Man’s Sweater with Cables in Schachenmayr Sun City - 6045 - Downloadable PDF

Man's Cable Sweater Knitting Pattern in Schachenmayr Sun City – Pattern 6045

This downloadable PDF knitting pattern provides instructions for a classic men's raglan sweater featuring traditional cable patterns, designed and published by Schachenmayr. The pattern is worked in Schachenmayr Sun City, an aran-weight yarn, and produces a structured, textured pullover with a ribbed hem and all-over cable detailing. The pattern covers two size ranges — 48–52 and 54–58 — making it suitable for a broad range of adult male figures. This is a free downloadable PDF, ideal for intermediate to experienced knitters looking to practise cable and raglan construction techniques.

Garment Overview

The pattern produces a single garment: a men's cable-knit raglan sweater. The design combines a classic silhouette with rich surface texture created through a repeating cable motif. The raglan shaping gives the sweater a clean, sporty shoulder line that works well for everyday wear. All main pieces — back, front, and sleeves — are worked flat and seamed, following traditional construction methods.

Cable and Stitch Pattern Details

The sweater is worked primarily in a cable pattern (Zopfmuster), which forms the dominant visual feature of the garment. The cable repeat is based on a 16-stitch or 18-stitch rapport depending on the size being worked, and is read from a stitch chart (Strickschrift) included in the pattern PDF. The lower edges of all pieces are worked in a rib stitch (Bündchenmuster), which provides elasticity and a neat, professional finish at the cuffs and hem.

• Cable pattern (Zopfmuster): The main body stitch, creating the signature twisted rope or braid texture associated with traditional Aran and fisherman-style knitwear. Cables are formed by crossing groups of stitches over one another using a cable needle, producing a three-dimensional raised effect on the fabric surface.
• Rib stitch (Bündchenmuster): Used for the welts and cuffs, typically worked as a combination of knit and purl stitches in alternating columns. The pattern specifies beginning the first wrong-side row with an edge stitch, one knit stitch, two purl stitches, and mirroring this at the end of the row.
• Edge stitches (Randmaschen): Worked at both ends of every row to create clean selvedges for seaming.
• Raglan decreases: Worked on the right side of the fabric. At the beginning of the row, the edge stitch and one knit stitch are worked, then two stitches are knitted together (k2tog). At the end of the row, a slip-stitch decrease is worked — one stitch is slipped knitwise, the next stitch is knitted, and the slipped stitch is passed over (psso) — followed by one knit stitch and the edge stitch. This paired decrease method ensures symmetrical, tidy raglan lines on both sides of each piece.

Construction and Shaping

The back piece is cast on using a twisted cast-on (Kreuzanschlag), which produces a firm, elastic edge well suited to rib borders. The cast-on begins with 130 stitches for sizes 48–52 and 146 stitches for sizes 54–58. After working approximately 5 cm in rib, the needle size is increased and the cable pattern begins, expanding the stitch count to 147 or 165 stitches respectively after the first pattern row, as the cable repeat requires additional stitches to accommodate the crossings.

At a total height of 40 cm, armhole shaping begins. On both sides, 4 stitches are cast off once, then raglan decreases of 1 stitch are worked every 4th row, 13 times, reducing the stitch count to 113 or 131 stitches. Shoulder shaping commences at 66 cm total height, with stitches cast off on both sides in every second row — for sizes 48–52, this is worked as 2 times 8 stitches and 2 times 9 stitches; for sizes 54–58, as 3 times 10 stitches and once 11 stitches.