, 5, 3] rnds.

Dec rnd: *Knit to 2 sts before m, ssk, sl m, knit to m, sl m, k2tog; rep from * once more, knit to end of rnd. 4 sts dec'd.

Knit 8[9, 7, 9, 8, 9, 9] rnds.
Rep last 9[10, 8, 10, 9, 10, 10] rnds 6[5, 7, 6, 7, 6, 6] times more. 182[202, 212, 248, 270, 300, 326] sts.

Inc rnd: *Knit to m, M1, sl m, knit to m, sl m, M1; rep from * once more, knit to end of rnd. 4 sts inc'd.

Knit 4 rnds.

Rep last 5 rnds 7[7, 8, 7, 8, 7, 7] times more. 214[234, 248, 280, 306, 332, 358] sts.

Knit 6[5, 4, 10, 5, 12, 12] rnds, removing all markers except for beg of rnd marker.

Work in K1, P1 rib for 1.5 inches.

BO in rib patt.

SLEEVES
Place 60[63, 65, 70, 76, 84, 91] held sleeve sts on needle(s).

Join MC and knit around, CO 7 sts using backwards loop method, pm for beg of rnd, CO 8 sts, knit to end of rnd. 75[78, 80, 85, 91, 99, 106] sts.

Knit 12[6, 2, 6, 3, 2, 4] rnds.

Dec rnd: K1, k2tog, knit to 3 sts before end of rnd, ssk, k1.

Knit 7[7, 7, 7, 7, 6, 6] rnds.

Rep last 8[8, 8, 8, 8, 7, 7] rnds 12[14, 14, 14, 15, 18, 18] times more, then rep Dec rnd once more. 47[46, 48, 53, 57, 59, 66] sts.

Knit 8[4, 1, 6, 3, 1, 4] rnds.

Sizes XS, L, 1X & 2X ONLY:
Next round: K2tog, knit to end of round.

ALL SIZES
46[46, 48, 52, 56, 58, 66] sts.

Work in K1, P1 rib for 1.5 inches. BO in patt.

Repeat for other sleeve.

FINISHING
Sew underarm seams. Weave in ends. Wet block lightly to measurements.

Allie Matthews is a paralegal who dreams of quitting her day job for one filled with lovely, woolly fiber.

She lives in Cumberland, Maine, with her husband and their two cats, whose hilarious hijinks have been chronicled (together with Allie's knitting escapades) in her blog, Bad Cats, Good Knits.

Find her here on Ravelry.