Valley Yarns Loire Cardigan Knitting Pattern

Valley Yarns Loire Cardigan

What is Being Made

The Valley Yarns Loire Cardigan is an intermediate-level knitted cardigan featuring decorative lace panels and waist shaping. This garment is constructed using a bottom-up method with seamless construction, combining lace detailing with classic stockinette stitch for a sophisticated, wearable design. The cardigan is available in six finished sizes ranging from 32" to 52" to accommodate various body measurements.

Construction Techniques

The Loire Cardigan employs several advanced knitting techniques to create its finished structure:

• Bottom-Up Construction: The cardigan is knitted beginning at the lower body and working upward, allowing for easy length adjustments before completing the garment.
• Worked Flat and In-The-Round: The lower body and body sections are worked flat on needles, while the sleeves are worked in-the-round using double-pointed or shorter circular needles for seamless construction.
• Seamless Integration: Sleeves are knitted separately in-the-round and later joined to the body, creating a cohesive garment with minimal seaming required.
• Lace Panel Work: Decorative lace panels are integrated into the front sections of the cardigan, adding visual interest and texture to the design.
• Waist Shaping: Strategic decreases and increases at side markers create fitted waist shaping, with 2-stitch decreases performed every 8 rows of the lace panel repeated 3 times, followed by corresponding increases to create an hourglass silhouette.

Stitches and Stitch Patterns

The Loire Cardigan incorporates several fundamental and decorative stitches:

• Garter Stitch: A 1-stitch garter stitch border frames the beginning and end of each row, providing a finished edge and structural stability.
• Stockinette Stitch (St st): The primary stitch used throughout the body and sleeves, creating a smooth, classic fabric surface.
• Ribbing: Knit-purl ribbing (K1, P1) is used for the initial 2" of the lower body and for the 2" sleeve cuff, providing elasticity and a fitted finish at garment openings.
• Lace Panel: An 8-row repeat lace panel featuring 9 stitches uses yarn overs (yo), single decreases (ssk and k2tog), and a centered double decrease (sl2tog-k1-p2sso) to create openwork motifs. The panel includes rows of purl stitches on wrong-side rows and varied decrease and yarn-over combinations on right-side rows to produce the lace effect.

Materials and Tools

The Valley Yarns Loire Cardigan is designed to be worked with specific materials to achieve the intended drape and finished appearance:

• Yarn: Valley Yarns Northampton Bulky, a 100% wool yarn in the colorway Dark Olive Heather. The yardage requirement is 6 to 10 skeins depending on finished size, with each skein containing 100 grams and 109 yards.
• Needles: US size 10.5 (6.50mm) needles or the size required to achieve proper gauge. The pattern recommends using double-pointed needles or shorter circular needles for the in-the-round sleeve sections, while longer needles or appropriate tools are used for the flat-worked body sections.

Garment Specifications

The lower body section begins with cast-on counts ranging from 89 to 149 stitches depending on size, and measures 16" from the cast-on edge. Sleeves are cast on with 32 to 46 stitches and worked to 10" or a desired custom length, with increases occurring every 4th round to accommodate arm circumference. The lace panels are positioned symmetrically on the front sections with garter stitch edging, while the back is worked in solid stockinette stitch.