The Pisces Pullover
Work with multiple colors, but just one at a time. #MyZodiacSweater
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Detailed PDF pattern
♓︎ Step-by-step instructions
♓︎ Tutorial photos and schematics to guide you along the way
Difficulty level
♓︎ Intermediate
Size-inclusive
♓︎ Pattern written for 10 sizes with instructions on customization
♓︎ Fits busts from 28.5″ to 68.5″ (72 to 174 cm)
What you'll need
♓︎ Arcane Fibre Works 80-20 Merino Nylon DK or any DK weight yarn you can meet gauge with, in the amounts shown below
♓︎ Your 4.0 mm hook or size needed to obtain gauge. I used my Clover Amour hooks
♓︎ Tape measure, scissors, darning needle, 6 locking and numbered stitch markers, up to 26 more stitch markers
Pattern support
♓︎ For pattern related questions, please join my Facebook support group or contact me at thecrochethighway [at] gmail.com
Join my Facebook support Group
I proud myself with writing ultra-detailed patterns for you, so that your crocheting experience is as smooth and seamless as possible. But whenever you have a pattern related question, my Facebook support group is the place to ask. There you can also share your WIPs and brag about your FOs with the community!
The Pisces Pullover
The Pisces Pullover is a fitted sweater which you can customize to fit your body perfectly. The magic lies in the reversible design – wear it with the right side out for classic, waist defining vertical stripes, or flip it for a chic horizontal look – all in two vibrant, contrasting colors that pop! Made almost entirely from double crochets and chain spaces and with minimal seaming, the Pisces will be that sweater you’re really proud of making.
“Stars Above” is the name of the contrasting color from Arcane Fibre Works that I picked for this design, and I think that it’s the perfect colorway in both hue and name! Paired with “Grape Juice”, it makes for the perfect Pisces color combo.
Just like the all the other designs in the #MyZodiacSweater collection, for this sweater you’ll only have to work with 1 color at a time, dropping the inactive yarn at the start of a round and picking it back up at the start of the new round.
The pattern
Like most CrochetHighway patterns, the Pisces Pullover also comes with step-by-step instructions and tutorial photos including on how to check for gauge. The instructions and tutorial photos walk you through every step along the way with no guesswork left for you.
The pattern calls for DK weight yarn (category 3) in at least 1 main color (MC), and 1 contrast color (CC). My testers used a variety of yarns and color combinations to show off this design – check out the tester photo gallery below to find all the details on yarns and yardages from my testers!
The pattern walks you through the process of achieving the best fit at your bust, waist, and hips.
I provide you with a set of pre-calculated finished measurements which you will achieve if you follow the pattern exactly as written, but you are encouraged – and instructed on how – to customize the number of decrease/increase rounds in order to achieve the best fitting waist shaping for your body!
Check out the tester lookbook below, where my testers spill the tea on all the mods they made (with a focus on waist shaping) in order to create their dream sweater!
And if waist shaping is not your jam, don’t worry – this sweater will look just as good without it!
Quick metrics from my testers:
Difficulty rating: 2.5 / 5
Average completion time: 58 hours
Designer sample
For my sample, I used Arcane Fibre Works 80/20 Extra Fine Merino Nylon Super Wash DK Weight in Grape Juice (purple semisolid) as the main color, and Stars Above (variegated) as the contrasting color.
The WPI of this yarn is 10. Learn how to measure the WPI of your yarn.
Tester highlights
Scroll down for the complete tester lookbook, where you can find photos, yarn & yardage info from all my testers, as well as certain modifications they made to their sweaters for the perfect, customized fit.
A word from my testers
This was such a different stitch for me, which was so fun. Once I got going and understood how to switch colors correctly, I had an absolute blast making this! Thank you so much for your creativity and for choosing me to test this beautiful pattern!
I love how clear your directions are. I absolutely love how many pictures you include to demonstrate what needs to be done. I plan on ordering more of your patterns!
This is a sweater that fits beautifully and can be tailored as per your body type. I love the folded collar, hem, and cuffs.
Thanks for having me test for you (it’s the most active testing group I’ve ever been part of!), and thanks for being so receptive to my leftie feedback 😊.
I absolutely love this pattern. It shows off my new body shape and it makes me feel amazing. Thank you for having me test.
