The Classy Bow Sweater includes a full video tutorial to guide you through this timeless design. Worked top down with no seams, it’s easy to try on as you go to check the fit. A cozy mock neck, slightly fitted hem, mid-forearm ribbed cuffs, and two contrasting bows on the front create the elevated look of this classy sweater.
Meet the Classy Bow Sweater, a timeless knit that combines cozy with feminine details.
This free pattern comes with a full video tutorial making it easy to follow every step of the way.
From the flattering top-down, seamless construction to the mid-arm ribbed cuffs and two bows on the front, this sweater is designed to be both fun to knit and easy to wear.
DESCRIPTION
The Classy Bow Sweater was designed with positive ease, but not an oversized fit. I wanted it to look high-end and easy to dress up or down.
I envision myself wearing this to my kids’ holiday concerts, a date night with my husband, parties, and church on Sunday.
I have actually been dying to wear it to church, but I usually make myself wait until I have released the pattern just in case some tragedy happens at church and it gets stained or ruined somehow.
(Though, I don’t think that would happen because the yarn is machine washable and dryable.)
The Classy Bow Sweater is knit seamlessly from the top down, beginning at the mock neck.
After shaping the yoke with increases, the stitches are divided for the sleeves, which are placed on hold while the main body is worked.
The collar, hem, and cuffs use twisted ribbing, giving a crisp, polished finish.
Once the body is complete, the sleeve stitches are picked back up and worked straight to the cuffs, with helpful tips included to minimize the holes that can appear when picking up underarm stitches.
Two ribbons are made and tied with a faux tie, which are then attached to the sweater front.
A cute, timeless sweater that can be worn in many different ways.
YARN
A very popular yarn from Lion Brand Yarn is Wool-Ease yarn.
Wool-Ease yarn is a bestseller for Lion Brand Yarn, and it is easy to see why.
Wool-Ease is a category 4 yarn that can be safely machine washed and dried, making it a practical choice for everyday wear.
Its 80% acrylic and 20% wool blend offers easy care and durability, with the acrylic content helping to reduce pilling over time.
The yarn is wonderfully soft, and the touch of wool provides extra warmth that makes it perfect for chilly days.
There are 28 colors in the Wool-Ease color line, and all of them are such beautiful colors.
Each skein has 197 yards (180 meters) per 3 oz (85 grams).
I used the color “Icicle” for the main body of the sweater, which is a “heathered cool white” color according to LBY’s website, but I feel like “light gray” would describe it better.
I also used “fisherman”, which is one of the most popular colors in Wool-Ease because it is an off-white and very neutral.
If I made another Classy Bow Sweater, I think I would make it “Koe”, which is a pretty red color or “Rose Heather” which is a pretty light rose.
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DIFFICULTY
The Classy Bow Sweater is considered a Level 3 – Intermediate pattern, but I have a full video tutorial to aid you.
To watch the full video tutorial, you can click on the video above, or click HERE.
The majority of the pattern is worked stockinette stitch in the round.
The collar, cuffs, and hem of the sweater feature twisted rib stitches, creating a neat, polished ribbing effect.
This 1×1 ribbing is worked slightly differently than standard rib: the knit stitches are worked through the back loop, which twists them and produces a cleaner, sharper look.
I love this technique because it gives a more refined finish than traditional 1×1 ribbing, making it my favorite way to work ribbing.
Increases are evenly spaced around the yoke. Left- lifted increases are used to create stitches, and you can find a video for that increase method HERE.
The sleeves are worked straight, but an extra stitch is picked up on each side of the underarm pick-up to help minimize gapping in the underarm.
The next round uses a k2tog and a ssk to decrease those 2 extra stitches and cinch the underarm closed.
The bows are made with an icord border for a clean look. The techniques used to create the bows are very similar to the Quick Gloves and Scarf knit pattern, so if you find this repetitive and relaxing, you can find the free pattern HERE.
So let’s begin:
MATERIALS
- 680 (750, 810, 885, 975, 1055, 1125, 1200, 1270) yds/ 4 (4, 5, 5, 5, 6, 6, 7, 7) balls of Lion Brand Yarn Wool-Ease Yarn, “Icicle” (620-006B), weight 4, 80% acrylic, 20% wool, 197 yds/180 m, 3 oz/85 g (A)
- 115 yds/1 ball of Lion Brand Yarn Wool-Ease Yarn, “Fisherman” (620-099), weight 4, 80% acrylic, 20% wool, 197 yds/180 m, 3 oz/85 g (B)
- US 8/5.0 mm knitting needles, 32”/80 cm circular
- US 7/4.5 mm knitting needles, 32”/80 cm circular
- US 7/4.5 mm knitting needles, 16”/40 cm circular
- Stitch Markers
- Scissors
- Tapestry Needle
- Stitch Holder
GAUGE
16.5 stitches 26 rows = 4″/10 cm
SIZE
There are 9 sizes: XS (S, M, L, XL, 2X, 3X, 4X, 5X).
