Cascade Yarns DK Women's Retro Fair Isle Cardigan Knitting

Cascade Yarns DK Women's Retro Fair Isle Cardigan

What is Being Made

This is a women's knitted cardigan designed by Melissa Leapman, featuring a charming retro Fair Isle pattern. The cardigan is available in five sizes ranging from Small to 2X, with finished chest measurements from 36.5 inches to 54 inches and lengths from 24.25 inches to 27.25 inches. The garment is button-front closure with eight buttons, making it a classic layering piece suitable for various occasions and seasons.

Techniques Used

This cardigan is constructed using several key knitting techniques:

• Bottom-Up Construction: The garment is knitted from the bottom edge upward, allowing for easier fitting adjustments and a more intuitive building process.
• Seamed Assembly: Pieces are knitted flat and then seamed together, creating clean, professional-looking joins.
• Stranded Fair Isle Colorwork: The signature retro Fair Isle pattern is worked using the stranded technique, where multiple yarn colors are carried across the back of the work to create the intricate two-color pattern repeats.
• Worked Flat: All pieces are knitted on straight needles in flat rows rather than in the round, which is traditional for cardigan construction.

Stitches Used

The pattern employs fundamental knitting stitches combined to create texture and structure:

• Stockinette Stitch: The primary stitch used for the body of the cardigan, creating a smooth, classic fabric with knit stitches on the right side and purl stitches on the wrong side.
• K1, P1 Rib: Used for ribbed edgings and cuffs, this alternating knit-purl pattern creates elastic, fitted edges that help the cardigan maintain its shape.
• Decreases: Shaping techniques include K2tog (knit two stitches together), SSK (slip, slip, knit), and their purl variations, used to create fitted armholes and necklines.
• Increases: Kfb (knit into the front and back of a stitch) is used for shaping increases where needed.

Materials and Gauge

This pattern calls for Cascade Yarns Cascade 220 Sport, a yarn made from 100% Peruvian Highland Wool. Each skein contains 50 grams (1.75 ounces) and yields 165 yards (150 meters). The yarn weight is sport weight, making it ideal for a drapable, wearable cardigan with good stitch definition for Fair Isle work.

Yarn Requirements: The pattern uses a sophisticated color palette featuring Navy as the primary color (Color A: 3 to 5 skeins depending on size), with a Natural base (Color E: 2 to 4 skeins), plus nine accent colors used in single skeins: Colonial Blue Heather, West Point Blue Heather, Moonbeam, Violet Tulip, Dusty Periwinkle, Mulberry Purple, Sunflower, Marmalade, and Cinnamon Stick. This multi-color approach creates the retro Fair Isle aesthetic.

Needles and Notions: The pattern requires US 3 (3.2 mm) needles for ribbed edgings and US 5 (3.75 mm) needles for the main body, allowing for proper gauge and fabric drape. Additional materials include two stitch holders for holding stitches during construction, a yarn needle for seaming and weaving in ends, and eight buttons for the front closure.

Gauge: The pattern is worked at a gauge of 22 stitches and 22 rows over 4 inches (10 centimeters) in Stockinette Stitch and the Retro Fair Isle Pattern on the larger needles. Achieving proper gauge is essential for the finished garment to match the intended measurements.

Skill Level

This cardigan is rated as Intermediate difficulty, making it suitable for knitters with some experience. The combination of stranded colorwork, shaping, and seaming requires familiarity with fundamental techniques, though the pattern provides clear instructions for all sizes.