Katie Shawl Collar Sweater - Jumper Knitting Pattern for Women in Debbie Bliss Saphia

Katie Shawl Collar Sweater – Knitting Pattern Overview

The Katie Shawl Collar Sweater is a beautifully structured women's pullover knitting pattern designed by Debbie Bliss, worked in the luxurious Debbie Bliss Saphia yarn. This pattern produces a cosy, textured jumper featuring a distinctive shawl collar — a classic design detail that adds both warmth and elegance to the finished garment. The pattern is available as a downloadable PDF and is rated as an intermediate difficulty project, making it well suited to knitters who have moved beyond the basics and are comfortable working with cables and more involved stitch patterns.

What Is Being Made

The finished project is a women's shawl collar sweater — a seamed, structured pullover jumper worked flat in pieces and then joined together. The shawl collar is a hallmark feature, creating a wide, softly folded neckline that frames the face and provides extra warmth around the neck and shoulders. The garment is available in multiple sizes, accommodating a range of fits, with yarn quantities ranging from 10 to 14 hanks of Debbie Bliss Saphia in Peat 03 depending on the size selected.

Techniques Used

• Cables: The pattern incorporates cable knitting, a technique that creates twisted, rope-like or braided textures by crossing groups of stitches over one another using a cable needle. Cables add visual interest and a classic, tactile quality to the fabric.
• Worked Flat: All pieces are knitted flat, meaning the knitting is worked back and forth in rows on straight needles rather than in the round. This is the traditional method for constructing seamed garments.
• Seamed Construction: The individual pieces — typically a front, back, sleeves, and collar — are knitted separately and then sewn together using seaming techniques. This method produces a sturdy, well-defined garment structure.
• Wrap 1: The pattern uses a specific short-row or texture technique called Wrap 1, which involves bringing the yarn to the front (ytf), slipping a stitch, then taking the yarn to the back (ytb) and slipping the stitch back. This creates a wrapped stitch effect used to build the distinctive surface pattern.
• k1b (Knit 1 Below): A stitch technique where the needle is inserted into the centre of the stitch one row below, rather than the stitch on the needle, creating a longer, more textured knit stitch.

Stitches Used

• Knit (k) and Purl (p) — the foundational stitches of all flat knitting, used throughout the pattern for structure and texture.
• Cable stitches — worked using a cable needle to cross stitches and create the signature twisted cable motifs.
• k1b (Knit 1 Below) — used as part of the stitch pattern to add depth and texture to the fabric.
• Wrap 1 — a specialised stitch technique used on right-side rows, incorporating yarn-forward and yarn-back movements around a slipped stitch to create the surface pattern texture.
• ytf (yarn to front) and ytb (yarn to back) — yarn positioning movements that are integral to the pattern stitches.

Tension and Gauge

The pattern specifies a tension of 11 stitches and 26 rows to 10cm / 4 inches over the stitch pattern using 7mm (US 10½) needles. Achieving the correct tension is especially important in a seamed, fitted garment like this, as it directly affects the final dimensions of each piece and the overall fit of the sweater.

Materials Required

Yarn

• Debbie Bliss Saphia — a chunky weight yarn, sold in 100g / 3½oz hanks
• Colourway used: Peat 03
• Quantity required: 10 to 14 hanks depending on size