Le Bon Voyage child sweater by Anne B Hanssen

Le Bon Voyage child sweater

Knitting
January 2024
DK (11 wpi) ?
24 stitches and 30 rows = 4 inches
in Textured patterns.
US 4 - 3.5 mm
273 - 875 yards (250 - 800 m)
Size-range newborn - 10 years. Read further in the notes below.
English
This pattern is available for €5.95 EUR buy it now

This sweater was a joy to design and work.
I wanted to use knit and purl sts only, and my goal was to make an interesting knit with fun details, without making it too difficult.

The pattern is tested. List of tester at the bottom.

Sizes
Size 1: newborn – 3 mo, finished chest: 42 cm/16.5” Size 2: 6 mo – 12 mo, finished chest: 48.5 cm/19” Size 3: 18 mo – 2 years, finished chest: 55 cm/21.75” Size 4: 2 – 4 years, finished chest: 62 cm/24.25” Size 5: 5 – 6 years, finished chest: 68 cm/27” Size 6: 7 – 8 years, finished chest: 75 cm/29.5” Size 7: 9 – 10 years, finished chest: 81 cm/32” The above measurements are after washing/blocking, and worked at gauge.

Materials

YARN: I recommend that you choose a DK weight yarn, with great stitch-definition, that knits up to gauge. I used ”DK Twist”, in the colour-way ”Corrode”, from Life in the long grass to work the sample. This yarn comes in skeins of 115 gr/4.06 oz, and 230 m/262 yards.
Of this specific yarn you will need 250/300/375/475/575/675/800 m = 275/325/410/520/630/735/875 yards. NEEDLES: Size 3.5 mm/US4 for the ribbing, size 4 mm/US6 for the main body/sleeves.
NOTIONS4 removable stitch-markers, 1 DPN (for joining the lower front and back, this is optional), separate holders (or waste-yarn), 5/7/8/10/11/11/13 buttons, 1.2 cm/0.5” across.

Gauge
24 sts and 30 rounds/rows = 10 x 10 cm/4 x 4” in the textured patterns, after washing/blocking.
Design and construction
The design elements of this sweater are the different textured knit and purl-patterns, the buttoned slits on the sides of the lower bottom, the buttoned shoulder.
A garter section is worked on the sides of the body, as well as under each sleeve.
The fit is great, due to the set-in-sleeve and sleevecap, as well as the buttoned shoulder (making it easy for dressing).
The lower body is worked bottom-up, starting from 2 pieces (one for front, one for back) with button-bands and button-holes on the sides. The 2 pieces are joined, and the lower body is worked in the round to underarms. The upper back and upper front are worked flat in separate pieces. One shoulder is buttoned, the other shoulder is worked together using grafting (or the 3-needle bind-off method).
The sleeves are worked top-down, starting from a sleeve-cap shaped by short-rows. From the underarm the main-sleeve is worked in the round.

Skill level
Adventurous beginner

The pattern
This pattern is tested.
There is a schematic
Measurements are given in cm’s as well as in inches
The textured patterns are written out row-by-row, as well as charted

Knitting techniques

  • cast-on
  • bind-off
  • knit and purl sts
  • picking up and knit sts (around armhole openings/neckline)
  • short-rows (sleeve-cap)
  • 3-needle bind-off (or grafting)

List of testers

I want to thank my talented and wonderful testers:
donnamcwilliams71 / ejmsasha / knitabitknitwit / knitwitch47 / MistiTabitha / nathalie59 / Ozifarmer / startare / tastywench / patald2050 / purplechinny