Tessarina

Tessarina Pullover Slipover by Ayako Monier

What Is Being Made

Tessarina is a top-down circular yoke pullover slipover designed by Ayako Monier. This knitted garment features a raglan construction combined with a circular yoke, creating a sophisticated silhouette. The pullover is characterized by its exceptional stretchiness, allowing wearers to customize the fit through strategic blocking. The design accommodates multiple size ranges with flexibility, making it an adaptable project for various body measurements and preferred ease levels.

Construction Techniques

The Tessarina employs several advanced knitting techniques that contribute to its elegant drape and wearability:

• Top-Down Construction: The pullover is worked from the top down, beginning at the neckline and progressing downward to the hem. This method allows for easy fitting adjustments and the ability to try on the garment as you knit.
• Circular Yoke: A circular yoke forms the upper body structure, creating a smooth transition from the neckline across the shoulders.
• Raglan Shaping: The raglan construction provides a classic sleeve cap integration, with diagonal shaping lines running from the underarm to the neckline.
• Strategic Blocking: The design relies heavily on blocking to achieve its final dimensions. The stretchiness of the cables and ribs allows for significant size range flexibility—the same knitted piece can be blocked to different widths depending on your desired ease and final measurements.

Stitches and Stitch Patterns

The Tessarina incorporates cable and rib stitches as primary design elements:

• Cables: Cable stitches feature prominently throughout the design, creating visual texture and contributing to the garment's stretchiness. The cables are designed to display beautifully when the pullover is blocked to its maximum recommended size.
• Ribs: Ribbed sections provide both structural support and elasticity. The ribs work in concert with the cables to create the exceptional stretch that defines this pattern, allowing the wearer to customize fit through blocking rather than relying solely on precise sizing.

Materials and Yarn Specifications

Tessarina is designed for DK weight yarn, a medium-light yarn weight that provides excellent stitch definition for showcasing cable and rib textures. The pattern requires circular needles appropriate for DK weight yarn, suitable for working in the round for both the yoke and body sections. The specific yardage and needle size recommendations are detailed within the downloadable PDF pattern.

Sizing and Customization

The Tessarina offers exceptional sizing flexibility through its stretchy cable and rib construction. Rather than being limited to fixed sizes, the pullover can be blocked to achieve different finished measurements. For example, a size M can be blocked anywhere within a range to achieve your desired positive ease—if your bust measures 33 inches and you want 3 inches of positive ease, you would select size M and block it to 36 inches. If your bust is 36 inches with the same 3-inch ease preference, you have the option to choose either size M or L and block accordingly to 39 inches. The sample shown is blocked to the maximum size for XS, which the designer notes displays the cables most prominently, though personal preference guides final blocking choices.

Difficulty Level

Tessarina is rated as an advanced knitting project. The combination of top-down circular yoke construction, raglan shaping, and cable work requires solid foundational knitting skills and experience with more complex garment architecture. Knitters should be comfortable with circular knitting, increasing techniques, cable stitches, and the blocking process before undertaking this pattern.

Pattern Format

Tessarina is available as a downloadable PDF pattern. The pattern is the intellectual property of designer Ayako Monier and is prohibited from being shared or reprinted without explicit permission from the designer.