Aosta Family Bundle

Get 25% off when you buy the adult Aosta Sweater & Cardigan, the Child Aosta Sweater & Cardigan, and the Baby Aosta Sweater & Cardigan with the code AostaFamily. This brings the price of all 6 patterns down from £31 to £23.25, so the discount is £7.75.

The Aosta Sweater is available in English, German, Italian, Dutch, and Spanish. More languages will follow soon.

The Aosta Sweater gets an update. This was my second-ever garment pattern, which I developed at the same time as my first garment pattern back in the summer of 2020. It’s safe to say that I have learnt a lot about pattern writing since then and I hope that this is reflected in the 3.0 version of the sweater. I have such a strong emotional attachment to this pattern, and I know that I’m not alone there. I hope that you enjoy making your Aosta Sweater as much as I have enjoyed seeing so many come into the world over the last couple of years.

The sweater itself is worked in Andalusian stitch, top-down and in the round, using a bulky-weight yarn held together with a lace-weight yarn. It starts with a double-folded collar and then is shaped with some German short rows and raglan shaping. Once the yoke is finished, you will leave the sleeves to rest and work the body to your desired length. You will then pick up the stitches for the sleeves and work them with optional decreases to create a slight taper. I recommend that you finish the body and sleeves with tubular cast-offs, but you can use your preferred method.

This is a pattern of easy-to-intermediate difficulty. The construction uses a compound raglan, meaning that the increase rate changes throughout the yoke for each size to achieve a good fit. This is quite straightforward in practice but it can make the written instructions look a bit more complicated. You will also need to be able to maintain the stitch pattern throughout the sweater. All of the new techniques added to the pattern in this update – save for the compound raglan – are optional so as to keep the pattern as beginner-friendly as possible. It is also size inclusive from 75-145 (29.5-57 in).

Materials & Fit

Notions: 6 mm (US 10) (40- and 80/100-cm (16-in and 32-/40-in) cord) and 7 mm (no US equivalent – see below) (40-, 60-, 80-, and/or 100-cm (16-in, 24-in, 32- and/or 40-in) cord) circular needles.

You will also need 8 stitch markers, one of which should be in a contrasting colour to indicate the beginning of the round, shirring elastic (optional), a darning needle, and some spare needles/scrap yarn/stitch holders where the stitches of the sleeves will rest. A clip-on marker may be helpful for the tubular bind-offs and for measuring sleeve length.

I am aware that 7 mm needles can be hard to find in the US. If you are unable to find this needle size, I would recommend trying a 6.5 mm (US 10.5) needle instead as I have relatively tight tension. If this is too tight, try an 8 mm (US 11) instead.

Yarn: Approximately 5 (5) 5 (6) 6, (6) 7 (7) 8 (8) 9 skeins of Sandnes Garn Kos (62% alpaca, 29% nylon, 9% wool; 150 m (164 yds)/50 g), and 5 (5) 5 (6) 6, (6) 6 (6) 7 (7) 8 skeins of Filcolana Alva (100% alpaca; 175 m (191 yrds)/25 g). You will be working with a strand of each yarn held together throughout.

This works out to be approximately 750 (750) 750 (900) 900, (900) 1,050 (1,050) 1,200 (1,200) 1,350 m (820, 820, 820 (984) 984, (984) 1,148 (1,148) 1,312 (1,312) 1,476 yrds) of Sandnes Garn Kos and 875 (875) 875 (1,050) 1,050, (1,050) 1,050 (1,050) 1,225 (1,225) 1,400 m (955 (955) 955 (1,146) 1,146, (1,146) 1,146 (1,146) 1,337 (1,337) 1,528 yrds) of Filcolana Alva.

Yarn alternatives: Any bulky-weight blown yarn with good stitch definition will be a good option here. Drops Air would probably be the best alternative, though Kit Couture Blow Garn would also be lovely and is available in a range of fun, speckled colours. You could also use 1 or 2 strands of a lace-weight mohair instead of Filcolana Alva or use something like Fiberspates Cumulus (74% baby suri alpaca, 26% silk; 150 m (164 yrds)/25g) or Drops Brushed Alpaca Silk (77% alpaca, 23% silk; 140 m (153 yrds)/25 g) for a fluffier finish. If you don’t like blown yarns, you could also use a bulky-weight yarn with a different texture, such as Lopi Álafoss Lopi (100% Icelandic wool; 100 m (109 yrds)/100 g).

Tension: 14 sts x 21 rounds in Andalusian stitch on 7 mm needles = 10 x 10 cm (4 x 4 in). Make sure to wash and block your swatch for the most accurate results. Please note that I have tighter-than-average row gauge, but this isn’t too important in this pattern. You may wish to go up or down a needle size, working in 0.5 mm (US 0.5) increments as needed to meet gauge.

Sizing and ease: The Aosta Sweater has about 5-12 cm (2-4.75 in) positive ease for Sizes A-H, and 5-16.5 cm (2-6.5 in) positive ease for Sizes I-K around the chest. If you would prefer more ease, pick a size up. If you would prefer less ease, pick a size down. The sample garment is Size D to fit a model with a 92-cm (36- in) chest. Use the schematic below to find your best size based on your chest measurement.

Size: A (B) C (D) E, (F) G (H) I (J) K

Chest measurement (cm): 75-80 (80-85) 85-90 (90-95) 95-100, (100-105) 105-110 (110-115) 115-125 (125-135) 135-145
Chest measurement (in): 29.5-31.5 (31.5-33.5) 33.5-35.5 (35.5-37.5) 37.5-39.3, (39.3-41.3) 41.3-43.3 (43.3-45.3) 45.3-49.2 (49.2-53.1) 53.1-57

Actual circumference of garment (cm): 85.7 (91.4) 97.1 (100) 105.7, (111.4) 117.1 (122.9) 131.4 (140) 151.4
Actual circumference of garment (in): 33.75 (36) 38.25 (39.5) 41.5, (44) 46 (48.5) 51.75 (55) 59.5

Actual circumference of upper sleeve (cm): 35.7 (37.1) 38.2 (39.4) 41.6, (43.9) 46.1 (48.4) 51.7 (55.1) 59.6
Actual circumference of upper sleeve (in): 14 (14.5) 15 (15.75) 17, (18) 19 (19.75) 20.25 (21.5) 22.5

Recommended sleeve length (cm): 45, with options to adjust as needed
Recommended sleeve length (in): 17.75, with options to adjust as needed

Yoke depth (cm): 14.25 (14.5) 15 (15.5) 15.75, (16.25) 16.5 (17) 17.75 (18.75) 19.5
Yoke depth (in): 5.5 (5.75) 6 (6) 6.25, (6.5) 6.5 (6.75) 7 (7.5) 7.75

Recommended total length, measured from bottom of collar to hem (cm): 54 (56) 57 (60) 62, (64) 66 (68) 69 (70) 72
Recommended total length, measured from bottom of collar to hem (in): 21.25 (22) 22.5 (23.5) 24.5, (25.25) 26 (26.75) 27.25 (27.5) 28.25

Please note that all measurements given in inches have been rounded to the nearest quarter inch.

Many, many thanks to both Rebecca Williamson (@fancy_a_yarn) and Frauke Urban (@urbanyarning) for tech editing this pattern. Your input has dramatically improved it. Thanks also to everyone who has purchased the Aosta Sweater pattern and who is receiving this pdf as an update; your support has been changed my life for the better and I am so grateful.