Taro Sweater in Rowan Creative Linen, Fine Lace & Kidsilk Haze - ZB298-00004-FR - Downloadable PDF

Taro Sweater by Lisa Richardson in Rowan Creative Linen, Fine Lace & Kidsilk Haze – Pattern Summary

The Taro Sweater is an intermediate-level knitting pattern designed by Lisa Richardson and published by Rowan. Available as a downloadable PDF, this pattern produces a beautifully textured pullover sweater featuring a distinctive nope (bobble-style) stitch pattern worked across a 20-row repeat. The design is notable for its sophisticated yarn combination, blending three different Rowan yarns to create a fabric with depth, drape, and a subtle halo finish.

What Is Being Made

The pattern creates a pullover sweater (also referenced in the pattern as a gilet variation, depending on the length chosen). The garment is designed to fit a range of chest sizes:

• 81–86 cm
• 91–97 cm
• 102–107 cm
• 112–117 cm
• 122–127 cm

The finished garment chest measurements range from 121 cm to 161 cm, offering generous ease across all sizes. The body length to the shoulder shaping varies by size, worked to approximately 48–56 cm for the standard sweater length, or extended to 68–76 cm for the longer gilet version.

Techniques Used

This is an intermediate knitting project that calls upon a range of techniques suited to knitters who are comfortable moving beyond basic construction:

• Nope stitch – a textural bobble-like stitch that forms the centrepiece of the 20-row stitch pattern repeat, creating raised surface interest across the fabric
• Stitch pattern repeats – the 20-row fancy stitch pattern is established and then repeated consistently throughout the body of the garment
• Shoulder shaping – worked by casting off stitches at the beginning of rows in a stepped manner to create a neat, angled shoulder line
• Working with yarn held double – Yarn C (Kidsilk Haze) is specified to be knitted held double at certain points in the pattern, a technique that increases the yarn's weight and creates a denser, more defined halo effect
• Colourwork with multiple yarns – the pattern alternates between three yarn types (labelled A, B, and C) across the 20-row repeat, requiring confident yarn management and colour changes
• Tension/gauge matching – as with all multi-yarn Rowan designs, achieving the correct tension swatch is essential before beginning

Stitches Used

• Knit stitch (stocking stitch / plain knit rows) – used as the background fabric, particularly in rows worked with Yarn A
• Nope stitch – the signature decorative stitch of this design, placed at regular intervals within the stitch repeat to create a three-dimensional bobble texture
• Cast off (plain and shaped) – used for shoulder shaping and finishing

The 20-row stitch pattern is clearly structured: plain knit rows alternate with nope rows, with the nopes placed every 4 stitches across the row and offset in subsequent repeats to create an all-over textural pattern. Rows worked in Yarn A are plain knit rows, while nope rows are introduced using Yarn C held double, giving the raised stitches a contrasting halo quality against the linen ground fabric.

Materials – Yarns and Needles

This pattern uses a combination of three Rowan yarns, spanning both DK and lace weights, to achieve its distinctive mixed-fibre fabric:

• Rowan Creative Linen – a DK-weight yarn with a natural linen content that provides structure, drape, and a relaxed, breathable quality; used as the primary ground yarn (Yarn A). The colourway specified is Lin Apple 629, with 2 x 100g skeins listed for the pullover.