Berroco Faience PDF

Berroco Faience: Side-to-Side Striped Sweater Knitting Pattern by Amy Christoffers

The Berroco Faience is a thoughtfully engineered pullover sweater designed by Amy Christoffers and published by Berroco. Available as a downloadable PDF, this intermediate-level knitting pattern produces a relaxed, comfortable sweater with a distinctive horizontal stripe detail, sized to fit a wide range of bodies. With finished bust measurements spanning 36 to 68 inches (91.5 to 172.5 cm) across nine sizes and a recommended positive ease of approximately 4 to 6 inches (10 to 15 cm), Faience is designed to drape comfortably and flatteringly on a variety of figures.

Garment Construction and Design

What makes Faience particularly interesting from a construction standpoint is its side-to-side knitting direction. Rather than being worked from the bottom hem upward in the conventional manner, this sweater is knitted in one continuous piece beginning at the right sleeve cuff and ending at the left sleeve cuff. This unconventional approach means that the knitter works horizontally across the body, with the rows of knitting running vertically on the finished garment. This construction method gives the stripe pattern a vertical orientation on the body — a visually lengthening effect — while the knitting itself is worked as horizontal stripes of color.

The garment is seamed, meaning that despite being worked largely in one piece, finishing does involve joining sections together. This combination of seamless construction through the body and sleeves with seamed finishing is characteristic of side-to-side sweater architecture and gives the finished piece a clean, structured look. The pattern uses both flat knitting (worked back and forth in rows) and knitting in the round, making it a well-rounded project for knitters looking to practice multiple techniques within a single pattern.

Techniques Used

• Side-to-side construction: The entire sweater is worked as one piece from right sleeve cuff to left sleeve cuff, a technique that creates a seamless flow through the body and integrates the sleeves naturally.
• Worked flat: Much of the body shaping and sleeve construction is worked back and forth in rows on circular needles, allowing for precise stitch management and neck shaping.
• Worked in the round: Circular needle techniques are employed at certain stages, such as for cuffs or finishing elements, adding dimensional structure to the garment.
• Stripes: A two-color stripe design is incorporated using a main color (MC) and a contrast color (CC), creating the signature visual detail of the Faience design.
• Seaming: Final assembly involves seaming to join garment sections, a classic finishing technique that adds durability and shape to the completed sweater.
• Neck division: The pattern includes a neck opening worked by dividing stitches on the right side, requiring careful stitch management with holders and markers.

Stitches Used

• Stockinette stitch (St st): The primary stitch pattern throughout the garment, worked as knit stitches on right-side rows and purl stitches on wrong-side rows when working flat, or knit every round when working in the round. The gauge is set in stockinette stitch.
• Ribbing or edging stitches are implied through the use of smaller needles at the cuffs and edges, typical of sweater construction to create neat, elasticized borders.

Yarn and Materials

The pattern calls for Berroco Pima Soft, a DK weight yarn sold in 50-gram balls. Two colorways are used: #4610 Crepe as the main color (MC) and #4600 Daisy as the contrast color (CC). The quantity of MC ranges from 6 to 12 balls depending on the size being knitted, while only 1 ball of CC is required across all sizes, reflecting the accent nature of the stripe detail. Berroco Pima Soft is a cotton-blend yarn known for its soft drape and smooth stitch definition, making it well-suited to a garment where clean stockinette texture and crisp color transitions are central to the design.

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