Juniper Moon Farm Gretna Cardigan Knitting Pattern

Juniper Moon Farm Gretna Cardigan by Tabetha Hedrick

What is Being Made

The Gretna cardigan is a sophisticated knitted garment designed in seven sizes ranging from XS to 3X, with finished bust measurements from 34 inches to 59¼ inches. This piece features a refined lace pattern and is constructed using a bottom-up knitting method with seamed construction. The cardigan offers versatile sizing and elegant drape suitable for various body types and styling preferences.

Techniques Used

This cardigan employs several key knitting techniques to achieve its finished design:

• Bottom-up construction: The garment is knitted from the lower edge upward, allowing knitters to try on the piece as it progresses and adjust length as needed.
• Worked flat: Rather than working in the round, this cardigan is knitted flat on straight needles, creating separate pieces that are later joined together.
• Seaming: Individual pieces are sewn together using a tapestry needle, with selvedge stitches incorporated into the stitch pattern specifically to facilitate neat, professional seaming.
• Lace patterning: The Gretna stitch creates an openwork lace fabric through strategic yarn overs and decreases, adding visual interest and texture to the finished garment.

Stitches Used

The Gretna cardigan features a signature stitch pattern that repeats over 16 rows and a multiple of 12 stitches plus 2 edge stitches. The stitch pattern incorporates fundamental knitting techniques including:

• Knit (k): Basic knit stitches form the foundation of the fabric.
• Purl (p): Purl stitches create texture on wrong-side rows and edge definition.
• Yarn over (yo): Creates the decorative openwork and lace characteristics throughout the pattern.
• Slip, slip, knit (ssk): A left-leaning decrease used to balance yarn overs and create the lace motif.
• Knit two together (k2tog): A right-leaning decrease that works in conjunction with yarn overs to form the lace pattern.

The 16-row repeat creates a cohesive lace design with symmetrical decreases and increases, resulting in an elegant, flowing fabric. Selvedge stitches (one knit stitch on each edge) are maintained throughout to provide clean edges for seaming.

Materials

The Gretna cardigan is knitted using Juniper Moon Farm Zooey Aran yarn, a worsted-weight fiber available in multiple colorways. The pattern calls for 5 to 6 skeins of 100-gram weight in the main color, with the sample shown in color #1001 Toasted Coconut, a warm neutral tone. An optional contrast color accent is available using 1 skein of color #1008 French Lime for color blocking or decorative elements.

Needles required include US 7 (4.5 mm) straight needles or the size needed to achieve proper gauge, along with a US 7 (4.5 mm) 32-inch circular needle for certain construction steps. A tapestry needle is essential for seaming the finished pieces together. The recommended gauge is 19 stitches and 26 rows over 4 inches in the Gretna stitch pattern, making accurate gauge checking crucial for proper fit across all seven sizes.