Men Polo Neck Sweater in Bergere de France Sport - 71136-329 - Downloadable PDF

Men's Polo Neck Sweater in Bergère de France Sport – Pattern 71136-329

This intermediate-level knitting pattern from Bergère de France produces a classic men's polo neck sweater featuring a striking striped design and a practical zip-fastening collar. The pattern is available as a downloadable PDF and is sized to fit a wide range of adult men, covering sizes S, M, L, XL, and XXL. The construction uses a raglan sleeve shaping technique, giving the finished garment a clean, sporty silhouette that suits the Sport weight yarn used throughout.

What Is Being Made

The finished project is a men's pullover sweater with a polo neck collar. The collar is secured with a 20 cm (7¾ in) ecru closed-ended zip (reference 66014), lending the design a contemporary, functional edge. The sweater is worked in separate pieces — a back, a front, and two sleeves — which are then seamed together. The raglan construction means the sleeves are shaped simultaneously with the body yoke, creating smooth, angled joins from the underarm to the neckline rather than a traditional set-in or drop-shoulder finish.

Yarn and Materials

The pattern calls exclusively for Bergère de France Sport quality yarn, used in three colourways to create the stripe pattern:

• Fagot (shade 29020) – colour A: the main colour, requiring 8, 9, 9, 10, or 11 balls depending on size
• Savane (shade 20499) – colour B: a contrast stripe colour, requiring 3 balls across all sizes
• Naturel (shade 27166) – colour C: a second contrast colour, requiring 2, 2, 3, 3, or 3 balls depending on size

Two needle sizes are required: 3.5 mm needles for the ribbed welts and cuffs, and 4.0 mm needles for the main body and sleeves worked in Stocking Stitch. In addition to the yarn and needles, knitters will need the 20 cm ecru closed-ended zip (ref. 66014) for the polo neck opening.

Stitches and Techniques Used

1/1 Rib

1/1 Rib (also written as K1, P1 rib) is worked on the smaller 3.5 mm needles and is used for the welts at the lower edges of the body pieces and for the cuffs of the sleeves. In this pattern, the rib sections are worked for 6 cm (2¼ in), equivalent to 18 rows. Ribbing creates a stretchy, elastic fabric that hugs the body at the hem and wrists, helping the sweater retain its shape over time. The final row of each rib section includes a single increase stitch to ease the transition to the wider Stocking Stitch fabric.

Stocking Stitch (St st)

Stocking Stitch is the primary fabric of the sweater body and sleeves, worked on the larger 4.0 mm needles. It is formed by knitting every right-side row and purling every wrong-side row, producing a smooth, flat fabric on the knit face. Stocking Stitch is the ideal base for colourwork stripes, as the clean surface allows colour changes to show clearly and crisply.

Stripes

The stripe sequence is a defining feature of this design. Worked in Stocking Stitch using colours A (Fagot), B (Savane), and C (Naturel), the stripe pattern is charted in the PDF and knitters are instructed to follow the chart for the specific size being made. Carrying yarn up the side of the work or cutting and rejoining at colour changes are standard approaches when working stripes of this kind, and the chart will indicate the exact row-by-row colour sequence.

Raglan Shaping

Raglan construction is a classic knitwear technique in which the sleeves and body are each shaped with angled decreases that run diagonally from the underarm to the base of the neckline. This creates a distinctive diagonal seam line across the chest and back yoke. In this pattern, raglan shaping begins after an initial cast-off at the underarm — for example, casting off