This was a fun, addictive pattern to work on! I love that it’s reversible 🙂
Materials and yardage
Hooks: 4.0 mm hook or size needed to obtain gauge. I used my Clover Amour hooks.
Notions: Tape measure, scissors, darning needle, 6 locking and numbered stitch markers, up to 26 more stitch markers.
Yarn: Arcane Fibre Works 80/20 Extra Fine Merino Nylon Super Wash DK Weight (WPI=10) in Grape Juice (semisolid MC) and Stars Above (variegated CC).
Yardage
Main color (purple semisolid):
4 (4, 5, 5) (6, 6, 7) (7, 7, 8) hanks of Arcane Fibre Works, or 740 (840, 925, 1040) (1120, 1245, 1365) (1435, 1485, 1595) yds / 675 (770, 845, 950) (1025, 1140, 1250) (1310, 1360, 1460) m
Contrast color (variegated):
4 (5, 5, 6) (6, 7, 7) (8, 8, 8) hanks of Arcane Fibre Works, or 790 (900, 985, 1105) (1195, 1330, 1455) (1535, 1585, 1705) yds / 720 (825, 900, 1010) (1095, 1215, 1330) (1405, 1450, 1560) m
Sizing
All my garment patterns are #sizeinclusive up to at least a 60” bust circumference.
Bust sizing:
Finished bust circumference (inches): 30.5 (34.5, 38.5, 42.5) (46.5, 50.5, 54.5) (58.5, 62.5, 66.5) inches
Finished bust circumference (cm): 77 (88, 98, 108) (118, 128, 138) (149, 159, 169) cm
This sweater is designed to be worn with -2″ to +2″ (-5 to +5 cm) of ease around the bust.
TRIED & TESTED SUBSTITUTION YARNS
Looking for yarn substitution ideas? Here’s a list of yarns my testers used and loved! In this list you’ll find yarn substitution ideas sorted alphabetically – I only include yarns that my testers can personally recommend!
- Abbey Road The Wind Cries Merino
- Baby Bee Sweet Delight DK
- Circulo Linha Charme
- Daffodil Road Yarn Supersoft Merino 8 Ply DK
- Debbie Bliss Eco Baby
- Estambres Karina RaO
- Fiori DK IV
- Hauteknityarn Trevor Morgan DK
- Hilados LHO Profano
- Jubilee Yarns Bamboo Cotton Sport
- Lion Brand Coboo, Lion Brand Truboo
- Louie & Lola Yarns Merino Nylon Sock
- Malabrigo Arroyo
- Novita Nalle
- Rowan Moordale
- Scheepjes Colour Crafter, Scheepjes Our Tribe
- Schoppel-Wolle Zauberball 6
- Svarta Faret Tilda
- West Yorkshire Spinners Bo Peep Luxury Baby
- White Gum Wool Silk/Merino 5 Ply
- Willow Yarns Farmhouse Cotton
- Yarnkart Diya Cotton
Photo by tester Shu-Wen (shuwent on Ravelry)
Tester lookbook
My patterns would not be so smooth without the input of my team of talented testers. Swipe left & right for more photos of your favorite versions!
Want to test my future patterns? Check out how you can become a pattern tester for CrochetHighway!
Size 5
975 yds of Loops & Threads Delicate DK as MC and 975 yds of Loops & Threads Delicate DK as CC (DK weight)
Hook size(s) used: 2.5 mm
Mods: I added 10 more body rounds before I started the decreases (so that I started the decreases below my bust apex).
Becky (snailandteacup on Ravelry)
Size 6
1131 yds of Yarn Bee Sweet Delight DK as MC and 1301 yds of Yarn Bee Sweet Delight DK as CC (DK weight)
Hook size(s) used: 3.25 mm
Mods: I added the max number of extra short rows (which means I also modified the decreases on the upper sleeves). I also added 6 extra rows to the bottom of each sleeve because I needed the extra length. For the waist shaping, I did one less decrease round than the pattern called for. However, I did the same number of increase rounds as called for in the pattern plus two additional increase rounds as I am a large size through my hips and lower belly.
