Cape Cod Unisex Pullover Sweater in Lion Brand Fishermen's Wool

Cape Cod Unisex Pullover Sweater – Knitting Pattern Summary

The Cape Cod Unisex Pullover is a classic, relaxed-fit knitted sweater designed for both men and women, offered as a free downloadable PDF pattern from Lion Brand Yarn. Worked in the brand's iconic Lion Brand Fishermen's Wool (Art. No. 150) in Natural (No. 098), this pullover has a timeless, rustic aesthetic that suits casual and outdoor wear alike. The pattern is sized for chest measurements of 44, 48, and 50 inches, making it a generous, comfortable fit across a range of adult body types.

What Is Being Made

This is a drop-shoulder, set-in-sleeve pullover sweater featuring a crew neckline with a neat neckband finish. The design includes a distinctive side-slit detail at the lower hem, adding a relaxed, slightly nautical character that suits the Cape Cod name. The sweater is constructed in separate pieces — back, front, and two sleeves — which are then seamed and finished with a circular-needle neckband.

Materials Required

• Yarn: Lion Brand Fishermen's Wool, Art. No. 150 — 4 skeins of No. 098 Natural (8 oz. skeins each). Fishermen's Wool is a worsted-weight, 100% pure wool known for its durability, loft, and natural warmth, making it well suited to structured stitch patterns and outerwear-style garments.
• Needles: Straight knitting needles Size 8 (5mm), or the size needed to obtain gauge. A 16-inch circular needle in the same size is also required for working the neckband in the round.
• Notions: 1 stitch holder (for the center front neck stitches) and stitch markers (used temporarily during the side-slit section).

Gauge

The pattern requires a gauge of 4.5 stitches and 8 rows to 1 inch in the Stripe Pattern. Achieving the correct gauge is essential to ensure the sweater knits up to the intended chest size, and the pattern strongly advises checking your gauge before beginning.

Stitches and Techniques Used

• Garter Stitch: Knit every row. Used for the lower hem border (8 rows) and for the side-slit edges, where 5 stitches at each side are kept in garter stitch for approximately 5 inches to create a clean, stable slit opening.
• Stripe Pattern: A 16-row repeating textural stitch pattern that alternates between sections of stockinette stitch (knit on right side, purl on wrong side) and sections of garter stitch (knit every row). Specifically: Rows 1–4 are worked in stockinette, Rows 5–6 in garter, Rows 7–10 in stockinette, and Rows 11–16 in garter. This creates a subtle horizontal ridge pattern that adds visual interest and a slightly structured fabric texture without the use of color changes.
• Stockinette Stitch: Knit on right-side rows, purl on wrong-side rows — the foundation of the Stripe Pattern's smoother sections.
• Stitch Markers: Placed to isolate the garter-stitch slit edges from the main body pattern during the lower section of the back and front.
• Neck Shaping: The front neckline is shaped using a combination of bind-off decreases at each neck edge — binding off 3 stitches twice, then 2 stitches three or four times (depending on size), then 1 stitch twice per side. Both sides of the neck are worked simultaneously using separate skeins of yarn, a common technique for achieving symmetrical shaping.
• Sleeve Shaping: Sleeves are worked flat on straight needles, beginning with a cast-on of 39 (39, 41) stitches and increasing 1 stitch at each end every 5 rows for 20 (21, 21) times, then every 4 rows