467 French Vine Pullover - Sweater Knitting Pattern for Women in Valley Yarns Valley Superwash

467 French Vine Pullover – Knitting Pattern for Women by Kirsten Hipsky

The 467 French Vine Pullover, designed by Kirsten Hipsky, is a classic women's pullover jumper that showcases a beautifully textured lace motif known as the French Vine pattern stitch. This knitting pattern is rated advanced beginner, making it an excellent stepping stone for knitters who are comfortable with basic techniques and ready to explore simple lace work within a structured, seamed garment. The clean, straightforward silhouette of this pullover allows the elegant stitch pattern to take center stage, giving the finished piece a timeless, sophisticated look.

What Is Being Made

This pattern produces a seamed, bottom-up women's pullover worked in pieces and joined together. The design is available in six finished sizes: 30, 35, 40, 45, 50, and 55 inches, offering a wide range of fits from fitted to generously oversized. The garment features a ribbed hem, an all-over French Vine lace body, and a neat neckline finished with held stitches. The simple, traditional shape keeps the construction approachable while the stitch pattern delivers visual interest and texture throughout.

Construction and Techniques

The French Vine Pullover is constructed using a bottom-up, seamed, worked-flat method. Each main section — the back and the front — is knitted separately as a flat piece, beginning at the cast-on edge and working upward. This classic approach to sweater construction is ideal for knitters who prefer working in rows rather than in the round for the main body, and it produces clean, stable seams that add structure to the finished garment.

• Bottom-up construction: Both the back and front pieces begin with a cast-on at the hem and are worked upward toward the shoulders, giving the knitter clear progress markers throughout.
• Ribbed hem: Each piece opens with approximately 1 inch of seed-stitch-style ribbing, alternating knit and purl stitches across wrong-side and right-side rows to create a neat, stable lower edge that lies flat and resists curling.
• French Vine lace pattern: The body of the pullover is worked in the signature French Vine pattern stitch, a traditional lace motif that creates an elegant, repeating vine-like texture. Lace knitting at this level typically involves yarn-overs and decreases worked in a set sequence of rows, producing an open, decorative fabric with a distinctly artisan quality.
• Seamed finishing: Because the front and back are worked as separate flat pieces, the garment is assembled using seaming techniques, which contribute to the garment's durability and shape retention.
• Shoulder shaping: Shoulders are shaped by binding off stitches at the beginning of successive rows in stockinette stitch, and remaining neck stitches are placed on a holder for later finishing.
• Neckline finishing: Held neck stitches are picked up and finished in the round, requiring the use of shorter circular or double-pointed needles.

Stitches Used

• French Vine pattern stitch – the primary all-over lace texture forming the body of the pullover
• Ribbing / seed-stitch border – alternating knit and purl stitches worked over the hem for approximately 1 inch
• Stockinette stitch – used at the shoulder bind-off rows for clean, even shaping
• Yarn-overs and decreases – fundamental lace techniques embedded within the French Vine repeat

Gauge

The pattern requires a gauge of 20 stitches and 28 rows over 4 inches, measured in the French Vine pattern stitch. Because lace stitch patterns can behave differently from stockinette, swatching in the actual pattern stitch — and blocking the swatch — is strongly recommended before beginning the garment to ensure accurate sizing across all six finished measurements.

Materials – Yarn and Needles

The 467 French Vine Pullover is designed specifically for Valley Yarns Valley Superwash, a worsted weight yarn composed of 100% Extrafine Merino