Free Intarsia Sweater Knitting Patterns

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I’ve created a roundup of some beautiful free intarsia sweater knitting patterns. Of course, you can always browse the massive archive of free patterns on Ravelry to find more free intarsia sweater knitting patterns. Many of these patterns are by established designers, so they shouldn’t have errors and should be well written. However, I have not tested them, so always check for errata to prevent future headaches!

Trying out a designer’s free pattern is a good way to get to know how the designer writes, so if you like his or her instructions and methods, you might feel more comfortable purchasing another pattern of theirs. Also, it is really easy to buy patterns on Ravelry!

I’ve already knit my Mooncrush Pullover, and I’d love to knit myself another intarsia sweater. It’s a great way to knit a sweater if you have a bunch of odd skeins of yarn in your stash.

From top to bottom, left to right:

Berta Sweater by Manos del Uruguay

The Berta Sweater is worked in flat knitting and intarsia techniques to create a fun and very striking checkered design. Its simple construction, with straight sleeves and body, allows us to fully focus on the colour work technique, achieving a loose and comfortable garment to wear every day. The Berta Sweater pattern includes four sizes, from a bust of 92 cm – 146 cm (36″ – 57.5″). This sweater is perfect for using up odds and ends of your DK-weight stash, as it uses 1500 – 4500 m (1640 – 4921 yards) of yarn.

Penguin Classics (1984) Triband Sweater by Catherine Waterfield

If you wanted to wear the cover of your favourite, now you can! Penguin Classics has four sizes, from bust measurements 91 – 117 cm (36 – 46″) and uses worsted weight yarn. The pattern includes extra alphabet charts so that you can customize the title and author to your favourite book. Take a look at all the finished projects in Ravelry to see which book covers others are knitting!

Lighthouse Sweater by Lynne and Douglas Barr

What a beautifully serene landscape. Nubble Lighthouse in Maine inspired the design of this intarsia sweater. The pattern includes only three sizes, with bust measurements from 106.5 – 122 cm (42 – 48″). It uses about 1650 m of yarn.

Umi by Nina Born

Umi is a more graphic intarsia design with two colours of aran weight yarn. A third colour adds a bit of contrast detail. The pattern is in English, along with seven other languages. You knit the sleeve ribbing in the round, after which you divide the work. Then you knit the rest of the sleeve back and forth in intarsia according to the chart. To shape the slightly sloping shoulders on the front and back, short rows are worked, and the shoulders are then joined using a 3-needle bind off. Finally, stitches are picked up along the neckline, and the neckband is knitted in rib, folded over, and sewn to the wrong side. The pattern includes four sizes, with busts measuring from 90 – 116 cm (35.4 – 45.6″).

Foolish Virgins by Kaffe Fassett

What a work of art. Foolish Virgins by the famed Kaffe Fassett uses 14 different colour of Rowan Cotton Glace. Unfortunately the free pattern only includes one size, a bust measurement of 132 cm (52″). This pattern even has its own Ravelry group!

In Bloom Pullover by Patons

In Bloom uses 10 colours of worsted weight wool. As only the central motif is intarsia, more sizes are included in this pattern, with finished busts ranging from 112 – 178 cm (44 – 70″).

Mondrian Pullover by Alexandra Tavel

Inspired by the modernist abstract grid-based art of Piet Mondrian, this slouchy pullover is elevated by dramatic off-set color blocking. Oversized drop sleeves and a relaxed fit add a softness to the otherwise sharp lines. Mondrian includes eight sizes, with busts ranging from 107.5 – 181 cm (41.25 – 71.25″). This pattern uses four colours of bulky weight yarn.

Oh, Josephine! by Kate Harvie

I added this pattern to my library and queue when Knitty published it in 2024. What a great way to use up scraps of DK weight yarn! Unlike most of the other intarsia sweaters which are knit flat, this garment is knit from the bottom up using “intarsia in the round”.

Essentially you are making one piece back and forth, but joining the sides together as you go. This is done by creating a stitch using a yarnover at the beginning of each row, and working this together with the last stitch of the row. The sweater is a plain, relaxed fit, drop shoulder construction. After working the lower body, you divide for front and back, which are worked flat, and then join the shoulders with a three needle bind-off. Tapered sleeves are picked up and worked top down, continuing with “intarsia in the round”, and finished with a cuff worked in the round. The pattern includes nine sizes, ranging from a bust of 83.5 – 165.5 cm (32.75 – 65.25″). The pattern is available in English and Danish.

Crown Sweater by Brandon Mably

An oldie (published in 2006!) but a goodie. The Crown Sweater includes eight sizes, from a bust of 81 – 157 cm (32 – 62″). It uses knitting favourite Rowan Felted Tweed DK (and Felted Tweed Aran) in nine colours. If you wanted, you could change the colours of the stripes, or forgo the stripes altogether, for a slightly different look.

If you enjoyed these free intarsia sweater knitting patterns, check out our other free knitting pattern roundups: