Folk Story Cardi Knitting Pattern

Folk Story Cardi by Spud and Chloe

What Is Being Made

The Folk Story Cardi is a knitted cardigan sweater designed in five sizes ranging from Small to 2X. This garment features a classic cardigan construction with set-in sleeves and a lace pattern detail. The cardigan is available in two sleeve length options: a full-length sleeve measuring 18½ inches or a ¾-length sleeve measuring 12 inches. The finished cardigan lengths range from 24½ inches in the smallest size to 27½ inches in the largest size, with finished bust measurements spanning from 35¼ inches to 51¼ inches across the size range.

Techniques Used

This knitting pattern employs several intermediate to advanced techniques. The garment is constructed using circular needles and double-pointed needles (dpns) for seamless in-the-round knitting. The pattern incorporates sleeve shaping with increases worked using M1-L (make 1 left) and M1-R (make 1 right) techniques to create smooth, invisible increases. Armhole shaping is achieved through strategic bind-offs and decreases. The cardigan features a lace pattern worked over a multiple of 10 stitches plus 3, which creates an openwork design element. Knitters must be comfortable reading both written instructions and stitch charts, as the pattern notes that the lace motif can be worked from either text directions or a provided chart.

Stitches Used

The Folk Story Cardi utilizes a variety of essential knitting stitches. Stockinette stitch forms the primary fabric base, worked as knit on right-side rows and purl on wrong-side rows. Garter stitch is incorporated for textural variation and structure. The decorative lace pattern relies on yarn overs (yo) for creating openwork holes, paired with decreases to maintain stitch count. The pattern uses k2tog (knit 2 together) and ssk (slip, slip, knit) decreases throughout, which are fundamental techniques for shaping and lace construction. Additional stitches include purl stitches for reverse stockinette sections and edge stitches for selvage finishing.

Materials

The Folk Story Cardi pattern is worked using knitting needles in two sizes: size 7 needles for stockinette stitch sections and size 8 needles for the lace pattern work. The pattern is designed to achieve a gauge of 20 stitches and 24 rows over 4 inches when worked in the specified stitch patterns. The yarn color shown in the photograph is Popsicle #7501. The pattern requires double-pointed needles and circular needles for in-the-round construction, as well as stitch markers to denote pattern repeats and shaping points.