Debbie Bliss Sandness Knitting Pattern

Debbie Bliss Sandness Cardigans

What Is Being Made

The Debbie Bliss Sandness is a collection of knitted cardigans designed by Debbie Bliss in 2020. These are button-front cardigans available in five finished bust sizes ranging from 95cm (37½ inches) to 137cm (54 inches), making them suitable for a wide range of wearers. The cardigans feature a sophisticated design with stranded colorwork and striped patterning throughout, creating visual interest and texture in the finished garment.

Techniques Used

The Sandness cardigans employ several advanced knitting techniques to achieve their distinctive appearance:

• Stranded colorwork: Also known as Fair Isle knitting, this technique involves carrying unused yarn colors across the back of the work while knitting with the active color, creating intricate multicolored patterns on the fabric surface.
• Striped patterning: Horizontal stripes are incorporated throughout the design, created by changing yarn colors at regular intervals.
• Bottom-up construction: The cardigans are worked from the lower edge upward toward the shoulders, allowing for easy fitting adjustments during the knitting process.
• Worked flat: Rather than being worked in the round, these cardigans are constructed flat on straight needles, with separate pieces for the back, left front, and right front that are later seamed together.
• Buttonholes: Functional buttonholes are incorporated into the front bands to accommodate the button closures.

Stitches Used

The Sandness cardigans are primarily constructed using stocking stitch (also called stockinette stitch), which creates a smooth, classic knit fabric with a distinctive V-textured appearance on the right side. The stocking stitch base provides an ideal canvas for the stranded colorwork and striped patterns. Additional abbreviations referenced in the pattern include knit (k), purl (p), make one (m1) for increases, slip, knit, pass slipped stitch over (skpo) for decreases, and yarn twice round needle (y2rn) for creating decorative eyelets or texture variations.

Materials

The Sandness cardigans are knitted using Debbie Bliss Rialto DK yarn, a double-knitting weight yarn available in multiple colorways. The specific yarn quantities and colors vary by size:

• 5 to 7 balls of Rialto DK in Vintage Pink 66 (the primary color)
• 2 to 3 balls of Rialto DK in Teal 20
• 2 balls each of Rialto DK in Mustard 99, Stone 06, and Sea Green 81
• 1 to 2 balls each of Rialto DK in Deep Rose 50 and Berry 84

Each ball contains 50 grams of yarn. The cardigans require three pairs of knitting needles in different sizes: 3.25mm (US 3), 3.75mm (US 5), and 4mm (US 6). The 4mm needles are used for the main fabric, which produces a gauge of 23 stitches and 30 rows over a 10cm square in stocking stitch. Additionally, 7 buttons are required for the cardigan closures.

Difficulty Level

The Sandness cardigans are classified as advanced projects, reflecting the complexity of the stranded colorwork technique, the management of multiple yarn colors, the precision required for buttonhole placement, and the overall garment construction involving multiple pieces and seaming.