Loveday Jacket - Knitting Pattern in Debbie Bliss Cotton Denim DK

Loveday Jacket – Knitting Pattern in Debbie Bliss Cotton Denim DK

The Loveday Jacket is a charming children's knitted jacket designed by Debbie Bliss and worked in her signature Cotton Denim DK yarn. This intermediate-level knitting pattern produces a structured, seamed jacket sized to fit children aged 4–5, 6–7, 8–9, and 10–11 years, with finished chest measurements ranging from 70 cm (27½ in) to 83 cm (32¾ in) and lengths to shoulder from 32 cm to 44 cm. Sleeve lengths are graded from 30 cm to 39 cm across the four sizes, ensuring a well-proportioned fit at every age.

What Is Being Made

The Loveday Jacket is a classic children's outerwear piece featuring a neat, tailored silhouette. It includes pocket linings and decorative pocket flaps, adding both practicality and visual interest. The jacket fastens with 13 or 14 buttons depending on the size, making it a fully functional garment suitable for everyday wear. The design balances textural contrast between smooth stocking stitch body panels and moss stitch borders, giving the jacket a polished, finished appearance.

Techniques Used

• Worked flat: All pieces are knitted back and forth in rows on straight needles, meaning the back, fronts, sleeves, pocket linings, and pocket flaps are each constructed as separate flat panels before being joined.
• Seamed construction: The finished pieces are sewn together, producing a structured garment with defined seams — a hallmark of traditional, durable knitwear construction.
• Buttonholes: Buttonholes are worked into the front band to accommodate the button fastening. The pattern uses a yarn forward (yf) and yarn round needle (yrn) technique to form neat eyelets for each button.
• Shoulder shaping: Stitches are cast off in stages at the beginning of successive rows to create angled shoulder seams, giving the jacket a professional, well-fitted finish.
• Pocket construction: Separate pocket linings are knitted in stocking stitch and left on a spare needle to be incorporated into the fronts, while matching pocket flaps are worked in moss stitch for a decorative touch.
• Make One increase (m1): Used to shape the garment by picking up and working into the back of the loop lying between stitches, creating a virtually invisible increase.
• Skpo decrease: A slip, knit, pass slipped stitch over decrease is used for directional shaping throughout the pattern.

Stitches Used

• Stocking stitch (st st): The primary fabric of the jacket body and pocket linings, worked by alternating knit rows on the right side and purl rows on the wrong side. This creates a smooth, classic knitted surface.
• Moss stitch: Used for the borders, cuffs, pocket flaps, and the transition sections of the back and fronts. Moss stitch is formed by working k1, p1 alternately across every row, with the knit and purl stitches offset on each subsequent row to create a firm, non-curling, textured fabric. It is a traditional edging choice that adds structure and visual contrast.
• Rib-effect border panels: The back and front pieces begin with a moss stitch border on smaller needles before transitioning to the main body fabric on larger needles, a technique that helps the lower edge lie flat.

Materials

• Yarn: Debbie Bliss Cotton Denim DK in True Blue 03 — a DK weight yarn. The pattern calls for 4, 5, 5, or 6 balls of 100g depending on the size being knitted. Cotton Denim DK is a cotton-rich yarn that offers breathability and a soft handle, making it well suited to children's garments.
• Needles: Three needle sizes are used throughout the pattern:
  • 3.25 mm (US 3)