Bee (beesbusyfingers on Ravelry)
Size 6
1130 yds of Rowan Moordale as MC and 1205 yds of Rowan Moordale as CC (DK weight)
Hook size(s) used: 4.5 mm
Mods: On the body shaping, I followed the instructions for sizes 1-3 (so skipped the last increase rounds of size 6), and finished with 3 pairs of flat rounds (so 6 total), otherwise the bottom edge would have been too wide to sit nicely on my hips, and also slightly too long.
Allison (knotallisonh on Ravelry)
Size 5
1080 yds of K+C Essential Light Weight Cotton as MC and 1260 yds of K+C Essential Light Weight Cotton as CC (DK weight)
Hook size(s) used: 3.25
Mods: I added more decreases on the sleeves, particularly at the beginning and I omitted some of the waist shaping increase rounds.
Andrea (ndrainwooldeland on Ravelry)
Size 2
708 yds of Bendigo Woolen Mills as MC and 768 yds of Bendigo Woolen Mills as CC (DK weight)
Hook size(s) used: 3.5 mm
Mods: I only did 1 increase for the hip and reduced the decrease for the sleeve as it’s quite long for me.
Size 4
826 yds of Estambres Karina RaO as MC and 922 yds of Estambres Karina RaO as CC (DK weight)
Hook size(s) used: 4 mm
Mods: Only 4 short rows, only 2 increases in body shape (big bust and I still have some waist hahaha), 3/4 sleeves.
Size 4
1020 yds of Sheepjes Colour Crafter as MC and 1080 yds of Sheepjes Our Tribe as CC (sport weight)
Hook size(s) used: 3.5 mm
Mods: None.
Laura (@one_pinksunshine on Instagram)
Size 2
800 yds of West Yorkshire Spinners Bo Peep Luxury Baby as MC and 850 yds of West Yorkshire Spinners Bo Peep Luxury Baby as CC (DK weight)
Hook size(s) used: 4 mm
Mods: None.
Cyn (origcyncreations on Ravelry)
Size 2
648 yds of Novita Nalle as MC and 793 yds of Hauteknityarn Trevor Morgan DK as CC (DK weight)
Hook size(s) used: 3.75 mm
Mods: I did 2 fewer waist decreases to have 2 inches of positive ease in the waist as directed and worked those rows as regular rows. I also shortened the sleeves by 8 rows to account for shorter arms.
Size 5
1095 yds of Malabrigo Arroyo as MC and 1129 yds of Malabrigo Arroyo as CC (DK weight)
Hook size(s) used: 4.5 mm
Mods: I eliminated some decreases in the arms. When I started them, it felt tight at first, so I didn’t want to decrease too much. Now that I’m fully finished and not on a time crunch, I will redo the arms as I think I did them too loose and should have eliminated less.
Size 3
1091 yds of Solstice Constellation DK as MC and 1026 yds of Solstice Constellation DK as CC (DK weight)
Hook size(s) used: 4 mm
Mods: I omitted the last 6 rows of the body part to make it a little shorter to fit my torso.
Arianna (aribaba-crochet on Ravelry)
Size 3
550 yds of Casasol Veggie Wool Petite as MC and 840 yds of Casasol Veggie Wool Petite as CC (sport weight)
Hook size(s) used: 3.5 mm
Mods: None.
Size 1
1140 yds of locally sourced hand-dyed yarn (850m/100g, 70% kid mohair, 30% silk and 950m/100g, 58% baby alpaca, 14% merino, 16% pa, 12% pl) as MC and 1115 yds of locally sourced hand-dyed yarn (400m/100g, 10% cashmere, 90% merino) as CC (sport weight)
Hook size(s) used: 4 mm
Mods: I made extra rows for sleeves – one decreasing block (4*2 rows) + 2*2 on-decreasing rows. I reduced one decreasing block – 6*2 rows and two last increasing blocks – 2*2*2 for the waist part.
Heather (heathershemmings on Ravelry)
Size 4
743 yds of Jubilee Yarns Bamboo Cotton Sport as MC and 815 yds of Jubilee Yarns Bamboo Cotton Sport as CC (sport weight)
Hook size(s) used: 3.75mm
Mods: I made elbow length sleeves and customized the waist shaping to fit my body.
On the body I needed to have my waist at 38/39″ and hips at 45″. Each increase/decrease equals about half an inch.
