Berroco Swinburne Cape Knitting Pattern

Berroco Swinburne Cape and Poncho Pattern

What Is Being Made

The Berroco Swinburne is a seamless knitted cape and poncho designed by Emily Nora O'Neil, featured in Berroco Booklet #347. This garment is worked from the bottom up in the round, creating a sophisticated layering piece with a fitted upper edge and dramatically wider lower edge. The finished measurements range from 54 inches around the lower edge to 34 inches around the upper edge, with a height of 16 to 18 inches depending on size selection. The pattern is graded for women's sizes X-Small/Small, Medium/Large, and 1X/2X to accommodate bust sizes from 30 inches to 50 inches.

Techniques Used

This intermediate-level knitting project employs several key construction techniques that create its elegant silhouette. The garment is worked in the round using a circular knitting needle, which allows for seamless construction without seaming. The bottom-up approach means knitting begins at the lower edge and progresses upward toward the neckline. Strategic decrease rounds are incorporated throughout the pattern to shape the fabric from the wider lower edge to the narrower upper edge, creating the characteristic poncho and cape drape. The pattern includes lace elements as part of its design vocabulary, adding visual interest and texture to the finished piece. The overall construction is worked flat in the round using stockinette stitch as the primary fabric base, which provides a smooth, classic foundation for the garment's structure.

Stitches Used

The Swinburne pattern centers on stockinette stitch (abbreviated as St st), which is worked by knitting every round when working in the round. This fundamental stitch creates the smooth, V-patterned fabric characteristic of classic knit garments. Decreases are accomplished using knit two together (k2 tog), a right-leaning decrease that reduces stitch count in strategic decrease rounds. These decreases are worked in specific sequences and intervals—such as [K11(10-9), k2 tog] repeated multiple times per round—to achieve the precise shaping required for the garment's fitted upper portion. The combination of stockinette stitch with strategically placed decreases creates both structural shaping and subtle textural variation throughout the cape.

Materials and Tools

The Swinburne pattern calls for Berroco Andean Mist yarn in colorway #6370 Ampato. Yardage requirements are 3 balls for sizes X-Small/Small and Medium/Large, with 4 balls needed for sizes 1X/2X. Each ball weighs 25 grams. The recommended needle size is a 29-inch circular knitting needle in size 8 (5.00 mm), or the size needed to achieve the specified gauge. A stitch marker is essential for marking the beginning of rounds and tracking progress throughout the seamless construction. The pattern specifies a gauge of 16 stitches and 24 rows per 4 inches in stockinette stitch, and checking this gauge before beginning is emphasized as critical to achieving the correct finished measurements.