Valley Yarns Market Street Tied Cardigan Knitting Pattern

Valley Yarns Market Street Tied Cardigan

What is Being Made

The Market Street Tied Cardigan is a seamed knit cardigan designed by Kirsten Hipsky, available in five finished sizes ranging from 34" to 50" in width. This beginner-friendly cardigan features a distinctive tie closure system rather than traditional buttons or a front overlap, making it an elegant and adjustable layering piece. The cardigan is worked flat on needles and finished with sewn seams, offering a polished, structured silhouette.

Techniques Used

This cardigan employs fundamental knitting techniques suitable for beginners. The garment is worked flat, meaning pieces are knitted back and forth in rows rather than in the round, which simplifies construction and shaping. Seaming is used to join the body and sleeve pieces together, creating clean, professional seams along the underarms and sides. The pattern incorporates strategic decreasing to shape the sleeves, with decreases worked at the beginning and end of rows at regular intervals to create a tapered sleeve cap. Picking up stitches is used for the neckline edging, allowing the knitter to add a finished border around the entire cardigan opening. The tie closure system involves creating two separate rectangular tie pieces that are sewn to the cardigan and threaded through a gap in the side seam, demonstrating a creative alternative to standard button bands.

Stitches Used

The Market Street Tied Cardigan utilizes a straightforward stitch palette. The primary fabric is worked in garter stitch, which is created by knitting every row. Garter stitch produces a textured, reversible fabric with horizontal ridges and is one of the most fundamental and beginner-friendly stitches in knitting. The stitch pattern alternates between knit and purl rows in specific sections: Rows 1–6 and Row 8 are knit rows, while Row 7 is purled, creating subtle texture variation within the overall garter stitch pattern. The neckline edging also features garter stitch, worked with increases at marked intervals to create shaping and a neat, finished edge around the cardigan opening.

Materials

The Valley Yarns Market Street Tied Cardigan is knitted with Valley Superwash yarn, a premium extra fine merino wool that is 100% natural fiber. The yarn comes in 50-gram balls, with each ball yielding 97 yards of yardage. The cardigan requires 15 to 25 balls depending on the finished size chosen, providing ample yardage for all five size options. The pattern calls for US size 8 needles, which are appropriately sized to achieve the required gauge with this yarn weight. The sample shown is worked in color 321 Mulberry, a rich jewel tone. Knitters should obtain the correct gauge of 4.5 stitches and 8 rows per 1 inch in the bound off stitch pattern before beginning the project to ensure proper fit and finished dimensions.

Difficulty Level

Rated as a beginner project, the Market Street Tied Cardigan is accessible to knitters new to garment construction. The straightforward garter stitch pattern requires only basic knitting knowledge, and the flat construction eliminates the complexity of working in the round. While the pattern involves shaping through decreases and picking up stitches for the edging, these are fundamental techniques that beginners can master with careful attention to the written instructions.