Driftwood Mock-Neck

The Driftwood Mock-Neck is a easy-friendly pullover designed by Cyril Wickham and offered as a free pattern. Worked in a worsted-weight yarn at the recommended gauge, the silhouette is shaped through the body and worked using drop shoulder construction.

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The finished garment sits comfortably with 2 to 4 inches of positive ease. The neckline is finished with a tidy ribbed band, the cuffs and hem use the same ribbing for a unified look, and there is room in the body for a long-sleeved tee underneath without bulk at the underarm.

This is a pattern that respects your time. Stitch counts are spelled out at every step, every size has its own column in the written instructions, and the schematic includes finished measurements for the bust, length, sleeve, and yoke depth.

The yarn called for in the pattern is a wool-forward base with enough bounce to bloom on blocking. Substitutions are encouraged — choose a yarn that gives you the same gauge and a fabric you would happily wear next to your skin.

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If this is your first sweater, you are not in over your head. The pattern is written to be read in order, line by line, and there is no shame in highlighting your row as you work. Place markers liberally; rip back without ceremony when the count goes wrong. The garment will not remember the false starts.

A note on yarn substitution: stay close to the fiber content suggested when you can. Wool-forward yarns will block out evenly and develop a soft halo over the first few wears; cotton and linen blends will hold their crispness but won't bloom in quite the same way. If you are substituting, knit a generous swatch in the substitute and live with it for a day before you commit to the project. The fabric will tell you whether it wants to be a sweater.

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Choosing a size: take an honest measurement of the fullest part of your bust or chest, and look at the finished bust measurement of the size you are considering. The difference between those two numbers is your ease. For a relaxed, modern fit choose 2 to 4 inches of positive ease; for a closer, set-in look choose 0 to 2 inches; for a slouchy, oversize feel choose 6 inches or more. The pattern photos give you a sense of what each ease looks like on the model — yours will look different, and that is the point.