Moonflower Coat Knitting Pattern

Moonflower Coat in Rowan Alpaca Soft DK

What Is Being Made

The Moonflower Coat is an advanced-level knitted coat designed by Martin Storey for Rowan. This garment is a structured coat featuring a fitted construction with front panels, back panel, and set-in sleeves. The coat is available in five sizes, ranging from a bust fit of 81–86 cm (32–34 in) up to 122–127 cm (48–50 in), with corresponding finished bust measurements from 128 cm (50½ in) to 168 cm (66¼ in). The design incorporates decorative patterning throughout the body and sleeves, making it a statement piece suitable for intermediate to advanced knitters.

Techniques Used

This coat employs several intermediate to advanced knitting techniques appropriate for its advanced skill level. The construction begins with a garter stitch border worked flat on straight needles, providing a stable, textured edge. The main body and sleeves are worked from charted colorwork patterns, requiring knitters to follow a detailed chart while maintaining pattern accuracy across multiple pieces. Shaping techniques include strategic cast-offs at regular intervals to create shoulder shaping on the front panels and cap shaping on the sleeves, ensuring proper fit and garment structure. The coat is worked in separate pieces and then seamed together during finishing, a traditional construction method that allows for precise shaping and pattern alignment.

Stitches Used

The primary stitch used in the Moonflower Coat is garter stitch, which forms the initial 4 cm border on both the fronts and sleeves. Garter stitch creates a reversible, textured fabric with excellent drape and stability, making it ideal for coat edges. The main body and sleeves are worked in stockinette stitch as the base fabric for the charted colorwork pattern. The colorwork itself is executed using the stranded or Fair Isle technique, where multiple yarn colors are carried across the row to create the Moonflower pattern. This technique requires careful tension management to ensure even fabric and proper color definition. Decreasing and shaping are accomplished through cast-offs at the beginning of rows, a straightforward method that creates clean, finished edges on shoulder and sleeve cap seams.

Materials: Yarn and Needles

The Moonflower Coat is designed to be knitted in Rowan Alpaca Soft DK, a lightweight double-knit weight yarn made from alpaca fiber. This yarn choice provides a soft, luxurious drape ideal for a coat garment. The pattern specifies seven yarn colors across five sizes:

• Yarn A – Rainy Day (color 210): The main color, requiring 13–18 balls of 50g depending on size
• Yarn B – Classic Brown (color 204): 2 balls of 50g for all sizes
• Yarn C – Tea (color 205): 2 balls of 50g for all sizes
• Yarn D – Brick (color 218): 2–3 balls of 50g depending on size
• Yarn E – Hunter Green (color 214): 2 balls of 50g for all sizes
• Yarn F – Clover (color 215): 2 balls of 50g for all sizes
• Yarn G – Autumn Gold (color 220): 2 balls of 50g for all sizes

The pattern requires two pairs of straight needles and one circular needle. Knitters should use 3¼mm (US 3) needles for the initial garter stitch borders and ribbing sections, and 4mm (US 6) needles for the main body and sleeves worked in stockinette and colorwork. A 3¼mm (US 3) circular needle at least 150 cm long is specified for finishing techniques, likely for picking up stitches or seaming. The recommended tension is 25 stitches over 10 cm (4 inches) when worked in stockinette stitch on 4mm needles, a standard gauge for DK-weight yarn that ensures the coat will achieve its intended finished measurements and drape.

Pattern Overview

The coat is constructed in separate pieces: left front, right front, back, and two sleeves. Each front panel begins with 80–105 cast-on stitches (depending on size) and is worked straight until shoulder shaping begins. The sleeves are more generously cast on with 98–128 stitches to accommodate the width needed for