Valley Yarns Castle Cardigan Knitting Pattern

Valley Yarns Castle Cardigan

What is Being Made

The Valley Yarns Castle Cardigan is a knitted cardigan designed by Kirsten Hipsky, available in five finished sizes ranging from 32 inches to 52 inches. This garment features an understated shawl collar and traditional set-in sleeves, combining botanical and architectural cable details with a simple texture stitch. The cardigan is constructed as a button-front closure with a sophisticated design suitable for intermediate knitters.

Techniques Used

This cardigan is worked using several key knitting techniques:

• Bottom-up construction: The cardigan is knitted from the bottom edge upward, allowing for easier fit adjustments and a more intuitive building process.
• Worked flat: Pieces are knitted flat on straight or circular needles rather than in the round, creating individual front, back, and sleeve pieces that are later seamed together.
• Seamed construction: Individual pieces are sewn together using traditional seaming methods to create the finished garment.
• Cable work: The design incorporates elegant cable stitches that create the botanical and architectural visual elements throughout the cardigan.
• Buttonhole shaping: A specialized 4-stitch buttonhole technique is used to create functional button closures, worked using the Cable Cast On method.

Stitches Used

The Castle Cardigan employs a combination of fundamental and decorative stitches:

• Lichen Stitch: An even-stitch texture pattern that alternates between knit and purl stitches in a 4-row repeat (rows 1-4: *k1, p1* repeat; rows 5-8: *p1, k1* repeat). This simple texture stitch provides visual interest while surrounding the more complex cable work.
• Cable Panel (20-stitch panel): A 16-row repeat pattern featuring multiple cable crosses including LC (left cable), RC (right cable), LCP (left cable with purl), and RCP (right cable with purl). The cable panel creates the botanical and architectural focal points of the design.
• Basic stitches: Knit (k), purl (p), slip stitches (sl1), and yarn overs are foundational to the pattern construction.
• Cable crosses: Specific cable techniques include LC (slip 2 sts to cable needle and hold to front, k1, k2 from cable needle), RC (slip 1 st to cable needle and hold to back, k2, k1 from cable needle), and their purl variations (LCP and RCP).

Materials

The Castle Cardigan pattern specifies the following materials:

• Yarn: Valley Yarns Longmeadow in color 11 Olive, a blend of 60% cotton and 40% microfiber. Yardage requirements range from 10 to 17 skeins (50g per skein, 117 yards per skein) depending on the finished size selected, providing approximately 1,170 to 1,989 total yards.
• Needles: US size 5 (3.75 mm) straight or circular needles, allowing knitters to choose their preferred needle style for working flat.
• Notions: One cable needle for executing cable crosses, and two stitch markers for tracking pattern placement and shaping.
• Gauge: 22 stitches and 32 rows equal 4 inches in Lichen Stitch, establishing the foundation for accurate sizing throughout the project.

Difficulty Level

This pattern is rated as intermediate, appropriate for knitters with experience in basic stitch techniques who are ready to tackle cable work and garment construction. The combination of cable panels, texture stitches, and seamed construction requires solid foundational skills and attention to detail.