Girls Cape in Bergere de France Calinou - 60387-01 - Downloadable PDF

Girls Cape Knitting Pattern – Bergere de France Calinou (Pattern 60387-01)

This downloadable PDF knitting pattern from Bergere de France provides full instructions for a charming girls' cape worked in the brand's own Calinou yarn. The design is rated easy (facile), making it an ideal project for beginner knitters who want to create a stylish, colourful outerwear piece for a young child. The pattern is sized for 1 year, 2 years, and 4 years, so it can grow with a child or be gifted across a range of ages.

What Is Being Made

The finished project is a knitted cape for girls, falling into the capes and ponchos category of children's knitwear. A cape is a sleeveless, open-fronted outerwear garment that drapes over the shoulders and upper body. This particular design features a colourful Fair Isle-style jacquard body, a ribbed collar, ribbed border edges, and decorative star-shaped buttons at the front opening. The result is a cosy, visually appealing layer that is both practical and playful for young children.

Yarn and Materials

The pattern is written specifically for Bergere de France Calinou, a 4-ply weight yarn. Calinou is a fine-weight yarn well suited to detailed colourwork and delicate stitch definition. The palette used in this design is multi-coloured, combining a neutral base with bright accent shades:

• Gris souris (shade 10040) – the main colour, requiring 3, 4, or 5 balls depending on size
• Barbapapa (shade 10025) – 1 ball for all sizes
• Dragée (shade 10026) – 1 ball for all sizes
• Litchi (shade 10055) – 1 ball for all sizes

In addition to yarn, the following accessories are required:

• Knitting needles in sizes 2.5 mm and 3 mm – both sizes are used at different stages of the pattern
• Stitch markers (ref. 68395), sold in a pack of 48, used to mark key shaping points across the body
• 2 grey star-shaped buttons (ref. 50140), sold in a pack of 6, used at the front opening

Tension and Gauge

As with all knitting patterns, achieving the correct tension is essential to ensuring the finished cape matches the intended measurements. The pattern specifies that 27 stitches and 33 rows over 10 cm (4 inches) in stocking stitch on 3 mm needles should be obtained. Knitters are strongly encouraged to work a tension swatch before beginning the main pieces and to adjust needle size if necessary.

Techniques and Construction

The cape is constructed in separate pieces that are later assembled. The main sections are the back (dos), the front (devant), and the collar (col). The construction approach is traditional seamed knitting, which gives the finished garment structure and durability.

Back (Dos)

The back is cast on in Gris souris using 3 mm needles and worked in jacquard colourwork following the chart provided in the PDF. Shaping is achieved through increases worked at regular intervals as the piece progresses upward. At the shoulder area, stitches are bound off in stages to shape the neckline: the central stitches are cast off first, and then each side is worked separately with further decreases at the neck edge every two rows.

Front (Devant)

The front is cast on in Gris souris on 2.5 mm needles and begins with a section of 1x1 rib to form the lower border. It then transitions to the jacquard pattern on 3 mm needles, with increases worked in the same manner as the back. A buttonhole is incorporated into the front border by working a yarn-over alongside a decrease on the appropriate row, creating a neat eyelet opening to accommodate one of the star buttons.

Collar (Col)

The collar is worked separately,