Chard Sweater in Rowan Creative Linen - ZB298-00009-FR - Downloadable PDF

Chard Sweater in Rowan Creative Linen by Lisa Richardson – Pattern Summary

The Chard Sweater is a women's knitted pullover designed by Lisa Richardson and published by Rowan. This pattern is available as a downloadable PDF and is rated intermediate in difficulty, making it a rewarding project for knitters who are comfortable with shaping techniques and reading multi-size instructions. The design is worked in Rowan Creative Linen, a distinctive yarn that gives the finished sweater a relaxed, textural quality suited to warmer-weather or transitional-season wear.

What Is Being Made

The pattern produces a women's sweater or jumper with a classic silhouette. It is designed across five sizes, accommodating actual bust measurements of 81–86, 91–97, 102–107, 112–117, and 122–127 cm. The finished garment bust measurements are correspondingly 125.5, 136.5, 142, 153.5, and 164.5 cm, indicating a generously relaxed, oversized fit with significant positive ease built into the design. This ease is characteristic of the relaxed, contemporary aesthetic associated with Lisa Richardson's design work for Rowan.

Construction and Techniques

The Chard Sweater is constructed using traditional flat knitting worked in separate pieces — the pattern references working the back, the left front, and other sections individually before seaming. Key construction techniques include:

• Neck shaping: Stitches are decreased on the neck edge side while simultaneously casting off shoulder stitches in stages, a classic technique for achieving a smooth, fitted neckline. The pattern specifies decreasing 1 stitch at the neck edge every 4 rows while casting off shoulder stitches in two or three stepped groups.
• Shoulder shaping: Shoulders are shaped by casting off stitches in groups at the beginning of right-side and wrong-side rows. For example, the pattern instructs casting off 9 [10: 10: 12: 13] stitches at the beginning of one row, then 9 [10: 11: 12: 13] stitches two rows later, followed by the remaining 9 [11: 11: 12: 13] stitches.
• Neckband construction: Centre back neck stitches — 33 [33: 36: 36: 38] stitches — are left on a holder to be picked up later for the neckband, a standard method for creating a neat, integrated collar or neckband finish.
• Symmetrical finishing: Both sides of the neck and shoulders are worked to mirror each other, with the pattern explicitly instructing knitters to finish the second side symmetrically to the first.
• Stitch pattern continuity: Throughout all shaping, knitters are directed to maintain the established stitch pattern, which requires careful attention and is one of the reasons this pattern carries an intermediate difficulty rating.

Stitches Used

The pattern references working consistently selon le point établi — meaning in the established stitch pattern — throughout all shaping sections. While the specific stitch pattern is not fully detailed in the extracted content, the instruction to maintain it during complex shaping suggests it involves a textured or structured pattern beyond basic stockinette. The combination of this stitch pattern with simultaneous neck and shoulder shaping is what elevates the project to an intermediate level.

Yarn and Materials

The sweater is knitted in Rowan Creative Linen, a DK weight yarn. Creative Linen is a blend that incorporates linen fibre, giving it a characteristic drape, slight texture, and breathability that makes it particularly well suited to relaxed, drapey garments like the Chard Sweater. The pattern sample shown is knitted in Silver 650, a soft, neutral colourway. The yarn requirement is 6 [7: 7: 8: 8] × 100 g balls, depending on the size being knitted.

The recommended needles are 4 mm straight needles (a single pair), which is the standard needle size appropriate for DK weight yarn at the gauge required by this design.

Who This Pattern Is For