Alina Cable Sweater - Knitting Pattern for Women in Debbie Bliss Rialto DK

Alina Cable Sweater – Knitting Pattern for Women by Debbie Bliss

The Alina Cable Sweater is a beautifully structured women's pullover designed by Debbie Bliss, worked in her signature Rialto DK yarn. This advanced-level knitting pattern produces a classically elegant, cable-rich sweater with a generous, relaxed fit available across seven sizes. It is an ideal project for experienced knitters who want to deepen their cable-work skills while creating a timeless, wearable garment.

What Is Being Made

The finished garment is a women's cable pullover sweater with set-in or structured sleeves. The pattern covers seven size options, fitting chest measurements from 81–86 cm (32–34 in) up to 142–147 cm (56–58 in). Finished chest measurements range from 120 cm (47¼ in) to 181 cm (71¼ in), offering considerable ease across all sizes. Body length to shoulder ranges from 60 cm to 66 cm depending on size, and sleeve lengths range from 36 cm to 40 cm, reflecting thoughtful shaping adjustments for larger sizes.

Construction Techniques

• Bottom-up construction: The sweater is knitted from the lower edge upward toward the shoulders, which is the traditional approach for fitted and semi-fitted pullovers and allows easy length adjustments.
• Worked flat: Pieces are knitted flat on straight or circular needles, meaning the front, back, and sleeves are each worked back and forth in rows rather than in the round.
• Seamed finishing: The individual flat-knitted pieces are joined together using seaming techniques, giving the finished sweater structure, stability, and a clean, professional silhouette.
• Cable construction: Extensive cable patterning is central to the design, requiring a cable needle to hold stitches temporarily while others are worked, creating the characteristic twisted rope and lattice effects.

Stitches and Cable Techniques Used

The Alina Cable Sweater features a rich vocabulary of cable stitches that combine to create its intricate textured surface. The following specific cable maneuvers are defined in the pattern:

• C3B (Cable 3 Back): Slip the next stitch onto a cable needle and hold at the back of the work, knit 2, then purl the stitch from the cable needle. This creates a right-leaning cable crossing where a knit column crosses over a purl stitch.
• C3F (Cable 3 Front): Slip the next 2 stitches onto a cable needle and hold at the front of the work, purl 1, then knit the stitches from the cable needle. This is the mirror image of C3B, producing a left-leaning crossing.
• C4F (Cable 4 Front): Slip the next 2 stitches onto a cable needle and hold at the front, knit 2, then knit the stitches from the cable needle. This classic 4-stitch front cross creates a left-leaning rope cable.
• C8F (Cable 8 Front): Slip the next 4 stitches onto a cable needle and hold at the front, then work the remaining stitches. This larger cable cross produces bold, dramatic rope or braid effects that are likely a focal point of the design.
• Alternate (alt) rows are referenced, indicating that cable crossings are worked on specific rows with plain rows in between, which is standard cable construction practice.

Beyond the cables themselves, the pattern uses a combination of knit and purl stitches to create the background fabric that sets off the cable panels — a technique that makes the raised cable columns stand out in high relief against a receding purl or reverse stocking stitch ground.

Difficulty Level

This pattern is rated advanced. The combination of multiple distinct cable crossings — including 3-stitch, 4-stitch, and 8-stitch cables — worked simultaneously across the fabric requires confident stitch counting, the ability to read a knitting chart or detailed row-by-row instructions, and comfort with using a cable needle throughout. The seamed, flat construction also calls for neat finishing skills