Dobby Jumper Knitting Pattern

Dobby Sweater by Lisa Richardson in Rowan Fine Tweed Haze

What Is Being Made

The Dobby is a knitted sweater designed by Lisa Richardson, available in multiple sizes to fit chest measurements ranging from 71–76 cm (28–30 inches) up to 152–157 cm (60–62 inches). This intermediate-level knitting project produces a garment with an actual chest measurement ranging from 93.5 cm to 175 cm depending on the chosen size. The sweater is worked in the round using circular needles, creating a seamless construction ideal for a polished, professional finish.

Techniques Used

The Dobby sweater employs the fairisle technique, a traditional colorwork method that allows knitters to create intricate patterned designs by carrying multiple yarn colors throughout the work. The pattern is worked entirely in stockinette stitch (knit every row), which provides a smooth, classic fabric base that showcases the fairisle colorwork beautifully. The construction method is circular knitting, worked in rounds from the bottom up, eliminating the need for seaming and ensuring consistent fabric quality throughout the garment.

The pattern incorporates strategic increase stitches (M1 increases) positioned at regular intervals across multiple chart rounds. These increases are carefully spaced—beginning with increases every 5 stitches and gradually expanding to every 22 stitches—to create shaping that allows the sweater to fit properly across the chest and body. This graduated increase method is essential for achieving the correct garment proportions across the wide range of available sizes.

Stitches Used

• Stockinette Stitch (St St): The primary stitch throughout the entire garment, created by knitting every row when working in the round, producing the smooth, flat fabric characteristic of classic knitwear
• Make One Increase (M1): Used strategically at multiple points in the pattern to increase stitch count and shape the garment, with increases distributed across numerous chart rounds to achieve proper fit
• Fairisle Colorwork: The decorative technique that creates the pattern by working with multiple yarn colors in a single row, following a provided chart that repeats 12–14 times around each round depending on the size being knitted

Materials: Yarn and Needles

Yarn: The Dobby is knitted using Rowan Fine Tweed Haze, a 50-gram yarn available in three colors for this project. The colorway combination includes Mist (color 007) as the primary color, with Deep (color 002) and Rose (color 003) used as accent colors in the fairisle pattern. Yarn quantities vary by size, with the smallest size requiring 5 balls of Mist, 1 ball of Deep, and 1 ball of Rose, increasing proportionally for larger sizes up to 8 balls of Mist for the largest option.

Needles: The pattern requires both circular needles and double-pointed needles in two sizes. Knitters will need 3.25 mm (UK no. 10 / US size 3) circular needles—one measuring no more than 40 cm in length and a second measuring at least 90–170 cm depending on size—along with a set of 4 double-pointed 3.25 mm needles. Additionally, 4 mm (UK no. 8 / US size 6) circular needles are required in the same configurations, plus a set of 4 double-pointed 4 mm needles. This needle selection allows for proper tension management and smooth transitions between different sections of the sweater as stitch counts increase through the pattern.