3/4 Sleeve Sweater in Bergere de France Sonora - 40 - Downloadable PDF

3/4 Sleeve Sweater in Bergere de France Sonora – Children's Knitting Pattern (Sizes 6–10 Years)

This free downloadable PDF knitting pattern from Bergere de France provides instructions for a charming 3/4 sleeve sweater designed for children aged 6, 8, and 10 years. Rated as an intermediate difficulty project, it is a rewarding knit that introduces classic shaping techniques including raglan sleeve construction, making it an excellent step up for knitters who are comfortable with basic garment knitting and ready to tackle more structured shaping.

What Is Being Made

The finished garment is a children's 3/4 sleeve pullover sweater with a neat neckline and raglan armhole shaping. The three-quarter length sleeves give the design a relaxed, versatile feel suitable for transitional weather. The sweater features a subtle button detail, with 2 faux-coconut buttons (18 mm diameter, reference 643.951, sold in a package of 6) adding a tactile, natural-looking finish to the neckline or opening area.

Yarn and Materials

• Yarn: Bergere de France Sonora in the colourway Céladon (shade 244.161) – an aran weight yarn, which knits up to a medium-thick gauge ideal for structured children's garments
• Quantity: 5 balls for size 6 years, 6 balls for size 8 years, and 7 balls for size 10 years
• Needles: 3.5 mm needles (typically used for the ribbed or border sections) and 4.0 mm needles (used for the main stocking stitch body)
• Notions: 2 faux-coconut buttons, 18 mm diameter, reference 643.951

Techniques Used

This pattern employs several key knitting techniques that place it firmly in the intermediate category. Knitters will work through:

• Raglan shaping – a classic construction method where the sleeves and body are shaped simultaneously with diagonal decrease lines running from the underarm to the neckline, creating a smooth, fitted shoulder without a traditional set-in seam
• Symmetrical decreasing – the pattern specifies precise decrease placement, working 3 stitches in from the edge on each side: k3, k2tog at one end and sl1, k1, psso, k3 at the other, ensuring neat, mirrored shaping lines
• Yarn forward (yfwd) compensation – the pattern includes an important technical note that a yfwd at the beginning of a row must be compensated by a k2tog or sl1, k1, psso at the end of that same row, maintaining consistent stitch counts
• Incremental sleeve increases – sleeve stitches are increased on each side at different rates depending on size: every 6th row for size 6 years, and every 8th row for sizes 8 and 10 years
• Casting off for neck shaping – after working even on the remaining stitches, stitches are cast off across the back neck
• Front and back worked separately – the front begins in the same manner as the back but diverges with its own raglan and neck shaping, including a sequence of cast-offs and decreases on the right side (5 stitches once, 2 stitches once, 1 stitch once) before working the remaining 4 stitches

Stitches Used

• Stocking stitch (st-st) – the primary fabric of the sweater body and sleeves, worked in alternating knit and purl rows to create a smooth, classic surface
• k2tog (knit two together) – a right-leaning decrease used in raglan and compensatory shaping
• sl1, k1, psso – a left-leaning decrease (slip 1, knit 1, pass