Bessie Sweater in Rowan Felted Tweed DK - Downloadable PDF
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Bessie Sweater in Rowan Felted Tweed DK - Downloadable PDF
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Rowan Felted Tweed DK
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Bessie Sweater in Rowan Felted Tweed DK by Lisa Richardson – Pattern Summary
The Bessie Sweater is a beautifully crafted knitted pullover designed by Lisa Richardson and published by Rowan. Available as a downloadable PDF, this pattern is rated intermediate in difficulty, making it a rewarding project for knitters who have moved beyond the basics and are comfortable with shaping techniques. The sweater is worked in the beloved Rowan Felted Tweed DK, a yarn celebrated for its rustic texture and rich colour palette.
What Is Being Made
The Bessie Sweater is a classic knitted jumper designed to be worn as a comfortable, everyday garment. It is sized to fit a wide range of chest measurements, covering nine sizes ranging from 71–76 cm up to 152–157 cm actual bust measurement, with finished garment measurements spanning from 110 cm to 190 cm. This generous size range makes the pattern highly inclusive and accessible to a broad range of knitters and wearers.
Construction and Shaping Techniques
The Bessie Sweater employs a number of classic knitting construction techniques that are characteristic of an intermediate-level garment. Key shaping methods include:
- Shoulder shaping worked through a series of cast-off rows, with stitches bound off progressively at the beginning of right-side rows to create a neat, angled shoulder line
- Back neck shaping, where stitches are worked separately on each side of the neckline, with decreases worked over several rows to shape the neck opening smoothly
- Holding stitches on the needle while each side of the neck is worked independently, a technique that requires careful stitch management and attention to row counts
- Working decreases at the neck edge over five consecutive rows while simultaneously casting off shoulder stitches, requiring the knitter to manage two shaping sequences at once
- Remaining stitches are finally cast off to complete each shoulder section cleanly
This combination of shoulder and neckline shaping is typical of a set-in or shaped-armhole sweater construction, producing a polished, fitted finish at the upper body.
Stitches Used
The pattern references working stitches selon le point établi (in the established stitch pattern), indicating that a primary stitch pattern is set up earlier in the pattern and maintained consistently through the shaping sections. This approach is standard in sweater knitting and requires the knitter to read their work and continue the pattern correctly even while working decreases and cast-offs. The construction language and structure are consistent with patterns that use a combination of knit and purl stitches to build texture, typical of Rowan DK-weight designs.
Materials: Yarn
The specified yarn is Rowan Felted Tweed DK, sold in 50 g skeins. This is a DK weight yarn, making it a versatile mid-weight choice well suited to structured garments like sweaters. Rowan Felted Tweed DK is a popular choice among knitters for its distinctive tweedy appearance, subtle halo, and excellent stitch definition. Two colourways are referenced in the pattern:
- Aluminium 210 – a cool, neutral grey shade used as one colour option
- Avocado 161 – a warm, earthy green shade used as an alternative or contrast colour
The quantities required vary by size, with the pattern specifying between 2 and 4 skeins of the relevant colourways depending on the size being knitted, reflecting the increasing yarn requirements across the nine available sizes.
Needles and Tools
As this is a DK weight knitting pattern by Rowan, knitters should refer to the full pattern PDF for the specific needle sizes recommended. Rowan Felted Tweed DK is typically knitted on needles in the 3.25 mm to 3.75 mm range, though the precise needle size for the Bessie Sweater should be confirmed from the pattern instructions to achieve the correct tension and finished measurements.
Who This Pattern Is For
The Bessie Sweater
Specifications
| Brand: | Rowan |
| Yarn Weight: | DK |
| Featured Products: | Rowan Felted Tweed DK |
| Needles Required: | 3.25mm (US 3) & 3.75mm (US 5) Single Point Needles |
| Finished Size: | To Fit Bust: 71cm to 157cm (28" to 62") |
| Pages: | 8 |
| Designer: | Lisa Richardson |
| Craft: | Knitting |
| Format: | Downloadable PDF |
| Languages: | English, French |
| Number of Patterns: | 1 |
| Skill Level: | Intermediate |