Lana Grossa 39 Cardigan Knitting Pattern

Lana Grossa 39 Cardigan in Allora

What is Being Made

The Lana Grossa 39 Cardigan in Allora is a knitted cardigan available in three sizes: 36/38, 40/42, and 44/46. This garment features a structured construction with shaped armholes and tailored sleeves, designed to create a fitted silhouette through strategic decreasing and shaping techniques.

Construction Method and Techniques

This cardigan is constructed using a bottom-up, seamed, and worked-flat approach. The garment pieces—left front, right front, and sleeves—are knitted separately on flat needles and then assembled together. The design incorporates full-fashion decreasing, a professional shaping technique that creates decorative, aligned decreases visible on the finished garment rather than hidden decreases. This method produces a polished, tailored appearance.

The pattern uses a chart-based stitch pattern that is worked repeatedly throughout the piece. Rows 1 through 4 are worked once, then rows 3 and 4 are repeated to establish the pattern repeat. The chart includes specific instructions for different sizes, with pattern repeats marked between arrows for easy following.

Stitches and Shaping Details

The cardigan employs several key stitches and techniques:

• Selvage stitches: On every row, the first stitch is slipped knitwise and the last stitch is knitted, creating neat, finished edges
• Full-fashion decreases: Used at armhole and side shaping; these are worked as skp (slip, knit, pass slipped stitch over) or p2tog (purl two together) as needed to maintain pattern alignment
• Bind-off shaping: Multiple bind-offs at the armhole create structured, angled shaping (8 stitches once, then 5, 4, 3, and 2 stitches in sequence)
• Decreasing for side seams: The left front begins with 131 (135, 139) cast-on stitches and is shaped through decreases at the beginning of the third row from cast-on, then every fourth row 9 times, followed by every alternate row 54 times, reducing to 67 (71, 75) stitches
• Armhole shaping: After the initial bind-offs, full-fashion decreases continue for 20 rows on the right side, creating a smooth, angled armhole

Materials and Needlework Tools

The Lana Grossa 39 Cardigan in Allora requires 300 to 400 grams of yarn depending on size (300 g for size 36/38, 350 g for size 40/42, and 400 g for size 44/46). The yarn used is Lana Grossa Allora, a premium blend composed of 76% cotton, 14% superfine Merino wool, and 10% baby alpaca. This fiber composition provides breathability and comfort from the cotton base while adding warmth and elasticity from the wool and alpaca. The yarn offers 300 meters per 50-gram ball.

The pattern calls for size 3.5 mm and 4.5 mm knitting needles, with the smaller needles used for the initial ribbed or patterned cuff sections and the larger needles for the main body. A size 4 mm crochet hook is also required, likely for finishing details such as edging or button bands.

Pattern Specifications

The cardigan is worked from a detailed chart pattern with row-by-row instructions. The left front piece measures 42 centimeters from the cast-on edge to the armhole shaping point, with a total of 152 rows worked before armhole shaping begins. The armhole depth varies by size, measuring 16 centimeters for size 36/38, 17 centimeters for size 40/42, and 18 centimeters for size 44/46. The right front is worked identically to the left front with all shaping reversed for proper garment symmetry. Sleeves are cast on with 47 (51, 55) stitches and shaped with full-fashion increases to create a tapered, fitted sleeve cap.