TERMINOLOGY
- A – color A
- B – color B
- BO – bind off
- CO – cast on
- k2tog – knit 2 together
- k – knit
- KFB – knit front and back
- LLI – left lifted increase
- p – purl
- pm – place marker
- pu – pick up
- rep – repeat
- rnd(s) – round(s)
- RS – right side
- skp – slip, knit, pass
- ssk – slip, slip, knit
- st(s) – stitch(es)
- tbl – through back loop
- WS – wrong side
- wyif – with yarn in front
NOTES
- Pattern is written for 9 sizes: XS (S, M, L, XL, 2X, 3X, 4X, 5X). Highlight your size throughout the pattern for ease of reading.
- Model is 5’7”/167.5 cm & is wearing size Medium with a 38”/95 cm bust & 1.75”/4.5 cm positive ease.
- Sweater is worked top down starting with the mock neck collar, yoke, splitting for sleeves and putting sleeve sts on hold, working the main body, and then waist hem ribbing. Sleeves are picked back up and worked in the round. The cuff ribbing starts mid forearm.
- 4 increases are evenly spaced around the yoke.
- Twisted ribbing is used for the collar, hem, and cuffs.
- For some sizes, increases are worked at the waist before the Waist Hem.
- Check your sleeve length for your size. The underarm ease will cause the sleeve to sit lower for some sizes making less length needed.
- Decreases are worked at forearm of sleeve for Cuff.
- 2 bows are made in a contrasting color and attached to the front of the sweater.
VIDEO TUTORIAL
There is a full video tutorial to help you make the Classy Bow Sweater. Click on the picture above, or click HERE to view it.
And check out my shops if you want to get the concise, ad-free, printable pattern. I have three different shops you can purchase it from:
you can get the Lion Brand Yarn kit HERE which includes all of the yarn to make the sweater as well as the digital download of the pattern.
SPECIAL STITCHES
Twisted Rib Stitch –
*Insert needle through the back loop (tbl) of next stitch and knit it. Purl the next stitch as normal. Repeat from *.
Left Lifted Increase (LLI) (watch video HERE)-
- Insert needle into st 2 rows below from the back
- Pick up the left leg of that st onto your left needle and knit through the back loop
PATTERN
MOCK NECK
Using A and shorter US 7/4.5 mm needles and the Long Tail Cast On, CO 60 (60, 64, 68, 76, 80, 88, 100, 104), join.
Rnd 1: *k1tbl, p1, rep from * [60 (60, 64, 68, 76, 80, 88, 100, 104) sts]
Rnds 2-18: rep Rnd 1
Yoke
Using A and US 8/5.0 mm needles,
Rnd 1: knit around [60 (60, 64, 68, 76, 80, 88, 100, 104) sts]
FIRST INCREASE
Rnd 2: *k2, LLI, rep from * around [90 (90, 96, 102, 114, 120, 132, 150, 156) sts]
Rnds 3-12 (12, 12, 16, 16, 16, 16, 16, 16): knit around
SECOND INCREASE
Rnd 1: *k2, LLI, rep from * around [135 (135, 144, 153, 171, 180, 198, 225, 234) sts]
Rnds 2-13 (13, 13, 15, 15, 15, 15, 15, 15): knit around
THIRD INCREASE
Rnd 1: *k3, LLI, rep from * around [180 (180, 192, 204, 228, 240, 264, 300, 312) sts]
Rnds 3-14 (16, 16, 15, 15, 15, 15, 15, 15): knit around
FOURTH INCREASE
Rnd 1: *k4, LLI, rep from * around [225 (225, 240, 255, 285, 300, 330, 375, 390) sts]
Rnds 3-14 (15, 15, 16, 18, 18, 21, 21, 23): knit around
MAIN BODY
Using A and US 8/5.0 mm needles,
Rnd 1 (RS): put 49 (46, 48, 49, 56, 59, 66, 76, 76) sleeve sts on hold, CO 2 (8, 10, 12, 12, 16, 16, 12, 13) sts using the Backward Loop Method, k63 (66, 72, 78, 86, 91, 99, 111, 119), put 49 (46, 48, 49, 56, 59, 66, 76, 76) sleeve sts on hold, CO 2 (8, 10, 12, 12, 16, 16, 12, 13) sts using the Backward Loop Method, k64 (67, 72, 79, 87, 91, 99, 112, 119)
Rnds 2-39 (37, 37, 31, 30, 30, 26, 26, 25): k [131 (149, 164, 181, 197, 214, 230, 247, 264) sts]
Waist Hem
Using US A and US 7/4.5 mm needles,
For Size XS:
Rnd 1: k2tog, k (130 sts)
For Size S:
Rnd 1: k2tog, k (148 sts)
For Size M:
Rnd 1: k (164 sts)
For Size L:
Rnd 1: k1, *LLI, k36, rep from * 5 times total (186 sts)
For Size XL:
Rnd 1: k5, *LLI, k17, rep from * 11 times total, k5 (208 sts)
For Size 2X:
Rnd 1: k3, * LLI, k13, rep from * 16 times total, k3 (230 sts)
For Size 3X:
Rnd 1: k3, * LLI, k14, rep from * 16 times, k3 (246 sts)
For Size 4X:
Rnd 1: k3, * LLI, k22, rep from * 11 times, k2 (258 sts)
For Size 5X:
Rnd 1: k2, * LLI, k26, rep from * 10 times, k2 (274 sts)
All Sizes:
Rnds 2-28: *k1tbl, p1, rep from *
SLEEVES
Using A and US 8/5.0 mm needles, slip 1 set of sleeve sts onto needles.
