Bramble & Fleece Pattern Information

This is the reference page for every Bramble & Fleece knitting pattern: yarn and tension, blocking, measuring and sizing, abbreviations, and how to wash your finished knitting. Each of the twenty-four patterns points here rather than repeating it all.

Keep this page open beside your pattern. If you are looking for a specific design, the whole collection is in Bramble & Fleece patterns.

Which yarn does my pattern use?

Every Bramble & Fleece pattern names the exact yarn, weight and shade it was knitted in. These are the six dyed bases the patterns are written for.

Tensions above are the ball-band figures over stocking stitch. Individual patterns often specify a different needle to get a particular fabric — the Otley Sweater is worked on 5mm in Wooltrace DK for a looser mistake rib, for example. Always work to the tension stated in your pattern.

The Origin range is undyed and no patterns are written for it, but the bases run from a 30-stitch sock yarn to an 18-stitch Aran, so many Bramble & Fleece designs can be worked in an Origin base of matching tension if you would rather knit undyed or dye your own.

Tension and gauge

Knit a tension square before you cast on. It is the single thing that decides whether your finished garment comes out the size the pattern promises, and at these gauges a half-stitch difference over 10cm compounds into several centimetres across a body.

Cast on enough stitches for a swatch at least 15cm wide, work in the stitch pattern the tension is quoted over, then block it exactly as you intend to block the finished piece. Measure across the middle, away from the edges. If you have more stitches than the pattern asks for, go up a needle size; fewer, go down.

Needle sizes are given in metric with the UK and US equivalents. If you need to convert between systems, our needle and hook size conversion chart covers all three.

Blocking

Every Bramble & Fleece pattern ends by telling you to block, and with these yarns it genuinely matters rather than being a nicety. Non-superwash Bluefaced Leicester, Masham and Romney all bloom when wet: the stitches settle into one another, colourwork flattens out, cables sharpen and lace opens.

• Soak the finished piece in cool water with a little wool wash for twenty minutes.
• Lift it out supporting the whole weight, and press the water out between towels. Never wring or twist.
• Pat to the measurements on the schematic, easing rather than stretching, and leave to dry flat away from direct heat.
• Only seam after blocking — the pieces will match far better.

Fibreknit is the exception worth a word of care: because it is a knitted chainette rather than a spun yarn, it is light and airy and will happily stretch further than you want if you pull it into shape. Ease it, do not stretch it.

Measuring and sizing

Bramble & Fleece garments are graded to a “to fit chest” measurement, with the actual finished chest given separately. Those two numbers are not the same, and the gap between them is the design's intended ease.

Choose your size on the finished measurement, not the label. Measure a garment you already own and like the fit of, compare it with the finished chest in the pattern, and pick the size that matches. A relaxed piece like the Moreland Cardigan carries a lot of positive ease by design; the Malham Sweater is deliberately slim.

Most designs run XS to XXL. Two — the Yarrow Vest and the Orchid Sweater — are graded across nine sizes to a 158cm chest. For general body measurement guidance our clothing size conversion chart may help.

Abbreviations

Bramble & Fleece patterns are written in UK terminology with US needle sizes alongside, and each pattern lists any special abbreviations it uses — cable crossings such as C6F and C8B, decreases such as SSK and skpo, and shorthand like p2sso and Kfb.

For everything else, our knitting pattern abbreviations guide is the fuller reference.

Charts and colourwork

Read charts from the bottom up. On right-side rows work from right to left; on wrong-side rows work from left to right. Where a pattern is worked in the round, every round reads right to left.

Six of the designs use stranded colourwork — Thirsk and Ilkley Scarves, the Bramble Snood and Hat, the Tansy Bandana and the Balsam Sweater. Carry the yarn not in use loosely across the back and check the float tension every few stitches; too tight and the fabric puckers, and no amount of blocking will fix it. Balsam is the gentlest introduction, because its two shades are tonal rather than high-contrast and small irregularities simply do not show.

Wash and care

All Sheepsoft and Wooltrace yarns carry the same care instructions:

Wash sparingly. Wool is naturally odour-resistant and airing a garment overnight will usually do more good than washing it. When you do wash, use cool water and a wool-specific detergent, and dry flat rather than on a hanger so the weight of the wet fabric does not pull the garment out of shape.

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More on the brand and where the wool comes from in Bramble & Fleece: wool you can trace to the farm.