Grace Cardigan Knitting Pattern

Grace Cardigan in Rowan Cotton Revive

What is Being Made

The Grace Cardigan is a knitted cardigan designed by Martin Storey, available in nine sizes to fit chest measurements ranging from 71–76 cm (28–30 inches) through 152–157 cm (60–62 inches). This intermediate-level knitting project creates a structured cardigan garment with shaped armholes and front slope shaping for a tailored fit.

Craft and Techniques

This is a knitting project that employs fundamental shaping techniques essential to cardigan construction. The pattern incorporates armhole shaping achieved through strategic cast-offs and decreases, and front slope shaping to create the characteristic angled edge of a cardigan front. The garment is constructed in separate pieces—back, left front, and right front—which are later assembled. The pattern uses a combination of flat knitting techniques with both increases and decreases worked at specific intervals to achieve the proper garment proportions.

Stitches and Stitch Patterns

The Grace Cardigan employs several fundamental knitting stitches:

• Garter stitch (abbreviated as g st), which creates a textured, reversible fabric and is used for the initial 6 rows of the garment edges
• Knit two together (K2tog), a right-leaning decrease used throughout armhole and front slope shaping
• Patterned stitches worked from a chart with a 25-stitch repeat and 36-row repeat, creating visual interest across the body of the cardigan

The pattern repeat structure varies by size, with smaller sizes repeating the 25-stitch motif twice across each row, while larger sizes repeat it up to four times, ensuring the design scales proportionally.

Materials: Yarn and Needles

The Grace Cardigan is designed to be worked in Rowan Cotton Revive, a 100-gram yarn. The pattern specifies quantities ranging from 6 to 11 balls depending on the finished size selected. The photographed sample is shown in the colorway Sand 002.

Two pairs of needles are required:

• 3¼mm (US 3) needles for the initial cast-on and garter stitch edging
• 3¾mm (US 5) needles for the main body and patterned sections

The pattern is calibrated to a tension of 25 stitches and 34 rows to 10 cm (measured over the patterned stitch using the 3¾mm needles), which is essential to achieve the correct finished garment measurements.

Pattern Structure and Sizing

The pattern provides comprehensive sizing information with nine options. Cast-on stitch counts for the back piece range from 129 stitches for the smallest size to 231 stitches for the largest. The actual chest measurement of the finished garment ranges from 103 cm (40½ inches) to 185 cm (72¾ inches), with corresponding length measurements provided for each size. This range ensures accessibility for diverse body types and fit preferences.