Using the magic loop method and starting at underarm, pm, pu 1 extra st from the underarm CO, pu 2 (8, 10, 12, 12, 16, 16, 12, 13) sts from the underarm CO, pm, pu one extra st.
Pm for beginning of rnd in the middle of pu underarm sts [53 (56, 60, 63, 70, 77, 84, 90, 91) sts].
Rnd 1 (RS): k to 1 st before first marker, k2tog, k to end [52 (55, 59, 62, 69, 76, 83, 89, 90) sts]
Rnd 2: k to first marker, ssk, k to end [51 (54, 58, 61, 68, 75, 82, 88, 89) sts]
Rnds 3-74: k around
CUFF
Using A and longer US 7/4.5 mm needles,
For Size XS:
Rnd 1: k2tog, k (50 sts)
For Size S:
Rnd 1: *k2tog, k25, rep from * 2 times total (52 sts)
For Size M:
Rnd 1: k2, *k2tog, k7, rep from * 6 times total, k2 (52 sts)
For Size L:
Rnd 1: k1, *k2tog, k10, rep from * 5 times total (56 sts)
For Size XL:
Rnd 1: k2, *k2tog, k6, rep from * 8 times total, k2 (60 sts)
For Size 2X:
Rnd 1: k5, *k2tog, k3, rep from * 13 times total, k5 (62 sts)
For Size 3X:
Rnd 1: k1, *k2tog, k3, rep from * 16 times, k1 (66 sts)
For Size 4X:
Rnd 1: k4, *k2tog, k2, rep from * 20 times, k4 (68 sts)
For Size 5X:
Rnd 1: k3, *k2tog, k2, rep from * 21 times, k2 (68 sts)
All Sizes:
Rnd 2: *k1tbl, p1, rep from *
Rnds 3-28: rep Rnd 2
Rep Sleeve and Cuff section on second sleeve.
BOWS
Using B and US 8/5.0 mm needles, CO 6 sts,
Rows 1-3: k3, sl3wyif (6 sts)
Row 4: k to last 4 sts, KFB, sl3wyif (7 sts)
Rows 5-7: k to last 3 sts, sl3wyif
Row 8-23: rep Rows 4-7 another 4 times (11 sts)
Row 24: k to last 4 sts, KFB, sl3wyif (12 sts)
Rows 25-246: k to last 3 sts, sl3wyif
Row 247: k2, SKP, k to last 3 sts, sl3wyif (11 sts)
Rows 248-250: k to last 3 sts, sl3wyif
Row 251: k2, SKP, k to last 3 sts, sl3wyif (10 sts)
Rows 252-254: k to last 3 sts, sl3wyif
Rows 255-270: rep Rows 251-254 another 4 times (6 sts)
Rep for second bow.
FAUX CENTER TIE
Using B and US 8/5.0 mm needles and leaving a long beginning tail, CO 8 sts,
Rows 1-27: k5, sl3wyif (8 sts)
Rep for second bow.
ASSEMBLY
If you are having trouble understanding the written instructions, you can find the free video tutorial HERE.
- Taking one Bow, lay on flat surface and fold in half.
- Place stitch marker 5.5”/13.5 cm up from bottom of tails on both sides.
- Cut a 12”/30 cm length of B.
- Using a tapestry needle, running stitch across ribbon at stitch markers on both tails. Repeat going opposite direction.
- Cinch tight and tie ends in knot. Trim excess.
- Cut an 18”/45 cm length of B. Taking upper portion of bow, fold down onto cinched tails. Wrap B around center and tie a knot leaving a few inches of tail on each side to use to attach to sweater. Arrange bow to liking.
- Take Faux Center Tie, wrap around middle of Bow.
- Whip stitch two ends of Faux Center Tie together.
- Attach bow to sweater front tying in a bow on the WS so it can be removed for washing.
Rep for second bow.
Code Word: Classybow
And that’s how you make the Classy Bow Sweater!
Make sure that when you post to social media or another platform, please refer back to me as the designer. If you are on Instagram, tag @CozyNooksDesigns for a change to be featured!
ABOUT THE DESIGNER
Cozy Nooks Designs
Rachel Alford from Cozy Nooks Designs was on the PBS TV show Knit and Crochet Now! season 13. She also designs for Lion Brand Yarn, has been in several crochet/knit magazines, and freelances by filming videos for Annie’s online episodes. Be sure to check out her YouTube Channel for tips, tricks, & tutorials!
