Berroco Rafik Cardigan Knitting Pattern

Berroco Rafik Cardigan

What is Being Made

The Berroco Rafik is a women's cardigan designed by the Berroco Design Team, available in sizes X-Small through 2X. This intermediate-level knitting project features a classic button-front closure with finished bust measurements ranging from 32 inches to 52 inches and length options from 22 inches to 24½ inches, making it a versatile layering piece suitable for various body types and style preferences.

Knitting Techniques

This cardigan is constructed using several essential knitting techniques that build foundational skills:

• Bottom-Up Construction: The cardigan is worked from the bottom edge upward, allowing knitters to try on the piece as it progresses and adjust length as needed before binding off.
• Flat Knitting: All pieces are worked flat on straight needles rather than in the round, making this an accessible project for knitters who prefer traditional needle work.
• Seaming: Individual pieces are knitted separately and then sewn together using mattress stitch or similar seaming techniques, creating professional-looking, durable seams.
• Cable Detailing: Decorative cable patterns are incorporated throughout the design, worked from charts to create visual interest and textural depth.
• Armhole Shaping: Strategic bind-offs and decreases at the armholes ensure proper fit and garment structure, with decreases worked on both right-side and wrong-side rows for symmetrical shaping.

Stitches and Stitch Patterns

Moss Stitch serves as the primary stitch pattern for the Rafik cardigan, worked on the larger needles at a gauge of 20 stitches and 25 rows over 4 inches. Moss stitch, created by alternating knit and purl stitches in offset rows, produces a textured, reversible fabric with excellent drape and stability. Cable patterns are worked from charts at a gauge of 40 stitches over 6½ inches on the larger needles, creating raised, twisted rope-like textures that add visual dimension and sophistication to the finished garment. A cable needle is used to temporarily hold stitches while crossing them over other stitches to form the characteristic cable twists.

Materials and Yarn Specifications

The Rafik cardigan is designed to be worked in Berroco Remix, a yarn that requires 6 to 10 hanks depending on size (X-Small requires 6 hanks; 2X requires 10 hanks). Each hank weighs 100 grams. The yarn is worked on straight knitting needles in sizes 6 (4.00 mm) and 8 (5.00 mm), with the smaller needles typically used for ribbed edgings and the larger needles for the main fabric. Knitters should always swatch and check gauge before beginning to ensure proper fit and yardage calculations. Additional notions include a cable needle for cable work, 4 stitch markers for tracking pattern repeats and shaping, 2 stitch holders for temporarily securing stitches, and five 1-inch buttons from World Button Supply Co. for the front closure.