Valley Yarns Lavender Knitting Pattern

Valley Yarns Lavender Cardigan

What is Being Made

The Valley Yarns Lavender is a button-front cardigan designed by Julie Turjoman, featuring an all-over herringbone stitch texture. This intermediate-level knitting project is constructed as a classic fall wardrobe staple, complete with long cuffed sleeves and a spread collar. The cardigan is available in sizes XS through 4XL, with finished bust measurements ranging from 33 inches to 61 inches when buttoned, and is designed to fit with 2 to 4 inches of positive ease.

Knitting Techniques

This cardigan employs a bottom-up construction method, with pieces worked flat and then seamed together at the shoulders. The design uses short-row shaping to create the spread collar, which is worked around the neckline after the body is complete. Front bands are integrated directly into the body during knitting rather than picked up separately, streamlining the finishing process. All decrease shaping is worked while maintaining the established herringbone stitch pattern throughout, ensuring consistent texture across the garment. The cuffed sleeves are designed to fold back, creating a finished length of approximately 2 inches of cuff.

Stitches and Stitch Patterns

The primary stitch pattern used throughout this cardigan is the herringbone stitch, which creates a distinctive textured appearance across the entire garment. Standard knitting abbreviations are employed, including:

• K (knit) and P (purl) for basic stitches
• K2tog (knit 2 together) and Ssk (slip, slip, knit) for decreases
• YO (yarn over) for increases
• W&T (wrap and turn) for short-row shaping used in the collar

The herringbone stitch pattern is maintained consistently throughout all shaping, requiring careful attention to stitch placement during decreases to preserve the visual integrity of the pattern.

Materials and Gauge

This cardigan is knit using Valley Yarns Sunderland, a luxurious yarn composed of 100% baby alpaca. Yarn requirements range from 10 skeins for the smallest size (XS) to 22 skeins for the largest size (4XL), with each skein weighing 50 grams and providing 109 yards of yardage. The color used is Lavender.

Needles required include US size 5 (3.75 mm) circular needles in 16-inch, 24-inch, and 32-40 inch lengths for the main fabric, and US size 4 (3.5 mm) circular needles in 16-inch and 24-inch lengths for ribbing or edging. The recommended gauge is 22 stitches and 28 rows over 4 inches in the herringbone stitch pattern when worked on the larger needles and blocked.

Additional materials needed include stitch markers, locking stitch markers, stitch holders or waste yarn, a tapestry needle for seaming, 9 buttons measuring between ½ and ¾ inch in diameter, and a sewing needle with thread matching the button color for secure attachment.