Stacy Charles Fine Yarns Prudence Cardigan Knitting Pattern

Stacy Charles Fine Yarns Prudence Cardigan

What Is Being Made

The Prudence Cardigan is a seamless, top-down knitted cardigan designed by Amanda Madlener. This garment is constructed as a single piece beginning at the collar and working downward, offering a modern construction method that eliminates seaming. The cardigan is available in four sizes: Small (bust 41"), Medium (45"), Large (49"), and XL (53"), with 6-8" of ease built into the sizing for comfortable wear.

Construction Techniques

This cardigan employs several advanced knitting techniques to achieve its seamless construction:

• Top-Down Construction: The sweater is worked from the collar downward, allowing for easy fitting adjustments and the ability to try on the garment as it progresses.
• Seamless Yoke Shaping: The yoke is created using strategic increases placed on either side of four markers, which define the right front, right sleeve, back, left sleeve, and left front sections. This marker-based increase method distributes shaping evenly across the piece.
• Worked Flat and in the Round: The pattern utilizes both working flat (for the yoke section) and working in the round (for subsequent sections), providing flexibility in construction methods.
• Stitch Holder Separation: Once the yoke reaches its full width, the sleeve stitches are placed on circular stitch holders, allowing the body to be worked separately from the sleeves.

Stitches and Stitch Techniques

The Prudence Cardigan relies on fundamental knitting stitches and increases that create both structure and shaping:

• Stockinette Stitch: The primary stitch throughout the cardigan, created by knitting on right-side rows and purling on wrong-side rows. This classic stitch creates a smooth, refined fabric surface.
• Kinc (Knit Increase): Used extensively for yoke shaping, this increase is worked by knitting into both the front and back of a single stitch, creating a new stitch without leaving a visible hole. Eight increases are worked every two rows during the yoke shaping phase.
• K2tog (Knit Two Together): A right-leaning decrease stitch that reduces stitch count when needed.
• SKP (Slip, Knit, Pass): A left-leaning decrease stitch created by slipping a stitch knitwise, knitting the next stitch, and passing the slipped stitch over the knitted stitch as if binding off.

Materials and Tools

The Prudence Cardigan is designed to showcase the qualities of premium yarn and requires specific needles and notions:

• Yarn: The pattern calls for 10 (11, 12, 14) balls of Stacy Charles PATTI, a 100% cotton yarn. Each ball weighs 50 grams (1.75 ounces) and yields 98 yards (89.6 meters). The sample shown is worked in color #17 cherry blossom, a soft pink shade. Cotton yarn provides breathability and drape, making this cardigan ideal for warm-weather wear.
• Needles: The pattern requires US Size 9 circular needles in multiple lengths: a 32" needle for the yoke cast-on and initial shaping, and a 40" needle for working larger stitch counts. US Size 7 double-pointed needles or a 40" circular needle using the Magic Loop method are used for smaller sections, likely for ribbing or finishing details.
• Notions: Ring markers in matching colors are essential for marking the four key sections of the yoke. Locking markers help secure stitches when dividing the work. Two circular stitch holders temporarily hold the sleeve stitches during body construction. A darning needle is used for weaving in yarn ends and any finishing seams.

Gauge and Sizing Information

Proper gauge is critical for achieving the intended finished measurements. The pattern specifies a gauge of 16 stitches and 22 rows over 4 inches (10 centimeters) in stockinette stitch using US Size 9 circular needles. The pattern emphasizes taking time to check gauge before beginning, as gauge affects both the finished bust measurement and the overall fit of the cardigan. The yoke shaping involves 30 to 37 repetitions of the increase rows, depending on size, resulting in a total of 278 to 362 stitches by the time the yoke is complete.