A playful patchwork of cables, colourwork and bobbles echo the graphic and beautiful costumes of the Ballets Russes, a constant source of inspiration for my sweaters. Léopoldine is knit in either worsted or Aran-weight yarn from the top down, with three increase rounds in the yoke. After the final colourwork band, the sleeve stitches are separated from the body and put on holders. The body is then worked in a cable pattern to your desired length. To finish, the sleeves are knitted in another cable pattern. If you’re not up to the cabling, this sweater would be just as graphic if the body and sleeves were simply worked in plain stocking stitch. Just be sure to check your gauge; you may need to switch to smaller needles as many knitters find a difference in tension between colourwork and plain knitting. Keeping warm will be colourful, textural and fun this winter!

Note on sizing
This sweater is designed to be quite fitted with approximately 4 cm of positive ease. If you don’t want your sweater to be so fitted, either knit your usual size using larger (5 mm, US 8, UK 6) needles and an Aran-weight yarn, or simply knit one size larger. Please look closely at the schematic and compare it to a favourite sweater that you already own. For reference, size XS is designed to fit ages 12 to 16 years.

Materials
1 size 4 mm (US 6, UK 8) circular needle 60 cm (24 inches) long for the neck ribbing. You may prefer a shorter circular needle (40 cm (16 inches) or double-pointed needles for the ribbing at the cuffs.
1 size 4.5 mm (US 7, UK 7) circular needle 80 cm (32 inches) long for the yoke and body or needles to get gauge. You may prefer a shorter circular needle (40 cm (16 inches) or double-pointed needles for the sleeves.
2 stitch holders or waste yarn
1 large cable needle

Yarn
Any worsted-weight (#4 Medium) yarn that knits to a gauge of 20 stitches per 10 cm on 4.5 mm (US 7, UK 7) needles in Fair Isle. I used a basic 4-ply worsted ecru yarn for my sample and, as the yoke was made up of leftovers from my stash, I used a variety of worsted and fingering-weight yarns held double.

Level of difficulty and skills required
Intermediate/advanced. This pattern requires chart-reading skills and knowledge of working short rows. It also assumes knowledge of the Fair Isle technique (stranded colourwork) and cable knitting.

Metrage
MC (white) : 750 (850, 950, 1000, 1150, 1200) Metres / 820 (930, 1040, 1090, 1260, 1310) Yards
For the yoke colours: oddments from your stash (my sample uses 4 different colours): CC1 (red) : about 65 m / 70 y
CC2 (mustard yellow) : about 25 m / 28 y
CC3 (burgundy) : about 65 m / 70 y
CC4 (rose) : about 25 m / 28 y

Gauge
In cable pattern:
On 4.5 mm (US 7, UK 7) needles, and knitting in the round: 20 stitches and 25 rounds to 10 x 10 cm (4 in x 4 in). Or use any size needles to get gauge, and a needle one size down for the ribbing.
In colourwork:
On the same needles, and knitting in the round: 20 stitches and 18 rounds to 10 x 10 cm. It’s good to do a test swatch using both techniques. Please also note that my knitting tension is quite loose so you may need to use a larger needle size than I list.