Rowan Bell Dress Knitting Pattern

Rowan Bell Knitted Dress by Lisa Richardson

What is Being Made

The Rowan Bell is a fitted knitted dress designed by Lisa Richardson, available in five size options to fit bust measurements from 81-86 cm up to 122-127 cm (32-34 inches to 48-50 inches). The garment features a sophisticated silhouette created through strategic shaping and cable panel construction, making it suitable for both everyday wear and special occasions.

Construction Method

This dress is constructed using a bottom-up, worked-flat approach with seaming. The pattern begins at the lower body and progresses upward, with pieces knitted individually on straight needles before being joined together. This traditional construction method allows for precise shaping and detailed stitch work throughout the garment.

Cable Techniques and Stitch Work

The Rowan Bell showcases cable knitting as its primary decorative feature. The body is organized into ten distinct cable panels, each worked over 25 stitches and separated by reverse stockinette stitch sections. The cable pattern repeats over 24 rounds, creating a continuous vertical texture that runs the length of the dress.

The design incorporates strategic decreasing to achieve a fitted silhouette. Decreases are worked systematically between cable panels using both P2tog (purl two together) and P2tog tbl (purl two together through back loop) techniques, reducing stitch counts progressively while maintaining the integrity of the cable panels. This shaping occurs every 13 rounds, creating a gradual taper from the hip to the waist area.

The reverse stockinette stitch sections between cables serve both a functional and aesthetic purpose, providing contrast to the raised cable texture and allowing the shaping decreases to be distributed evenly across the garment width.

Materials and Needles

The Rowan Bell is designed to be knitted in Rowan Felted Tweed, a premium yarn requiring 11 to 15 balls of 50-gram weight depending on the size being made. The pattern was photographed in the colorway Mineral 181. Felted Tweed is a wool-rich blend that provides excellent stitch definition, particularly important for showcasing the cable and reverse stockinette details.

The pattern requires multiple needle sizes to accommodate different sections of the garment:

• 3¾mm (US 5) straight needles – one pair for flat knitting the main body pieces
• 3¾mm (US 5) circular needles – in multiple lengths (70-140 cm) for working the body in the round
• 3¼mm (US 3) double-pointed needles – set of four for working smaller circumferences
• 3¾mm (US 5) double-pointed needles – set of four for continuing body shaping
• Cable needle – for crossing stitches to create the cable texture

Tension and Fit

The pattern specifies a working tension of 24 stitches and 32 rows over 10 centimeters in stockinette stitch on 3¾mm needles. Achieving the correct tension is essential for obtaining the intended finished bust measurements, which range from 93 cm to 130 cm (36½ inches to 51 inches) depending on size selection.

Pattern Reference and Availability

This is pattern reference ZB242-00004, version 1, published by Rowan. The complete pattern includes detailed charting for the cable panels and comprehensive sizing information. Additional yarn information and pattern support can be found on knitrowan.com.