Evie Sweater in Ella Rae Phoenix - ER20-03 - Downloadable PDF

Evie Sweater in Ella Rae Phoenix – ER20-03 Pattern Summary

The Evie Sweater is a charming children's knitted pullover designed in Ella Rae Phoenix yarn, available as a downloadable PDF. The pattern covers five sizes ranging from 1–2 years through 9–10 years, with chest measurements spanning 56 cm (22 in) to 76 cm (30 in). The finished garment features a classic two-colour houndstooth tweed texture across the body and sleeves, a tidy ribbed hem and cuffs, and a neat shoulder opening fastened with decorative buttons — making it both a practical and visually appealing everyday sweater for children.

Design Overview

The Evie Sweater is a children's pullover worked in separate flat pieces — front, back, and sleeves — which are then seamed together during making up. The standout design feature is the Houndstooth Tweed Pattern, a four-row repeat worked in two contrasting shades of Ella Rae Phoenix worsted-weight yarn. The resulting fabric has a classic, textured appearance reminiscent of traditional tweed, achieved entirely through knit stitches and slipped stitches rather than complex colourwork techniques like stranded knitting. Two decorative buttons are sewn at each shoulder, adding a polished finishing detail while also making the neckline easy to dress a child through.

Techniques Used

• Flat knitting: All pieces are worked back and forth in rows on straight needles, making this pattern accessible to knitters who are not yet comfortable with circular knitting.
• Two-colour slip-stitch pattern (Houndstooth Tweed): The signature stitch pattern uses two colours — shade #61 (Colour A) and shade #70 (Colour B) — alternated every two rows. Only one colour is used per row, with stitches slipped purlwise to carry the second colour through the fabric, creating the characteristic houndstooth effect without stranding yarn across the back.
• Seaming: Shoulder seams are joined using an edge-to-edge stitch approximately 1 cm in from the armhole edge. Sleeves are centred and sewn into the armhole, and sleeve and side seams are sewn to complete the garment.
• Sleeve shaping: Sleeves are shaped with gradual increases worked at each end — one stitch each end on the next row, then repeated on every 12th, 16th, 18th, 20th, or 22nd row (depending on size) four more times — giving a neat, tapered silhouette.
• Pressing and finishing: The making-up instructions specify pressing all pieces gently using a warm iron over a damp cloth before seaming, which helps the slip-stitch fabric lie flat and even.

Stitches Used

• 2×2 Rib (K2, P2): Used for the lower hems of the front and back, and for the sleeve cuffs. Worked on the smaller 4 mm (US 6) needles for approximately 4 cm, this rib creates a stretchy, neat border that helps the garment hold its shape at the edges.
• Houndstooth Tweed Pattern (multiple of 3): A four-row repeat forming the main fabric of the sweater body and sleeves, worked on 4.5 mm (US 7) needles:
  • Row 1 (RS): Using Colour A — *k2, sl 1 purlwise; repeat from * to end.
  • Row 2 (WS): Using Colour A — knit across.
  • Row 3 (RS): Using Colour B — *sl 1 purlwise, k2; repeat from * to end.
  • Row 4 (WS): Using Colour B — knit across.
• Knit stitch (k): Used extensively throughout both the rib and the houndstooth pattern rows.
• Purl stitch (p): Used within the 2×2 rib sections.
• Slip stitch purlwise (sl 1 p/wise):