Striking tailored sweater coat. Side shaping enhances the femininity of this three-quarter length knit coat, and the look of lace is created with the high contrast between the pale green and black colors. A faced collar band with a pair of optional buttons and buttonholes extends from the front bottom edges to the back of the neck. Optional colored motifs along the bottom border areas of the body and the sleeves are worked in intarsia.

The body is worked in one piece from the bottom up to the armholes. Short stranding on the backside of the knitted fabric gives a finished look to the inside. Crisp turn rows are featured along the bottom hemmed edge of the couture knit coat, the cuffs of the sleeves, and the folded front bands.

For a perfect fit, measurements are included throughout the instructions for each of the 8 sizes at each step. Exact starting points within the stranded colorwork repeats are included for each portion of this lovely hand knit jacquard coat. Stitch and row counts are included as you check your progress.

I used a sock weight / fingering weight yarn. Living in the heat and humidity of Texas, I prefer to knit with cotton, but any fiber would be appropriate. The 3/2 perle cotton (Size 3 perle; 1260 yds per lb, or about 18 wraps per inch) which I used can also be dyed easily in fiber-reactive Procion MX dye, which I do frequently.

Knit gauge in Stockinette Stitch with only one strand of yarn is 7 stitches and 10 rows per inch on Size 3 US needles (for reference, to help choose appropriate yarn). The stranding on the inside when using the 2 colors produces a wonderful light jacket-weight which I love. This gauge creates knitwear with a stable knit fabric which does not sag or distort with wear.

The stranded damask design repeat is one of my own original pattern charts.