I followed the waist shaping round instructions yet only did decreases on the front. For the increase section I again followed the round instructions yet the first 4 groups of increased I only did on the front and the final 4 groups of increased I did on both the front and back.
Even though I did not do any decreases on the back I still moved the stitch markers up as I went, so they would be on the correct round when I started doing the increases.
Also on the lower flat rounds I only did 2 as then the length would match what was in the schematic and hit right around the top of my hips.
For the sleeves I did 32 rounds- I wanted them about 8″ long so I subtracted 2″ for the yoke and then did the math to see how many rounds and then ended on a CC decrease round.
Yamila (crafty-yam on Ravelry)
Size 3
863 yds of Hilados LHO Profano as MC and 912 yds of Hilados LHO Profano as CC (DK weight)
Hook size(s) used: 4 mm
Mods: Yes, waist shaping: I did one less decrease rnd for the waist shaping and one less increase rnd (so the hip circumference stayed as per pattern) for my size. Ended waist decrease section at body rnd 36 and started increase rounds in body rnd 37. Ended increase rounds one full repeat earlier and did 12 more flat rounds after that. So, I ended up with 76 body rnds anyway.
Sleeves: I added 2 sts to the setup rnds for the upper arm circumference, did 2 decreases less, modify the placement of decreases a bit, and made 6 more rnds to make the sleeves longer. So, I started the sleeves with 72 sts and ended up with 46 sts. Did decreases in rnds 11/12, 17/18, 23/24, 29/30, 35/36, 49/50, 55/56, 61/62, 65/66, 69/70, 73/74, 77/78, 85/86. Ended at rnd 92, then cuffs.
Khushbu (crochetrainbowz on Ravelry)
Size 3
807 yds of Daffodil Road Yarn Supersoft Merino 8 Ply DK as MC and 995 yds of White Gum Wool Silk/Merino 5 Ply as CC (DK weight)
Hook size(s) used: 3.5 mm
Mods: Instead of 8 body rounds before the waist shaping, I made 12 body rounds before starting the decrease.
Instead of 3 decrease rounds as mentioned in the pattern, I made only 2 decrease rounds.
In the 4th increase round, I made two extra increases, one at each side to better fit my body.
After the 6 increase rounds as mentioned in the pattern, I only made one 2 lower flat rounds. Also, the 5 ply yarn I used for CC is quite thick so it’s good to match with the 8ply DK yarn I used.
Lucia (crochetwithlu on Ravelry)
Size 2
682 yds of Abbey Road The Wind Cries Merino as MC and 768 yds of Louie & Lola Yarns Merino Nylon Sock as CC (DK weight)
Hook size(s) used: 4 mm
Mods: Waist shaping – I modified the number of waist decreases. I have 3 waist decreases and have 6 rounds (instead of 8 rounds) following each decrease. I have 5 waist increases.
Body length – I needed 8cm less for the sweater to reach my hipbone. I did 60 rounds instead of 76 rounds.
No other changes were made.
Agnes (NestingTendencies on Ravelry)
Size 1
656 yds of Patons Smoothie DK as MC and 726 yds of Schachenmayr Micro Grande as CC (DK weight)
Hook size(s) used: 4 mm;4.5 mm
Mods: I did 4 decreases on the bodice separated by 3 rows of MC, followed by 2 increases only, all of which worked on hook 4.5. Also sleeves – I didn’t do the really frequent decreases at the end of the cuff, but stuck with the previous frequency of decreases, did 10 of them in total. I was also using hook 4.5 (I did try it on 4.0 and the whole sleeve had to be frogged). 2 extra increases on each side into the underarm chain to accommodate my bust better.
Size 3
819 yds of Arcane Fibre Works Merino Nylon DK as MC and 876 yds of Arcane Fibre Works Merino Nylon DK as CC (DK weight)
Hook size(s) used: 4.5 mm
Mods: Did waist shaping as written in pattern, skipped Lower Flat Rounds section and proceeded directly to Hem.
Size 2
499 yds of Crochetedbycarisse 12Ply Cotton as MC and 1207 yds of Purlyloopz Mercerised Cotton – Double Strand as CC (sport weight)
Hook size(s) used: 4.5 mm
Mods: Did 1 less decrease for waist shaping and only made 2 increases after waist shaping. Just 1 round of pattern after setup for sleeves.
