Moonflower Coat in Rowan Alpaca Soft DK (De) - Downloadable PDF

Moonflower Coat in Rowan Alpaca Soft DK – Knitting Pattern Summary

The Moonflower Coat is an advanced-level knitting pattern designed by Martin Storey and published by Rowan in 2020. Available as a downloadable PDF, this pattern guides experienced knitters through the construction of a full coat featuring elegant colourwork and classic tailored shaping. The pattern is written in German, as indicated by the "De" designation in the title.

What Is Being Made

The Moonflower Coat is a substantial, structured outerwear garment knitted in the round and in flat pieces. The coat includes a back panel, a left front panel, a right front panel, and sleeves, all worked separately and seamed together. The finished garment features shoulder shaping, making it a truly tailored piece suited to confident, experienced knitters. It is designed to fit a range of bust measurements:

• 80–86 cm (knitted bust: 128 cm)
• 86–91 cm (knitted bust: 137.5 cm)
• 93–99 cm (knitted bust: 149 cm)
• 99–105 cm (knitted bust: 158.5 cm)
• 105–127 cm (knitted bust: 168 cm)

The generous knitted bust measurements reflect the coat's relaxed, oversized silhouette, designed to be worn as an outer layer over other garments.

Techniques Used

As an advanced knitting project, the Moonflower Coat employs a range of techniques that require a solid foundation of knitting knowledge. Key construction techniques include:

• Flat knitting – all main panels (back, left front, right front, and sleeves) are worked flat in rows
• Shoulder shaping – achieved through a series of cast-off sequences at the beginning of right-side and wrong-side rows, worked symmetrically on both front panels
• Mirror-image construction – the right front panel is worked as the reverse of the left front, with all decreases mirrored accordingly
• Colourwork – the pattern incorporates multiple yarn colours worked in a defined stitch pattern, requiring the knitter to manage several colours across rows
• Needle changes – a smaller needle is used for the initial border rows before switching to the main needle size, a common technique for achieving a neat, firm edge

Stitches Used

The Moonflower Coat uses a combination of stitch types to create both structure and decorative texture:

• Garter stitch (kraus rechts) – worked at the beginning of each front panel using the smaller needle size, creating a firm, non-curling border; the garter stitch section begins with a right-side row and ends with a wrong-side row, typically spanning four rows
• Pattern stitch (Muster) – the main body of the coat is worked in a defined stitch pattern as specified for the back panel, continued consistently across all front and sleeve sections; this pattern stitch is central to the coat's decorative Moonflower motif
• Cast-off shaping stitches – structured bind-off sequences are used to create the shoulder slope, with varying numbers of stitches cast off at the beginning of successive rows depending on the size being knitted

Materials – Yarn

The pattern is written specifically for Rowan Alpaca Soft DK, a double knitting weight yarn. Four colours are used throughout the coat to create the colourwork design:

• Colour A – Rainy Day (shade 210): the main colour, required in 13 (14: 16: 17: 18) x 50 g balls
• Colour B – Classic Brown (shade 204): a contrast colour, required in 2 x 50 g balls across all sizes
• Colour C – Tea (shade 205): a contrast colour, required in