Professor Meow Pullover – Adorable & Easy Knitted Cat Sweater!

Heads up! This post contains affiliate links which means I get may get a commission if you purchase something based on my recommendations here.

I’ve had my eye on the Professor Meow Pullover ever since Knit Picks released the pattern a few years ago.  Pretty much everyone was surprised that I didn’t knit it immediately…. I mean what’s more on brand for me than a knitted cat sweater??  The truth is that I don’t knit garments very often because they take forever to knit and then I rarely wear them, but the Professor Meow sweater was actually a pleasant exception to that complaint: it was super easy to knit and worked up very quickly because of the large needles and bulky yarn.

This is a great pattern for someone new to intarsia. Professor Meow is worked from the bottom up so you start with the solid cat body section for several inches which gives you plenty of time to get used to it before you start adding in more color changes.

The only part of the Professor Meow sweater that I found a little challenging was working the shoulder seams.  Parts of my seams are a little sloppy and I should have ripped it out and tried again, but to be honest, I was watching Buffy and wasn’t paying full attention to my finishing.  Luckily the fuzzy texture of the yarn hides my mistakes well.  Hooray for Wonderfluff!

Here’s a pic of me modeling my handiwork! (It was basically impossible to get the whole thing in a selfie, but I did my best!)  The sweater is intended to fit loosely so I made it with about 4” of negative ease around my bust.  I’m really happy with the fit.  I’ve seen a lot of people on Ravelry who made it a little tighter fitting and that’s cute too but I like the loose fit better for my body type.

There are a few ways to buy the Professor Meow pattern.  You can get it as an individual download from Knit Picks for $4.99 or it’s available in two books: 9 Lives Collection: Cat Inspired Knits and Best of Knit Picks: Pullovers & Cardigans (both of those books are downloadable as ebooks for about $15 at that same link).  The best deal is to buy the pattern and yarn together as a kit – you get a discount on the bundle! You can pick the original colors that I used here or they have kits in black or pink.

yarn details

Knit Picks Wonderfluff in Finnley Heather and Cobblestone Heather
Bulky Weight
70% Alpaca, 23% Acrylic, 7% Merino Wool
Hand Wash, Dry Flat
142 Yard / 50 g balls
Purchased in November 2021

project details

pattern: “Professor Meow Pullover” by Claire Slade
size knit: 45” bust
needles: US size 10 (6.0 mm), wood circular needles from my Sunstruck interchangeable needle set (highly recommend the wood needles for this project – it’s knitted at kind of a loose gauge and the wood needles have more grip to keep the stitches from sliding off)
gauge: 13 st and 17 rows over 4” in stockinette stitch measured off the finished project (this is not quite the pattern gauge, but I swear I did a gauge swatch and got gauge then!)
yarn used: A little over half a ball of the Cobblestone Heather for the cat (79.5 yards) and just short of four balls of the Finnley Heather (537 yards)
finished size: laid out flat it is 22” across the bust (so, roughly 44” circumference) and it’s 24” long – measured from the shoulder to the bottom of the sweater
duration: January – April, 2022