Practice your lace knitting skills with our simple lace knit sweater pattern with a Touch of Lace!

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Design Story and Inspiration for Our Lace Knit Sweater Pattern

I fell in love with this simple lace design and wanted to incorporate it into a pullover. Most of this sweater is simple Stockinette stitch, with simple knits and purls.

The lace panel uses slip, slip knit and k2tog along with yarn overs to create the lace, and it is flanked by 2-stitch right twist. Don’t worry, you can find the instructions for these stitches below!

Yarn Options for This Lace Pullover Pattern

The yarn I chose for this sweater is one of my absolute favorite cotton yarns. I love the way this yarn feels when you wear it, the way it feels while you are working it up, and how light and airy it is. It’s also amazingly soft, making it one of my all-time favorite yarns.

I used Juniper Moon Farms Cumulus for this design, which I first found at a local yarn shop in Gatlinburg, TN (our family’s favorite place to vacation). They have solid colors as well as dappled yarn and even cake yarns that change colors!

This is a worsted weight yarn so you can easily substitute it for any worsted in your stash that gets gauge. Testers for this pattern used many different worsted weights and they all looked amazing!

Lace Sweater Pattern Details

This sweater is constructed in pieces, so you will knit all parts flat and seam them together. Even though I know how to work in the round and create seamless sweaters, I still prefer the fit of sweaters that are made this way.

It has raglan style sleeves with a lace panel up the sleeve, and a lace panel up the front. It also has deep ribbing on the hem and sleeves.

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Touch of Lace Sweater

What You’ll Need

Yarn: Juniper Moon Farms Cumulus, Stone, 5 (5, 6, 6, 7, 8, 9, 9) Skeins, worsted weight (category #4)

Needles: US Size 8 (5.0mm) and 9 (5.50mm)

Notions: Yarn needle, scissors

Gauge: 18 sts and 24 rows = 4″ (10 cm) in St st

Finished Size:

Sized for XS (S, M, L, XL, 2X, 3X, 4X)

31.5 (35, 37.5, 42.5, 46.5, 51, 55.5, 59)” Bust, 25 (25, 26, 26, 27, 27, 28, 28)” length

Special Stitches:

2-st RT: Slip 1 st to cable needle and hold to back, k1, k1 from cable needle

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Touch of Lace Knit Sweater Pattern

Back

With smaller needles, cast on 68 (76, 80, 92, 100, 112, 122, 126) sts.

Work in K2P2 rib for 4″. Increase 3 (3, 5, 7, 5, 3, 3, 7) sts evenly accross to 71 (79, 85, 99, 105, 115, 125, 133) sts.

Change to larger needles and St st. Work even until 17″ from beginning.

Armhole Shaping

Bind off 4 (4, 4, 5, 5, 6, 7, 7) sts at beginning of next 2 rows – 63 (71, 77, 89, 95, 103, 111, 119) sts.

Note: At beginning of every row from this point on, work 1 st Reverse St st (p on right side, k on wrong side), next st St st, 1 st Reverse St st, then work decrease as noted. Work last 3 sts of each row the same (Reverse St st, St st, Reverse St st), working decreases as needed before last 3 sts

Decrease 1 st at armhole edge every 5th (5th, 4th, 3rd, 3rd, 3rd, 3rd, 3rd) row 8 (6, 1, 14, 14, 8, 8, 2) times, then every 4th (3rd, 3rd, 2nd, 2nd, 2nd, 2nd, 2nd) row 2 (8, 16, 6, 8, 17, 18, 28) times – 41 (43, 43, 49, 51, 53, 59, 59) sts.

Place remaining sts on holder or waste yarn.

Front

With smaller needles, cast on 68 (76, 80, 92, 100, 112, 122, 126) sts.

Work in K2P2 rib for 4″. Increase 3 (3, 5, 7, 5, 3, 3, 7) sts evenly accross to 71 (79, 85, 99, 105, 115, 125, 133) sts.

Change to larger needles.

Row 1: Work in St st for 24 (28, 31, 38, 41, 46, 51, 55) sts, work Sweater Front Chart for 23 sts, work in St st for 24 (28, 31, 38, 41, 46, 51, 55) sts.

Repeat row 1 until piece measures 16.5 (16.5, 17, 17, 17, 17, 17, 17.5)” from beginning.

Armhole Shaping

Note: Continue Sweater Front Chart as established in center until front neck is placed on holder.

Bind off 4 (4, 4, 5, 5, 6, 7, 7) sts at beginning of next 2 rows – 63 (71, 77, 89, 95, 103, 111, 119) sts.