Sarah (sarahamalia on Ravelry)
Size 2
886 yds of Svarta Faret Tilda as MC and 938 yds of Svarta Faret Tilda as CC (sport weight)
Hook size(s) used: 3.5 mm
Mods: I added 4 stitches (2dc, 2 ch) on the setup row for the sleeves. I skipped the first decrease round on the sleeves.
Size 4
1036 yds of Juniper Moon Zooey as MC and 1121 yds of Juniper Moon Zooey as CC (sport weight)
Hook size(s) used: 3.5 mm
Mods: I shortened the torso because my own torso is shorter and I wanted it to hit my hips at the right place. I completely omitted the lower flat rounds.
Size 5
950 yds of Debbie Bliss Eco Baby as MC and 880 yds of Schoppel-Wolle Zauberball 6 as CC (DK weight)
Hook size(s) used: 4 mm
Mods: I made short sleeves, extra short rows which made the sleeve more similar to size 6, and fewer decreases and increases along the body.
Size 3
1034 yds of Fiori DK IV as MC and 979 yds of Fiori DK IV as CC (DK weight)
Hook size(s) used: 3.75
Mods: I omitted the first and final three sleeve decreases, and shortened the sleeve length by 8 rows.
Prachi (@autodidactic.crocheter on Instagram)
Size 2
673 yds of Lion Brand Truboo as MC and 723 yds of Lion Brand Truboo as CC (DK weight)
Hook size(s) used: 5 mm
Mods: I reduced the body length to accommodate my short torso. I also have thin arms so I decreased every two rows.
Size 2
780 yds of Lion Brand Coboo as MC and 860 yds of Lion Brand Coboo as CC (DK weight)
Hook size(s) used: 4 mm
Mods: I used slip stitches instead of the mattress stitch on all edgings, and I made 3/4 sleeves.
Sandra (spgalvao on Ravelry)
Size 6
433 yds of Circulo Linha Charme as MC and 433 yds of Circulo Linha Charme as CC (sport weight)
Hook size(s) used: 3 mm
Mods: I made short sleeves.
Swarna (swarnads on Ravelry)
Size 1
685 yds of Yarnkart Diya Cotton as MC and 700 yds of Yarnkart Diya Cotton as CC (sport weight)
Hook size(s) used: 3.5 mm
Mods: None.
Size 3
900 yds of Wool & Works DK Australian Extra Fine Superwash Merino as MC and 750 yds of Wool & Works Sport Superwash Merino as CC (sport weight)
Hook size(s) used: 4 mm
Mods: I skipped the last decrease in the waist as I’m thicker around that area, I maybe could have done with one more missed decrease (2 instead of 3) for comfort. I also omitted 3 of the decreases in the sleeves (rows 29/30, 45/46 and 53/54).
Swathi (tvishasfashion on Ravelry)
Size 4
1000 yds of Yarnkart Diya Cotton as MC and 1150 yds of Yarnkart Diya Cotton as CC (sport weight)
Hook size(s) used: 4.5 mm
Mods: None.
Michelle (fxgrl605 on Ravelry)
Size 5
810 yds of Willow Yarns Farmhouse Cotton as MC and 871 yds of Willow Yarns Farmhouse Cotton as CC (DK weight)
Hook size(s) used: 4.5 mm
Mods: I lost weight/inches from application to actual making so this ended up being a little oversized. I like it so much I ordered yarn to make a other in size 4 for a more fitted look.
Katarzyna (theskippinghare on Ravelry)
Size 4
1240 yds of Scheepjes Our Tribe as MC and 1295 yds of Scheepjes Our Tribe as CC (sport weight)
Hook size(s) used: 4 mm
Mods: Yes. I added more decreases in the waist decrease section (170 stitches in the narrowest point of my waist – the pattern called for 180 at this point). My sleeves are shorter as well. I made 62 rows.
Stacie (judeelleknots on Ravelry)
Size 5
1300 yds of Arcane Fibre Works Merino Nylon DK as MC and 1300 yds of Arcane Fibre Works Merino Nylon DK as CC (DK weight)
Hook size(s) used: 3.5 mm
Mods: None.
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