Rowan Ragna Cardigan Knitting Pattern

Rowan Ragna Cardigan by Arne & Carlos

What Is Being Made

The Rowan Ragna is a knitted cardigan designed by the renowned knitwear design duo Arne & Carlos. This garment is constructed using a bottom-up knitting method and features stranded colorwork throughout. The cardigan is available in five sizes to fit bust measurements ranging from 81–86 cm to 122–127 cm (32–48½ inches), with corresponding finished bust measurements of 83 to 123 cm.

Techniques Used

This cardigan employs several key knitting techniques to create its distinctive appearance and structure:

• Stranded Colorwork (Fair Isle): The pattern uses the fairisle technique, a traditional method of working with multiple yarn colors in a single row to create intricate patterned designs. The colorwork is integrated throughout the garment, particularly in the sleeves, which follow a 46-row pattern repeat.
• Bottom-Up Construction: The cardigan is knitted from the bottom upward, beginning with the body ribbing and progressing through the main body and sleeves.
• Flat Knitting: The garment is worked flat on straight needles rather than in the round, requiring seaming to finish.
• Shaping Techniques: The pattern incorporates increases and decreases to shape the sleeves and armholes, with specific increases worked at regular intervals (every 6th row, then 4th row, then alternating rows as specified) to achieve proper sleeve cap shaping.

Stitches Used

The Rowan Ragna cardigan utilizes fundamental knitting stitches combined in strategic ways:

• Ribbing: The cardigan begins with a 2×2 rib pattern (alternating 2 knit stitches and 2 purl stitches), which provides elasticity and a finished appearance at the lower edge. This ribbing is worked for 15 rows total before transitioning to the main fabric.
• Stockinette Stitch: The primary fabric throughout the cardigan body and sleeves is worked in stockinette stitch (knit on right-side rows, purl on wrong-side rows), which creates a smooth, classic knit fabric ideal for displaying stranded colorwork patterns.
• Decreases: Strategic decreases are used to shape the sleeve cap and armhole areas, with decreases worked at the beginning and end of rows as specified in the pattern instructions.

Materials

The Rowan Ragna cardigan is designed to be worked with specific Rowan yarns and needle sizes:

• Yarn: The pattern calls for a combination of Rowan Felted Tweed and Rowan Kidsilk Haze. Felted Tweed is used in three colorways: Seafarer (170), Clay (177), and Avocado (161), with quantities ranging from 1 to 2 x 50-gram balls depending on size. Kidsilk Haze in Jelly (597) is used double throughout the pattern, requiring 3 to 4 x 25-gram balls depending on size. The use of Kidsilk Haze doubled with Felted Tweed creates a luxurious, textured yarn blend that enhances the visual impact of the stranded colorwork.
• Needles: The pattern requires two needle sizes: 3¼mm (US 3) needles for working the ribbed edging and 4mm (US 6) needles for the main body and sleeves. Both are used as straight needles for flat knitting, with 3¼mm circular needles also mentioned in the pattern materials list.

Pattern Construction Details

The cardigan construction follows a methodical approach. After casting on 46 to 50 stitches (depending on size) using the 3¼mm needles and yarn C, the ribbing is worked for 15 rows with decreases at each end on the final row. The needle size is then increased to 4mm, and the main stranded colorwork pattern begins, worked entirely in stockinette stitch. The sleeves are shaped through a series of increases worked at specific intervals, with stitches taken into the pattern as they are created. Once the sleeves reach their full width of 88 to 120 stitches (depending on size), the sleeve cap shaping begins with decreases worked at both ends of alternating rows. The pattern reference for this design is ZB238-00009, version 1, and additional pattern information is available on knitrowan.com.