Celtic Pullover For Her in Cascade Yarns 128 Superwash - C201 - Downloadable PDF

Celtic Pullover For Her in Cascade Yarns 128 Superwash – A Detailed Pattern Summary

Designed by Melissa Leapman and published by Cascade Yarns, the Celtic Cable Pullover for Her is a beautifully structured chunky-weight knitting pattern available as a free downloadable PDF. This intermediate-level design brings together classic Celtic cable artistry and clean reverse stockinette texture to create a cozy, stylish pullover sweater with timeless appeal.

What Is Being Made

This pattern produces a women's pullover sweater featuring a prominent Celtic Cable Panel as its central design element. The garment is available in five sizes — Small, Medium, Large, 1X, and 2X — with finished bust measurements ranging from 35 inches up to 48 inches and total lengths between 22 and 23½ inches. The result is a wearable, everyday sweater with a rich, textured front panel that makes it feel both handcrafted and polished.

Techniques Used

• Cable knitting – The signature Celtic Cable Panel runs approximately 6¾ inches wide and is worked over 30 stitches, increasing to 38 stitches as the cable pattern develops. Celtic cables are known for their interlocking, rope-like crossings that evoke traditional Irish and Scottish knotwork motifs.
• Reverse stockinette stitch – Used as the primary background fabric of the sweater body, reverse stockinette places the purl side of the fabric on the right side, giving the garment a soft, matte texture that beautifully offsets the raised cable panel.
• Ribbing – A simple 1x1 rib pattern (alternating knit 1, purl 1) is used for finishing elements such as cuffs and borders, providing elasticity and a neat, professional edge.
• Gauge swatching – The pattern strongly emphasizes checking gauge before beginning, a critical technique at the chunky weight to ensure accurate sizing across the five available sizes.
• Shaping – Standard sweater construction techniques are employed to shape the body and sleeves to achieve the finished measurements across all sizes.

Stitches Used

• Celtic Cable Panel – A complex, multi-cross cable worked from a chart, creating the interlocking Celtic knotwork design central to the sweater's aesthetic.
• Reverse Stockinette Stitch Pattern – Worked by purling on right-side rows and knitting on wrong-side rows, producing a bumpy, textured surface fabric.
• 1x1 Rib Pattern – Alternating knit and purl stitches across every row, used for trims and borders.

Materials Required

The pattern calls for Cascade Yarns 128 Superwash in colorway #1980, a chunky-weight, superwash-treated wool yarn. The quantity needed ranges from 7 to 10 hanks depending on the size being knitted. The superwash treatment makes the finished sweater machine-washable, adding practical everyday wearability to its classic good looks.

Two sizes of straight knitting needles are required: size 8 and size 10 (or the size needed to achieve the specified gauge of 15 stitches and 22 rows over 4 inches in reverse stockinette with the larger needles). Importantly, this pattern also requires two cable needles, which are essential for executing the complex Celtic cable crossings accurately. Having two cable needles on hand — rather than just one — allows the knitter to hold stitches in both front and back positions simultaneously when working the intricate multi-directional cable crossings characteristic of Celtic knotwork designs.

Skill Level and Pattern Format

Rated as intermediate in difficulty, this pattern is well-suited to knitters who are comfortable with reading cable charts and working multi-stitch cable crossings. Beginners who have already mastered basic knit and purl stitches and are ready to advance into cable work will find this a rewarding next step. The pattern is delivered as a free downloadable PDF, designed by Melissa Leapman and copyright 2014 Cascade Yarns.