Beth Jacket - Knitting Pattern for Girls in Willow & Lark Poetry

Beth Jacket – Knitting Pattern for Girls by Willow & Lark

The Beth Jacket is a charming children's knitted jacket designed by Willow & Lark and worked in an all-over moss stitch texture. Released as part of the Willow & Lark 2023 collection, this pattern produces a classic, structured jacket with a neat button-up front, making it a versatile layering piece for everyday wear. The design is rated intermediate in difficulty, making it an ideal project for knitters who are comfortable with basic shaping and are ready to explore textured stitch patterns, seamed construction, and neat buttonhole finishing.

What Is Being Made

The finished garment is a fully seamed girls' jacket featuring three key measurements: chest, length to shoulder, and sleeve seam. The pattern is sized to fit ages 2–3, 4–5, 6–7, and 8–9 years, with finished chest measurements ranging from 63 cm to 79 cm (approximately 24¾ in to 31 in). Finished lengths range from 35 cm to 48 cm to the shoulder, and sleeve seam lengths range from 23 cm to 35 cm, ensuring a comfortable, age-appropriate fit across all sizes.

Techniques Used

• Seamed construction: The Beth Jacket is worked flat in separate pieces — typically a back, two fronts, and sleeves — which are then sewn together. This traditional approach gives the finished jacket excellent structure and a professional, tailored appearance. Seaming also allows knitters to block each piece individually before assembly for a polished result.
• Worked flat: All pieces are knitted back and forth on a single pair of straight needles rather than in the round, which is well suited to the moss stitch pattern and the button-band construction.
• Buttonholes: The pattern includes neatly integrated buttonholes worked into the front band, accommodating 5 buttons for sizes 2–3 and 4–5 and 6 buttons for sizes 6–7 and 8–9. Buttonholes in flat knitting are typically created by binding off a small number of stitches on one row and casting them back on the following row, producing a clean, sturdy opening.
• Buttons: The finished jacket is fastened with the appropriate number of buttons sewn to correspond with the worked buttonholes, adding a classic, decorative detail to the front opening.

Stitches Used

• Moss stitch (seed stitch): The primary stitch pattern throughout the Beth Jacket is moss stitch, created by alternating knit and purl stitches across each row and offsetting them on subsequent rows so that knit stitches sit above purl stitches and vice versa. This produces a beautifully textured, reversible fabric with a slightly firm hand that resists curling at the edges — a particularly practical quality for a jacket with visible front bands and cuffs.
• Stocking stitch: Referenced in the tension swatch instructions, stocking stitch (knit on right side rows, purl on wrong side rows) is used as the basis for the tension measurement of 22 stitches and 30 rows to 10 cm / 4 in on 4.00 mm (US 6) needles. Achieving correct tension is essential to ensure the jacket matches the stated finished measurements.

Materials

• Yarn: The pattern calls for Willow & Lark Poetry in the colourway Rose 615, a DK weight yarn sold in 50 g / 1¾ oz balls. The quantities required are 4 balls for size 2–3, 5 balls for size 4–5, 6 balls for size 6–7, and 7 balls for size 8–9. Willow & Lark note that yarn quantities are based on average requirements and that they cannot accept responsibility for the finished garment if any yarn other than the recommended Willow & Lark Poetry is used.
• Needles: One pair of 4.00 mm (US 6) straight knitting needles is required for the entire project.