Ladies’ Jacket with Hood in Schachenmayr Universa - S6898

Ladies' Jacket with Hood in Schachenmayr Universa – Pattern S6898

This free downloadable knitting pattern from Schachenmayr provides full instructions for a ladies' jacket with an attached hood, worked in the brand's popular Universa yarn. The design is available in three sizes — 34/36, 38/40, and 42/44 — making it accessible to a wide range of knitters. With its structured shaping, ribbed front band detail, and cosy hood, this jacket is a rewarding project for knitters with intermediate experience.

What Is Being Made

The pattern produces a fitted ladies' jacket with a hood, featuring shaped armhole and neckline shaping, a ribbed front band worked as an integral part of the fronts, and a button fastening with 3 buttons in Bordeaux/Pink. The jacket is knitted in separate pieces — back, left front, right front, sleeves, and hood — which are then seamed together. The design has a clean, classic silhouette with a modern touch provided by the contrasting textural panels.

Materials Required

• Yarn: Schachenmayr Universa in Cyclam shade 00135 — 650 g (size 34/36), 700 g (size 38/40), or 750 g (size 42/44). Universa is a smooth DK-weight yarn well suited to stitch definition and everyday wear.
• Needles: Prym knitting needles in sizes 3.5 mm to 4 mm, used to achieve the correct tension across both stitch patterns.
• Notions: 3 buttons in Bordeaux/Pink for the front fastening.

Tension / Gauge

Achieving the correct tension is essential for a well-fitting garment. The pattern specifies two separate tension swatches:

• Main pattern (Grundmuster): 28 stitches and 32 rows = 10 cm × 10 cm
• Crosswise rib pattern (Querrippenmuster), measured slightly stretched in height: 21 stitches and 32 rows = 10 cm × 10 cm

Because the two stitch patterns have different stitch gauges, knitters should swatch both separately before casting on, and adjust needle size as needed.

Stitches and Techniques Used

• Grundmuster (main pattern): The primary fabric of the jacket body and sleeves. This is the foundational stitch pattern used throughout the largest sections of the garment.
• Querrippenmuster (crosswise rib pattern): A textural rib worked over 9 stitches along the front edges, creating a neat, slightly stretchy band. The pattern is structured as follows: rows 1 and 2 are worked as purl (links stricken), followed by further rows that create the crosswise rib effect. This panel runs vertically along each front piece and contributes both structure and visual interest.
• Edge stitches (Randmaschen): One selvedge stitch is worked at each side of every piece to facilitate neat seaming.
• Armhole shaping: Worked by casting off stitches at the beginning of rows in a stepped decrease — for example, on the back piece, casting off 3 (5/5) stitches once, then 2 stitches once, then 1 stitch once on each side, creating a smooth armhole curve.
• Neckline shaping: The back neckline is shaped by casting off the central stitches and then working further decreases on each side every other row to create a gentle curve. The front neckline uses a long diagonal shaping sequence beginning at 37 cm height, with decreases worked at regular intervals over many rows to produce the characteristic V- or wrap-style neckline angle.
• Increases along the front edge: On the left front piece, stitches are increased along the left edge simultaneously with the neckline shaping, using a lifted increase method — picking up the yarn between stitches and knitting it twisted (verschränkt aus dem Querfaden stricken) to avoid holes. This technique is commonly used in German knitting patterns to create invisible, neat increases.