668 Mill River Cardigan - Knitting Pattern for Women in Valley Yarns Sunderland

668 Mill River Cardigan – Knitting Pattern for Women in Valley Yarns Sunderland

The Mill River Cardigan is a beautifully crafted women's knitting pattern designed by Kirsten Hipsky and published under pattern number 668. Inspired by the many branches of the Mill River flowing through the Pioneer Valley toward the Connecticut River, this elegant cardigan translates the natural landscape into wearable textile art. Flowing lace panels branch gracefully around the neckline, while sideways-worked lace adorns the cuffs of the elbow-length sleeves. Subtle garter stitch details along the back neck evoke the rocky banks of the river itself. This is a seamed, intermediate-level knitting pattern available as a downloadable PDF.

What Is Being Made

The pattern produces a women's seamed cardigan with elbow-length sleeves, a lace-paneled front and neckline, and sideways-knit lace cuffs. The design includes instructions for both a buttoned front and an open, unbuttoned front, giving knitters flexibility in the finished look. Finished sizes range from 36 to 60 inches in bust circumference, offered across eight sizes: 36 (40, 44, 48) (52, 56, 60) inches. The sample shown in the pattern is knitted in size 36 inches.

Techniques Used

• Lace knitting: The signature River Panel is a 12-row repeating lace motif worked across both the back and front pieces. On the back, two River Panels are placed symmetrically, while the left and right fronts each feature a single River Panel positioned near the neckline edge. This creates the branching, flowing visual effect that defines the garment's aesthetic.
• Sideways lace cuffs: The lace at the cuffs is worked sideways rather than in the conventional direction, adding a distinctive design detail to the elbow-length sleeves.
• Seamed construction: Unlike seamless knitting, this cardigan is worked in separate pieces — back, left front, right front, and sleeves — which are then seamed together. Seamed construction provides structure and is a traditional technique well-suited to garments where clean, defined lines are desired.
• Ribbing: The lower edges of the back and fronts begin with a 1½-inch ribbed border worked in a k1, p1 rib pattern (beginning with k2), providing a neat, elasticated hem finish.
• Garter stitch: Garter stitch details are incorporated along the back neck to suggest the texture of river stones and rocky banks, adding a tactile contrast to the smooth stockinette and open lace sections.
• Stockinette stitch: The main body fabric between the lace panels is worked in classic stockinette stitch, keeping the focus on the decorative River Panel motifs.
• Shaping: The pattern includes waist shaping through decreases and increases worked at regular row intervals, creating a fitted silhouette. Armhole shaping and sleeve cap shaping are also incorporated.
• Stitch marker placement: Markers are used throughout to delineate the River Panel sections from the surrounding stockinette, helping knitters maintain pattern alignment across all pieces.

Stitches Used

• River Panel lace stitch – a 12-row repeating decorative lace motif unique to this design, worked over a set number of stitches with yarn overs and decreases to create the branching, open-work effect
• Stockinette stitch – knit on right side, purl on wrong side; used for the main body fabric
• Garter stitch – knit every row; used at the back neck and as edge stitches on the first and last stitch of body rows
• K1, P1 ribbing – used for the lower hems of the back and front pieces to create a stretchy, tidy border

Materials Required

• Yarn: Valley Yarns Sunderland (100% Baby Alpaca, 109 yards / 50g per skein), shown in the colorway Winter Sky. This is a DK weight yarn