Lana Grossa & Twinset Cardigan Knitting Pattern

Jacket Bella by Lana Grossa

What Is Being Made

The Jacket Bella is a knitted cardigan jacket available in four size ranges: 36/38, 40/42, 44/46, and 48/50. This is a structured, tailored piece designed to be worn as an outerwear layer or sophisticated everyday garment. The jacket features a button-front closure with three off-white buttons and includes a shaped neckband that frames the front opening.

Techniques Used

This knitting project employs several key construction techniques to achieve its polished, professional finish:

• Bottom-up construction: The jacket is knitted from the cast-on edge upward, allowing for straightforward sizing adjustments and row-by-row progression.
• Worked flat: The main body and sleeves are worked flat on straight needles rather than in the round, creating seamed pieces that are later joined together.
• Seamed assembly: Individual pieces (front panels, back, and sleeves) are knitted separately and then seamed together for a structured, tailored appearance.
• Worked in the round: The neckband is worked in the round using double-stranded yarn for added stability and a refined finish.
• Full-fashion shaping: Decreases are strategically placed with selvage stitches to create clean, decorative edges on the sleeve caps and armholes, a hallmark of professional knitwear design.
• Buttonhole integration: Button holes are worked directly into the front band during knitting, with stitches bound off and cast on in subsequent rows for a seamless closure mechanism.

Stitches Used

The Jacket Bella employs a limited but essential stitch palette:

• Stockinette stitch (St st): The primary stitch throughout the body and sleeves, created by knitting all stitches on right-side rows and purling all stitches on wrong-side rows. This creates a smooth, classic fabric with a defined V-texture on the front and bumpy texture on the back.
• Ribbed pattern (Rib patt): Used for the front and neckband, alternating knit and purl stitches (K1, P1) to create vertical columns that provide elasticity and a refined edge. This ribbing helps the band maintain its shape and sit close to the body.
• Slip stitch (sl pwise): Employed in the neckband for a polished selvage edge, with stitches slipped purlwise with yarn in front (wyif) to create a neat, finished appearance.
• Decrease techniques: Slip, knit, pass slipped stitch over (skp) and knit two together (k2tog) are used for full-fashion shaping, particularly at sleeve caps and armholes, creating visually balanced decreases.

Materials

The Jacket Bella is knitted using Lana Grossa Bella yarn, a premium blend specifically formulated for refined knitwear. The yarn composition is 35% cotton, 30% nylon, 25% baby alpaca, and 10% Merino wool, creating a fabric that is breathable, durable, and luxuriously soft. The yarn is supplied at 250 meters per 25 grams, requiring 150 grams for sizes 36/38 and 40/42, and 175 grams for sizes 44/46 and 48/50. The colorway used is Off White (color 1), a versatile neutral that complements any wardrobe.

Three needles are required for this project: size 3 mm, 3.5 mm, and 4 mm needles, allowing for gauge control and stitch definition across different sections. The ribbed neckband is worked with yarn held double (two strands together) on size 3 mm needles for added firmness and structure. Three 20 mm buttons in off white by Union Knopf (item 37604, color 12) complete the closure.

Gauge and Sizing

The pattern is worked to a gauge of 22 stitches and 26 rows over a 10 by 10 centimeter swatch in stockinette stitch on size 4 mm needles. Accurate gauge is essential for achieving the correct finished measurements across all four size options. The pattern provides detailed instructions for the smallest size (36/38), with figures in parentheses indicating adjustments for larger sizes, allowing knitters to customize the fit to their measurements.