Debbie Bliss Salthouse Cardigan Knitting Pattern

Debbie Bliss Salthouse Cardigan

What Is Being Made

The Salthouse Cardigan is an advanced-level knitted cardigan designed by Debbie Bliss, featured in the 2019 Paloma collection. This garment is a sophisticated piece available in four sizes to fit bust measurements from 81–86 cm (32–34 in) up to 112–117 cm (44–46 in), with finished bust measurements ranging from 112 cm (44 in) to 152 cm (60 in). The cardigan features a consistent sleeve length of 26 cm (10¼ in) across all sizes, with body length to shoulder varying from 64 cm (25¼ in) to 70 cm (27½ in) depending on size.

Techniques Used

The Salthouse Cardigan employs several advanced knitting techniques that contribute to its sophisticated appearance and construction:

• Bottom-up construction: The cardigan is worked from the bottom upward, allowing for straightforward length adjustments and a logical progression through the garment pieces.
• Worked flat: All pieces are knitted flat on straight needles rather than in the round, requiring seaming to join the finished pieces together.
• Seamed construction: The back, fronts, and sleeves are individually worked flat and then seamed together to create the finished garment.
• Cable and lace integration: The design incorporates both cable and lace stitch patterns, with the lace panels providing decorative openwork details throughout the cardigan.

Stitches Used

The Salthouse Cardigan utilizes a range of fundamental and decorative knitting stitches to achieve its textured and lacy appearance:

• Stockinette stitch: Forms the base fabric of the garment, created by alternating knit rows on the right side with purl rows on the wrong side.
• Garter stitch: Used for edge details, created by knitting every row to produce a textured, reversible fabric.
• Reverse stockinette stitch: Incorporated as part of the pattern sections, created by purling on the right side and knitting on the wrong side.
• Lace panel stitches: A 15-stitch lace panel is worked in a 10-row repeat pattern featuring yarn forwards (yfwd) for creating decorative eyelets and decreases including k2tog (knit two together) and skpo (slip one, knit one, pass slipped stitch over) to create the characteristic openwork design.
• Ribbing: Alternating knit and purl stitches (k1, p1) are used to create structured edges and detail sections throughout the cardigan.

Materials

The Salthouse Cardigan is knitted using Debbie Bliss Paloma yarn in the Peat colorway. The pattern requires 12 to 16 skeins of 50-gram yarn depending on the size being made, providing sufficient yardage for the complete cardigan across all four size options. The recommended needles are a pair of 10mm (US size 15) knitting needles, which produce a gauge of 12 stitches and 18 rows over a 10 cm (4 in) square when worked in pattern using the specified needle size. This relatively loose gauge is typical for lace and textured knit garments, allowing the yarn and stitch patterns to display their full visual impact.