Estro Pullover in Adriafil Knitcol - Downloadable PDF

Estro Pullover in Adriafil Knitcol – Free Knitting Pattern Summary

The Estro Pullover is a stylish, contemporary knitted sweater designed for adults, worked in the vibrant Adriafil Knitcol yarn. This free downloadable PDF pattern produces a pullover with a distinctive construction detail: a folded, self-finishing hem created by picking up cast-on stitches with a cable needle and knitting them together with live stitches. The design features a shaped front panel worked in purl stitch with dramatic waist shaping, giving the garment a fitted, elegant silhouette that sets it apart from a standard straight-cut pullover.

What Is Being Made

The pattern produces a pullover sweater (also known as a jumper) for a size 44 (with adjustments for sizes 42 and 46). The garment features a shaped body with armhole shaping, a front neckline with gradual shaping, and shoulder shaping worked by casting off in stages. The front and back are worked separately and then seamed together. The contrasting construction of the front (worked in purl stitch) against the back (worked in knit stitch) creates an interesting textural interplay on the finished garment.

Techniques Used

• Folded hem construction: The hem is worked flat in knit stitch for 5 cm, then folded and joined using a cable needle to pick up the original cast-on stitches and knit them together with the live stitches, creating a neat, double-layered hem of approximately 2.5 cm. On the back, the cable needle is placed on the wrong side; on the front, it is placed on the right side, giving each piece a mirrored finish.
• Waist shaping on the front: A pronounced hourglass shaping is worked on the front panel — stitches are decreased at both ends over a series of rows (2 stitches every row 12 times, then 2 stitches every 2 rows 3 times, then 1 stitch every 2 rows twice), followed by a reversal with increases mirroring the same sequence. This creates a fitted waist.
• Armhole shaping: Both back and front are shaped at the armholes by casting off 3 stitches at each end, then decreasing 1 stitch inside 1 stitch every 2 rows, 5 times.
• Neckline shaping: The front neckline is shaped by casting off the 15 (14–16) centre stitches, then working each side separately, casting off 2 stitches twice and 1 stitch 6 times toward the centre on every 2 rows. Later, 1 stitch is increased every 6 rows twice to refine the neckline edge.
• Shoulder shaping: Shoulders are shaped by casting off in stages every 2 rows — 5 (3–7) stitches, then 4 stitches twice — giving a neat, angled shoulder seam.
• Elastic rib border: An elastic rib stitch is used as a finishing element, particularly at the edges of the front panel increases, with the first and last 3 stitches worked in elastic rib to frame the body shaping neatly.

Stitches Used

• Knit stitch – used for the back body and hem sections
• Purl stitch – used for the front body panel, creating a reverse stocking stitch texture
• Elastic rib – used at the hem endings and as a border stitch on the front panel edges during the increase section
• Knit stitch to bind the elastic rib – a specific joining technique used to close the folded hem

Materials Required

• Yarn: Adriafil Knitcol in colour no. 46 — 450 grams. Knitcol is a DK weight yarn from Adriafil, known for its self-striping, multicolour print that creates vibrant, ever-changing colour sequences as you knit, without the need for colour changes by the knitter.
• Knitting needles: 4.5 mm (no. 4½) straight knitting needles