Lana Grossa Cardigan Knitting Pattern

Lana Grossa Cardigan in Linea Pura Organico

What is Being Made

This is a knitted cardigan jacket designed in the Linea Pura collection by Lana Grossa, offered in three sizes: 36–40, 42–46, and 48/50. The garment features a structured construction with set-in sleeves, front button closures, and functional patch pockets with sewn linings. The cardigan is worked primarily in stockinette stitch with textured stripe patterning on the front panels, creating visual interest while maintaining the classic cardigan silhouette.

Techniques Used

This cardigan is constructed using a bottom-up, seamed, and worked-flat approach. The pattern begins with the back piece and front panels worked separately on straight needles, followed by sleeve pieces. Pieces are then seamed together using traditional garment assembly methods. The design incorporates full-fashion decreasing for shaping at the neckline and shoulders, ensuring neat, professional-looking decreases that align with the garment edges. Pocket linings are worked separately and sewn into place on the front panels, with bound-off stitches creating clean pocket openings. The pattern uses two-stitch selvage edges on the front panels to create neat seaming edges, with different techniques applied on right-side and wrong-side rows for consistent finishing.

Stitches Used

• Stockinette Stitch (St st): Knit on right-side rows, purl on wrong-side rows. This is the primary stitch used throughout the cardigan for the main fabric.
• Reverse Stockinette Stitch (Rev St st): Purl on right-side rows, knit on wrong-side rows. Used for textural contrast in specific areas.
• Ribbing (K1, P1): Alternating knit and purl stitches used for cuffs and edgings to provide elasticity and structure.
• Textured Stripe Pattern: A charted pattern worked on the front panels that creates visual depth and interest beyond basic stockinette.
• Selvage Stitches: Slip-stitch edges worked on every row for neat finishing. On right-side rows: slip first stitch knitwise, knit last stitch. On wrong-side rows: slip first stitch purlwise, purl last stitch.
• Two-Stitch Selvage: A refined edge treatment on front panels using slip stitches with yarn positioning (wyib/wyif) to create neat, finished edges suitable for seaming.

Materials

The cardigan is knitted in Lana Grossa Organico, a 100% organic cotton yarn with a yardage of 90 meters per 50-gram ball. The total yardage required is 650–750 grams depending on size, equating to approximately 1,170–1,350 meters. The yarn is worked in the Reed colorway (color 130), a neutral shade suitable for versatile styling. Two needle sizes are required: size 3.5 mm needles for ribbed edgings and size 5 mm needles for the main fabric, allowing for proper gauge and fabric drape in the organic cotton fiber.

Construction Details

The back piece is cast on with the larger needles and worked in stockinette stitch with side shaping increases worked into pattern. Pocket linings are prepared separately by casting on 30 stitches and working 32 rows in stockinette stitch to measure 14 centimeters before being placed on a holder. The front panels are cast on with 50–58 stitches and worked in the textured stripe pattern according to a provided chart. At 17 centimeters from the cast-on edge, pocket openings are created by binding off 30 stitches and then working the prepared pocket lining into place on the following row. Neckline shaping begins at 22 centimeters and uses full-fashion decreasing, reducing one stitch at the neck edge every 10 rows for a total of 10 decreases. Sleeves are cast on with 50–66 stitches depending on size and are shaped with increases worked into pattern. All pieces are seamed together using the neat selvage edges created during flat knitting.