Trendsetter Yarns I Pavlova Arrow Up Cardigan Knitting

Trendsetter Yarns Pavlova Arrow Up Cardigan

What is Being Made

The Pavlova Arrow Up Cardigan is a knitted cardigan designed by Barry Klein, available in five sizes ranging from Small to 1X to fit bust measurements of 37" to 57" (including ease). This is a seamed cardigan worked in a flat construction from the bottom up, featuring a distinctive lace stitch pattern that creates an arrow motif throughout the garment.

Techniques Used

This cardigan employs several key knitting techniques to achieve its design:

• Bottom-up construction: The garment is knitted from the lower edge upward, allowing for easy length adjustments and a traditional building method
• Flat knitting: All pieces are worked flat on straight needles rather than in the round, then seamed together at the end
• Lace stitch work: The Arrow stitch creates an openwork lace pattern that requires careful attention to yarn overs and decreases
• Seamed assembly: Individual pieces (back, fronts, and sleeves) are knitted separately and then sewn together
• Armhole and sleeve shaping: Strategic bind-offs and decreases create fitted armholes and tapered sleeves
• Pattern integration: New stitches created during sleeve increases are worked into the Arrow stitch pattern as possible, maintaining design continuity

Stitches Used

The cardigan features the Arrow stitch as its primary pattern, which is an eight-row repeat worked over a multiple of ten stitches. The Arrow stitch combines several fundamental knitting techniques:

• Knit (K): Basic knit stitch forming the foundation
• Purl (P): Used on all wrong-side rows to create the textured background
• Yarn over (Yo): Creates the openwork lace holes characteristic of the Arrow pattern
• Knit two together (K2-tog): A right-leaning decrease used to shape the lace motif
• Slip, slip, knit (SSK): A left-leaning decrease that balances the K2-tog decreases
• Stockinette stitch (Stock St): Used for edge stitches that fall outside the lace pattern repeat

The Arrow stitch pattern repeats every eight rows, with decreases and yarn overs positioned to create the distinctive arrow shape that gives the cardigan its name.

Materials

This project uses Trendsetter Pavlova yarn, with yardage requirements of 4, 5, 6, 7, or 8 balls of 100-gram skeins depending on the size being knitted. The yarn features an elongated dye stamp characteristic that means individual pieces will not match in color unless deliberately coordinated, adding to the unique aesthetic of each finished garment.

Knitting is worked on U.S. size #5 needles (or the size required to achieve proper gauge). The recommended gauge is 26 stitches over 4 inches when working the Arrow stitch with Pavlova yarn on size #5 needles. Careful gauge monitoring is emphasized in the pattern notes, as gauge accuracy directly affects the finished bust measurement and overall fit of the cardigan.