Sweater in BC Garn Baby Alpaca - 2416BC - Downloadable PDF

Sweater in BC Garn Baby Alpaca – Pattern 2416BC by Jytte Slente

This downloadable PDF knitting pattern by designer Jytte Slente, published as BC Garn pattern number 2416BC, guides knitters through the construction of a beautifully textured colourwork sweater worked in luxuriously soft BC Garn Baby Alpaca yarn. The design is rated intermediate in difficulty, making it an excellent project for knitters who are comfortable with the basics and ready to explore stranded colourwork and in-the-round construction. The pattern is available as a free downloadable PDF.

What Is Being Made

The finished garment is a pullover sweater featuring a multi-colour stranded pattern across both the front and back. It is worked in three sizes to fit bust measurements of 93 cm (S), 99 cm (M), and 102 cm (L), with corresponding lengths of 63 cm, 65 cm, and 67 cm respectively. The sweater is designed to have a comfortable, classic silhouette with a refined, textured surface created by the colourwork chart.

Yarn and Materials

The pattern calls exclusively for BC Garn Baby Alpaca, a 3-ply (lace/fingering weight) yarn celebrated for its exceptional softness, warmth, and subtle sheen. Four distinct colourways are used in combination to create the stranded pattern:

• Colour au114 – 150 g for all sizes (S, M, and L)
• Colour au36 – 100 g for all sizes
• Colour au113 – 50 g for sizes S and M; 100 g for size L
• Colour au53 – 50 g for all sizes

Baby alpaca fibre is naturally hypoallergenic and exceptionally fine, making it a premium choice for garments worn close to the skin. Its slight halo and drape lend the finished sweater an elegant, lightweight quality that is warmer than its delicate appearance might suggest.

Needles

The pattern specifies 3½ mm circular needles in two lengths: a 40 cm circular for smaller circumference sections and an 80 cm circular for the body. These correspond to UK size 10 / US size 4 needles. Circular needles are essential here both for working in the round and for managing the colourwork floats comfortably across a large number of stitches.

Tension and Gauge

Achieving the correct tension is particularly important in a colourwork project like this one. The pattern specifies a gauge of 28 stitches and 32 rounds to 10 cm, measured over patterned stocking stitch using 3½ mm needles. Because colourwork knitting tends to pull in more tightly than plain stocking stitch, knitters are encouraged to swatch carefully in the actual stranded pattern before casting on.

Techniques Used

• Knitting in the round – The front and back of the sweater are worked seamlessly on circular needles, eliminating the need for seaming and allowing the colourwork pattern to flow continuously around the body.
• Stranded colourwork (Fair Isle-style) – Multiple colours from the four BC Garn Baby Alpaca shades are carried across each round, creating a geometric or repeating motif as charted in the pattern. Floats are managed on the wrong side of the fabric.
• Decreasing – Shaping is achieved through decreases worked at specified points, including decreasing one stitch at each side as directed in the front and back construction instructions.
• Working from a colourwork chart – The pattern includes a visual chart using symbols (marked as x and o) to indicate which colour to use on each stitch, with each symbol corresponding to one of the four named colourways (au114, au36, au113, and au53).

Stitches Used

• Stocking stitch (stockinette) – The primary stitch throughout the body,