Damenpullover in Schachenmayr Silk Wool - 1993

Damenpullover in Schachenmayr Silk Wool – Vintage 1993 Knitting Pattern (Free Downloadable PDF)

This free downloadable PDF presents a classic women's pullover sweater pattern originally published in 1993, designed to be knitted in Schachenmayr Select Silk Wool. The design features a richly textured front panel combining cables, vertical ribbing, and decorative stitch combinations, set against a smooth reverse stockinette background. The result is an elegant, structured jumper with a timeless aesthetic that showcases the natural sheen of a luxury wool-silk blend yarn.

Garment Overview

The pattern instructs knitters in constructing a classic women's pullover with separate back and front pieces worked flat, shaped with armhole and neckline decreases. The sweater is available in multiple sizes, with stitch counts and shaping instructions listed sequentially from smallest to largest, separated by hyphens throughout the pattern. A ribbed cuff band is worked at the lower edge before transitioning into the main body fabric.

Techniques and Construction

• Flat knitting on straight needles for the main body panels
• Circular needle used for finishing details such as neckband pickup
• Armhole shaping worked with stepped cast-offs followed by paired decreases every second row
• Gauge-based sizing across multiple sizes, with all shaping figures listed in order from smallest to largest
• Decorative panel construction combining multiple stitch patterns across a defined 55-stitch (expanding to 80-stitch) fantasy pattern panel

Stitch Patterns Used

The pattern incorporates several distinct stitch patterns, each described in full within the PDF:

• Bündchenmuster (Rib stitch): A classic knit 1, purl 1 rib, worked for approximately 6 cm at the lower edge to create a neat, elasticated cuff band.
• Glatt links (Reverse stockinette stitch): The primary background fabric of the body, worked by purling on right-side rows and knitting on wrong-side rows. Gauge is specified as 17 stitches and 24 rows = 10 cm × 10 cm on needle size 5½–6.
• Zopf (Cable stitch): Two cable widths are used — an 11-stitch cable and an 18-stitch cable. The 18-stitch cable measures approximately 5 cm in width. Cables are worked over 10-row repeats, with the cable cross occurring on specific rows to create the characteristic twisted rope effect.
• Längsrippen (Vertical drop-stitch rib): A decorative 7-stitch panel worked with yarn-overs that are intentionally dropped on the following row and replaced with new yarn-overs, creating an open, ladder-like vertical rib with a lacy quality. Twisted stitches (verschränkt) are used throughout to maintain structure. Special cast-off instructions are given for this panel to preserve the open character of the yarn-overs at the bind-off edge.
• Glatt links with twisted increases (Decorative purl sections): Narrow 2- or 3-stitch sections of purl fabric separate the cables and vertical ribs within the fantasy panel. These are worked with a twisted stitch picked up from the crossthread between stitches, adding subtle texture and preventing holes at the transition points.
• Fantasiemuster (Fantasy or combination pattern): The full decorative panel spans 80 stitches and is 31 cm wide. It is constructed by repeating a sequence of cable, decorative purl, and vertical rib sections twice across the panel, creating a symmetrical, richly textured front.

Materials Required

• Yarn: Schachenmayr Select Silk Wool — a premium chunky-weight yarn composed of 64% pure new wool (Schurwolle), 27% silk, and 9% polyamide, with an approximate yardage of 120 metres per 50 g ball. The colourway specified is Sonne Melange, shade 07118. Quantities range from