Note: At beginning of every row from this point on, work 1 st Reverse St st (p on right side, k on wrong side), next st St st, 1 st Reverse St st, then work decrease as noted. Work last 3 sts of each row the same (Reverse St st, St st, Reverse St st), working decreases as needed before last 3 sts

Decrease 1 st each side every 5th (4th, 4th, 3rd, 3rd, 3rd, 3rd, 3rd) row 6 (6, 1, 12, 12, 8, 8, 2) times, then every 0 (3rd, 3rd, 0, 0, 2nd, 2nd, 2nd) row 0 (2, 10, 0, 0, 6, 6, 16) times – 51 (55, 55, 65, 67, 75, 83, 83) sts.

Neck Shaping

Work 13 (16, 15, 19, 20, 22, 24, 24) sts, slip next 25 (23, 25, 27, 27, 31, 35, 35) sts to a holder or waste yarn, join a second ball of yarn and work last 13 (16, 15, 19, 20, 22, 24, 24).

Working both sides at same time:

Size XS Only:

Decrease 1 st each side every 3rd row 6 times (1 st).

Bind off.

Sizes Small (Medium) Only:

Decrease 1 st each side next row – 14(13) sts.

Work even in St st for one row.

Decrease 1 st each side every 3rd row 5 times – 2 (1) st(s).

Bind off.

Size Large (XL, 2XL, 3XL, 4XL)

Work even in St st for 0 (4, 2, 2, 2) rows.

Decrease 1 st each side every 2nd row 9 (9, 10, 11, 11) times – 1 (2, 2, 2, 2) st(s).

Bind off.

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Sleeve (Make 2)

With smaller needles, cast on 32 (34, 36, 40, 40, 40, 42, 42) sts.

Work in K2P2 rib for 3″. Increase 3 (3, 1, 1, 1, 3, 3, 3) sts evenly across next row – 35 (37, 37, 41, 41, 43, 45, 45) sts.

Change to larger needles.

Begin working Sleeve Chart in center of sleeve.

Row 1: Work in St st for 8 (9, 9, 11, 11, 12, 13, 13) sts, work Sleeve Chart for 19 sts, work in St st for 8 (9, 9, 11, 11, 12, 13, 13) sts.

Inc 1 st each side every 7th (8th, 7th, 6th, 6th, 5th, 4th, 5th) row 3 (5, 5, 2, 14, 7, 2, 17) times, then every 8th (9th, 8th, 7th, 0, 6th, 5th, 0) row 7 (4, 6, 10, 0, 8, 14, 0) times – 55 (55, 59, 65, 69, 73, 79, 79) sts.

Work 7 (8, 4, 4, 6, 5, 4, 4) rows even in established pattern of St st, sleeve chart, St st.

Cap Shaping

Bind off 4 (4, 4, 5, 5, 6, 7, 7) sts at beginning of next 2 rows – 47 (47, 51, 55, 59, 61, 65, 65) sts.

Note: At beginning of every row from this point on, work 1 st Reverse St st (p on right side, k on wrong side), next st St st, 1 st Reverse St st, then work decrease as noted. Work last 3 sts of each row the same (Reverse St st, St st, Reverse St st), working decreases as needed before last 3 sts

Decrease 1 st each side every 3rd row 4 (4, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2) times, then every other row 18 (18, 23, 24, 26, 26, 27, 28) times 3 (3, 2, 3, 3, 5, 7, 5) sts.

Place remaining sts on holder or waste yarn.

Finishing

Sew left sleeve to front and back, and right sleeve to front only, along raglan armhole seams.

With smaller needles, pick up and knit 41 (43, 43, 49, 51, 53, 59, 59) sts from back neck holder, 3 (3, 2, 3, 3, 5, 7, 5) sts from left sleeve, 14 (14, 16, 17, 20, 19, 16, 18) sts from left front neck edge, 25 (23, 25, 27, 27, 31, 35, 35) sts from front neck holder, 14 (14, 16, 17, 20, 19, 16, 18) sts from right front neck edge, and 3 (3, 2, 3, 3, 5, 7, 5) sts from right sleeve – 100 (100, 104, 116, 124, 132, 140, 140) sts.

Knit in K2P2 rib for 1″. Bind off in rib.

Sew last raglan seam. Sew sleeve and side seams.

Weave in ends.

Final Thoughts on Our Touch of Lace Knit Sweater Pattern

Well, I hope you enjoy this free knitting pattern as much as I enjoyed designing it! This was knit by my friend Chantal from Yarnique and I couldn’t have done it without her and my test knitters!

You can check out all of my free knitting patterns here, and don’t forget to join the newsletter to get the free chart for the lace panels!