Rowan Moss Stitch Sweater Jumper Knitting Pattern

Rowan Moss Stitch Sweater

What is Being Made

The Rowan Moss Stitch Sweater is a baby garment designed by Quail Studio, available in five sizes ranging from 0-3 months through 12-18 months. This is a classic pullover sweater construction featuring a simple, textured stitch pattern suitable for infants and young babies.

Craft and Construction Method

This sweater is created using the knitting craft. The garment is worked flat on straight needles rather than in the round, meaning each piece is knitted as a flat rectangle before being assembled. The construction follows a bottom-up approach, where the sweater is built starting from the lower edges and working upward toward the shoulders. Once all pieces are completed, they are joined together using the seamed finishing method, creating visible seams along the sides and shoulders.

Primary Stitch Used

The dominant stitch throughout this sweater is moss stitch, also known as seed stitch. This fundamental knitting pattern is created by alternating knit and purl stitches in a checkerboard-like formation. The moss stitch pattern is worked consistently across the body and sleeves, creating an attractive textured fabric with visual depth. The ribbed sections at the cuffs and hem use a K1, P1 rib stitch, which provides elastic gathering at these edges to help the garment fit snugly around the baby's wrists, ankles, and torso.

Techniques Employed

• Ribbing: The sweater begins with knit-purl ribbing worked over 3cm (approximately 1¼ inches) at the back hem and sleeve cuffs to create elasticity and definition
• Armhole shaping: Stitches are cast off at the beginning of rows to create the armhole openings, followed by decreases worked at each end of alternating rows for a gradual, fitted curve
• Shoulder shaping: The front pieces are shaped by casting off groups of stitches at the beginning of right-side rows to create the sloped shoulder line
• Stitch holders: Stitches are placed on holders at the front and back neck to be worked later, allowing for seamless neckline construction
• Increases: Sleeve cap increases are worked at each end of every fourth row, allowing the sleeve to gradually widen from cuff to armhole
• Neckband pickup: Stitches are picked up around the neckline opening and worked in ribbing to finish the neck edge

Materials and Tools

Yarn: The sweater is knitted using Baby Merino Silk DK yarn in the colorway Dawn 672. The yardage required varies by size, ranging from 2 balls for the smallest size (0-3 months) to 4 balls for the largest sizes (12-18 months), with each ball weighing 50 grams.

Needles: Two needle sizes are required. Smaller 3.25mm (US 3) needles are used for the ribbed sections at the cuffs, hem, and neckband, where the tighter gauge creates the elastic finish. Larger 4mm (US 6) needles are used for the main body and sleeves worked in moss stitch.

Tension: The pattern specifies a tension of 22 stitches and 40 rows to 10cm (4 inches) measured over moss stitch using the 4mm needles. Achieving the correct tension is essential for the finished garment to fit the intended baby size.

Additional Notions: A stitch holder is required to temporarily hold stitches during neckline construction.

Pattern Details and Finishing

The pattern includes detailed instructions for constructing the back, front, and sleeves as separate pieces. The back and front are worked identically until the armhole shaping, after which the front pieces diverge to include neck shaping. Sleeves are worked straight up from the cuff with increases distributed evenly to create the proper cap shape. All pieces are finished with pressing as per the pattern's finishing instructions, and the garment is assembled by seaming the shoulder seams first, followed by the addition of the neckband worked from picked-up stitches.