Willow & Lark Ella Jumper Knitting Pattern

Willow & Lark Ella Jumper: Diamond Lace Cropped Jumper

What is Being Made

The Ella Jumper is a fashionably cropped knitted jumper designed by Willow & Lark as part of their Wonder Collection. This lightweight piece features a modern diamond lace motif and is versatile enough to dress up or down. Available in six sizes to fit chest measurements from 81cm to 107cm (32in to 42in), the jumper offers a contemporary silhouette with a cropped length that reaches approximately 59–64cm to the shoulder, depending on size.

Techniques Used

The Ella Jumper is constructed using several key knitting techniques that create both its visual appeal and wearable structure:

• Bottom-Up Construction: The garment is knitted from the bottom edge upward, allowing for straightforward shaping and fitting adjustments as you progress.
• Lace Knitting: A diamond lace motif is integrated throughout the design, creating an open, airy fabric that contributes to the jumper's lightweight character.
• Worked Flat: Pieces are knitted flat on straight needles rather than in the round, then seamed together to form the finished garment.
• Seamed Construction: Individual pieces—front, back, and sleeves—are knitted separately and then seamed together, allowing for precise shaping and a professional finish.

Stitches Used

The pattern requires competency with lace knitting techniques. The primary stitch base is stocking stitch (knit on right-side rows, purl on wrong-side rows), which serves as the foundation for the diamond lace motif. The lace pattern incorporates yarn overs and decreases to create the characteristic openwork design. Standard abbreviations used throughout the pattern include knit (K), purl (P), increase (inc), decrease (dec), and alternating (alt) instructions for shaping the garment across multiple sizes.

Materials and Tools

The Ella Jumper is designed specifically for Willow & Lark Plume yarn, a luxury blend composed of 70% mohair and 30% silk. This fiber composition creates the lightweight, luxurious drape essential to achieving the intended finished look. Yarn quantities vary by size, ranging from 5 to 6 balls of 25g (0.9oz) per ball. The pattern recommends using Plume in the suggested colorways of Milk (301) or Gerbera Pink (314) to match the design photographs.

Knitting is worked on one pair of 3.25mm (UK 10 / US 3) knitting needles. The pattern specifies a tension of 25 stitches and 34 rows over 10cm (4 inches) measured in stocking stitch using 3.25mm needles, or the size required to achieve correct tension. Achieving proper tension is critical for obtaining the correct finished garment measurements.

Difficulty Level

The Ella Jumper is rated as an intermediate knitting project. While the bottom-up, seamed construction and basic stocking stitch foundation are accessible to intermediate knitters, the lace knitting technique requires solid understanding of yarn overs, decreases, and reading lace charts. Knitters should be comfortable managing shaping across multiple sizes and have experience with seaming finished pieces.

Pattern Format

This is a downloadable PDF pattern from Willow & Lark Yarns. The pattern provides instructions for six sizes with measurements given in both centimeters and inches. Size variations are clearly marked in square brackets following the instructions for the smallest size, making it easy to track which numbers apply to your chosen size.