Flounce Sweater Jumper Knitting Pattern

Flounce Sweater in Rowan Pure Alpaca

What is Being Made

The Flounce Sweater is a knitted pullover garment designed by Lisa Richardson. This intermediate-level sweater features a fitted silhouette with shaping at the waist and armholes, combined with decorative patterning throughout. The design is available in nine size options, ranging from 71-76 cm to 152-157 cm chest measurements, making it suitable for a wide range of body types.

Craft and Technique Overview

This project is a knitting pattern that employs classic garment construction methods. The sweater is worked in pieces using flat knitting on straight needles, with careful shaping achieved through strategic decreasing and increasing. The pattern incorporates both stockinette stitch and decorative stitch patterns, requiring knitters to maintain pattern accuracy while simultaneously managing garment shaping—a technique that distinguishes intermediate-level projects.

Stitches and Stitch Techniques Used

• Stockinette Stitch (St St): Used for the foundational fabric and at specific edges, such as the 4-stitch stockinette borders at armhole edges
• Patterned Stitches: The sweater features decorative stitch patterning throughout the main body, requiring knitters to follow a stitch pattern repeat while decreasing and increasing for shaping
• Cable Stitches: The pattern includes cable techniques, specifically C2B (cable 2 back) and C2F (cable 2 front), which are worked using a cable needle. These stitches add textural interest and dimension to the design
• Decreasing Techniques: Slip stitch, knit, pass slipped stitch over (sl 1, K1, psso) and knit 2 together (K2tog) are used for waist shaping and armhole decreases
• Purling and Purl Decreases: Purl 2 together (P2tog) and purl 2 together through the back loop (P2tog tbl) are employed for shaping on wrong-side rows

Materials: Yarn and Needles

This sweater is knitted using Rowan Pure Alpaca, a luxury yarn composed of pure alpaca fiber. The yarn is supplied in 50-gram balls, and the yardage required varies by size. The pattern photograph shows the design worked in the colorway Lichen.

The needles required are one pair of 3¾mm (US size 5) straight needles, along with a cable needle for working the cable stitch elements. The pattern specifies a tension of 33 stitches and 30 rows to 10 centimeters when measured over pattern using the 3¾mm needles, which is essential for achieving the correct finished garment measurements.

Construction Details

The sweater features fitted waist shaping achieved through paired decreases worked every 2 rows over multiple rounds, creating a tapered silhouette. Armhole shaping is accomplished through bind-offs at the beginning of rows combined with decreases at the armhole edges. The pattern includes detailed instructions for shaping the shoulders and back neck, with staggered bind-offs and neck edge decreases to create a professional finish. The garment is worked in separate pieces that are later assembled.