Classic Elite Yarns Double Breasted Cardigan Knitting

Classic Elite Yarns Double Breasted Cardigan

What is Being Made

This is a double-breasted baby cardigan designed by Susan Mills, originally published in Fall 2012 in the Liberty Wool Baby collection. The cardigan is tailored for infants and toddlers, available in three sizes: 6-12 months, 18 months, and 24 months. The finished chest measurement ranges from 20 to 24 inches when buttoned. The garment features a classic double-breasted front closure with ten ½" buttons and includes a collar and button band that are added during finishing.

Techniques Used

This cardigan is constructed using bottom-up construction, meaning pieces are knitted from the lower edge upward. The garment is worked flat on straight needles in individual pieces—a back panel, right front, and left front—which are then seamed together. This method allows for precise shaping and is characteristic of structured, fitted garments. The pattern includes armhole shaping achieved through bind-offs at the beginning of rows, and neck shaping is marked with removable markers placed 8 stitches from each edge on the back piece.

Stitches Used

The pattern employs two primary stitch patterns:

• Seed Stitch (even number of stitches): A textured, reversible stitch created by alternating knit and purl stitches across rows. Row 1 (right side) works *K1, p1* across, while Row 2 (wrong side) works *P1, k1* across. This stitch is used for the 1-inch ribbed edging at the lower edge of all pieces.
• Double-Breasted Seed Stitch (odd number of stitches): A variation worked over an odd number of stitches with all rows following the pattern K1, *p1, k1* repeated across. This creates the textured appearance of the double-breasted front.
• Stockinette Stitch (St st): The primary fabric stitch used for the main body after the seed stitch edging. Stockinette is created by knitting all stitches on right-side rows and purling all stitches on wrong-side rows, producing the smooth, classic knit fabric appearance.

Materials: Yarn, Needles, and Notions

The pattern calls for Liberty Wool by Classic Elite Yarns, a 100% washable wool yarn. Yardage requirements are 3 balls for the two smaller sizes and 4 balls for the 24-month size, with each 50-gram ball providing approximately 122 yards of yarn. This wool is ideal for baby garments due to its washability and soft hand.

Two sizes of knitting needles are required to achieve proper gauge and fabric texture: US 5 (3.75 mm) needles for the seed stitch edging and US 6 (4 mm) needles for the stockinette stitch body. The pattern specifies a gauge of 20 stitches and 28 rows equaling 4 inches in stockinette stitch using the larger needles. Checking gauge before beginning is essential for achieving the correct finished measurements.

Additional materials include ten ½-inch buttons for the double-breasted front closure and removable markers for marking the neck shaping points on the back piece.

Skill Level

This pattern is rated as Intermediate, indicating it is suitable for knitters with some experience beyond basic techniques. The pattern involves multiple construction steps including gauge checking, working in multiple stitch patterns, shaping through bind-offs, and seaming pieces together, making it an excellent project for developing garment construction skills.