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CAPELAN PULLOVER
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This less common variant of the top-down raglan, features a front-back reversible yoke with a 
distinct shape resembling a capelet worn daintily over ones’s shoulders. Hence: the Capelan.



While its earliest origins are debatable, this style of yoke has appeared in several well-known designs in past decades. Most notably:
 Elizabeth Zimmermann’s Hurry Up Last Minute Sweater, Olga Buraya-Kafelian’s Onske, 
and Kate Davies’s Carbeth. However, one known limitation of this yoke construction was that it 
only seemed to work with yarns in the bulky and chunky range. 



The contribution of the Capelan Pullover is that it accommodates finer yarns.

After much trial and error 
over the years, I have developed a method that makes this style of yoke workable at practically 
any gauge, across an inclusive range of sizes.
 The top-down construction 
is an additional draw for those knitters partial to a neckline start and a hemline finish.

There are two versions of the Capelan included with your pattern purchase at present: a DK-weight version and an Aran-weight version. In future, I plan to add a sport-weight version as well.

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MATERIALS & INFORMATION

SIZE 1 (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8)
garment measures as follows around chest circumference:
90cm/ 36” (100cm/ 40”, 110cm/ 44”, 120cm/ 48”, 130cm/ 52”, 140cm/ 56”, 150cm/ 60”, 160cm/ 64”)

YARN (DK WEIGHT VERSION):

suitable for DK weight yarns,
approximately 200m/ 225y per 100g/ 3.5oz

project requires a total of:

5 (5, 6, 6, 7, 7, 8, 8) 100g/3.5oz skeins

YARN (ARAN WEIGHT VERSION):

suitable for Aran weight yarns,
approximately 160m/ 180y per 100g/ 3.5oz

project requires a total of:

6 (6, 7, 7, 8, 8, 9, 9) 100g/3.5oz skeins


GAUGE
 & NEEDLES (DK WEIGHT VERSION)
20 sts x 26 rows/ rounds = 10cm x 10cm
use circular needles
4mm in diameter or as needed to meet gauge


GAUGE
 & NEEDLES (ARAN WEIGHT VERSION)

17 sts x 23 rounds = 10cm x 10cm
use circular needles
5mm in diameter or as needed to meet gauge

NOTIONS

removable stitch markers, measuring tape, scrap yarn, tapestry needle

SPECIAL TECHNIQUES 

provisional cast-on (for underarms);
basic stitching (for sewing down neckband)

CONSTRUCTION
Worked entirely in the round, from the top down, with ‘centrepoint raglan’ construction. 


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NOTES ON YARN SELECTION

The main feature of this design is the distinct shape of the yoke. To maximise the visibility of the capelet-like shape, select a solid colour yarn with strong stitch definition.

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SAMPLES INFO.

white sample
DK-weight version
Size 3
knitted with Inish Olann Merino Pro

mauve sample
Aran-weight version
Size 3
knitted with Honer och Eir Nutiden

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FURTHER NOTES ON THIS STYLE OF YOKE

It is important to note, I feel, that a major draw of the patterns I referenced earlier, is how quick they are to knit - owing to the heavy gauge. The finer gauge of the Capelan certainly takes away from that aspect of things. But in exchange, it brings a degree of elegance and nuance to the aesthetic that simply cannot be achieved with a chunky or bulky gauge. And in that sense, I hope it is a useful contribution.

As for the history… While there’s no documentation of this that I know of, I can say from personal memories, as well as from having seen old photos, et cetera, that this style of yoke was not uncommon across Central and Eastern Europe in the 20th Century, going as far back as the 1950s. I distinctly remember a film from that era, possibly Polish, that featured a yellow jumper in this style, worn by a mountaineer. I have seen variants of this yoke in old Soviet knitting patterns as well. It remains quite popular with knitters from Eastern Europe, with the ‘capelet’ portion of the yoke often used to showcase lace and other embellishments. The pattern Bloomsbury by Svetlana Volkova, references this tradition.