Oyambre in Berroco - Downloadable PDF

Oyambre Knitted Skirt by Amy Christoffers for Berroco – Pattern Summary

Oyambre is an intermediate-level knitting pattern designed by Amy Christoffers and published by Berroco. It produces a beautifully shaped, full-length knitted skirt worked seamlessly in the round from the waist down, making it a satisfying project for knitters who are comfortable with circular knitting and ready to explore elegant garment construction.

What Is Being Made

Oyambre is a knitted skirt designed for a wide range of sizes. The finished garment measures between 23 and 55 inches at the waist circumference, with a lower edge circumference ranging from approximately 51½ to 83½ inches, giving the skirt a graceful, gently flared silhouette. The length is a consistent 25 inches / 63.5 cm across all sizes, making it a midi-length skirt suitable for a variety of styling preferences. The pattern sample is shown in size 28 inches / 71 cm, and the recommended ease is approximately 3 inches of positive to negative ease, allowing knitters to customize the fit to their preference.

Construction and Techniques

The skirt is constructed as a single piece, worked in the round from the waist downward — a top-down approach that allows knitters to try on the piece as they go and make length adjustments with ease. Because it is worked in one continuous piece with no seaming along the body, the construction is clean and efficient, though the pattern is still categorized as seamed in its technique set, which likely refers to the finishing of the waistband casing.

• Top-down construction: The skirt begins at the waistband and grows downward, giving knitters full control over fit and length from the very start.
• Worked in the round: Circular needles are used throughout, eliminating the need for side seams and creating smooth, uninterrupted fabric.
• Provisional cast-on: The waistband is begun with a provisional cast-on using waste yarn, a technique that leaves live stitches available for finishing — in this case, likely to fold and sew down the waistband casing to encase the elastic.
• Elastic waistband: The finished waistband accommodates 2-inch / 5 cm wide elastic, which is threaded through the casing using a large safety pin. This gives the skirt a comfortable, secure fit without the need for a zipper or button closure.

Stitches Used

The primary stitch used throughout the body of Oyambre is Stockinette stitch, which when worked in the round means knitting every round. Stockinette creates a smooth, classic fabric that drapes beautifully and showcases the texture of the yarn. The gauge for this pattern is set at 22 stitches and 30 rounds to 4 inches / 10 cm in Stockinette stitch, measured after blocking. Achieving accurate gauge is especially important in a garment like a skirt, where circumference measurements directly affect fit.

Materials – Yarn

The recommended yarn is Berroco Splash, a DK weight yarn sold in 50-gram hanks. The colorway used in the sample is #2414 Lake Tahoe. Depending on the size being knitted, the pattern calls for between 8 and 15 hanks of Berroco Splash. DK weight yarn strikes a balance between the fine drape of fingering weight and the quicker knit of worsted weight, making it an excellent choice for a flowing skirt that retains structure without being heavy.

Materials – Needles and Notions

This pattern requires multiple needle sizes to achieve the correct tension at different points in the construction:

• 32-inch / 80 cm circular needles in US size 5 / 3.75 mm and US size 6 / 4 mm — the two primary needle sizes used for the skirt body, with the middle size used for gauge.
• 16-inch / 40 cm or 24-inch / 60 cm circular needle in US size 4 / 3.5 mm — the smallest size, used for the waistband section.

Additional notions include