Oravala Cardigan in Novita Natura - Downloadable PDF

Oravala Cardigan in Novita Natura – Knitting Pattern Summary

The Oravala Cardigan is a beautifully crafted colorwork cardigan designed by Sisko Sälpäkivi and published by Novita. Worked in the brand's Novita Natura yarn, this intermediate-level knitting pattern produces a richly patterned, button-front cardigan with long sleeves and a classic ribbed hem and cuffs. The pattern is available as a downloadable PDF at no cost, making it an accessible project for knitters ready to advance their colorwork skills.

What Is Being Made

The finished garment is a full-length cardigan featuring an all-over two-color stranded colorwork pattern across the body and sleeves. It is designed in five sizes — XS, S, M, L, and XL — with the following completed measurements:

• Body circumference: 100(108)116(124)132 cm / 39¼(42½)45¾(48¾)52 in
• Length: 73(74)76(78)80 cm / 28¾(29¼)30(30¾)31½ in
• Inner sleeve length: 47(48)49(49)50 cm / 18½(19)19¼(19¼)19¾ in

The cardigan is rated Challenging within the intermediate difficulty range, making it a rewarding project for knitters who are comfortable with colorwork charts and garment shaping but are looking to push their skills further.

Techniques Used

This pattern draws on several important knitting techniques that are characteristic of Scandinavian-style stranded colorwork garments:

• Stranded colorwork (Fair Isle-style): The body and sleeves are worked following detailed colorwork charts — Chart I for the fronts and back, and Chart II for the sleeves. Knitters carry two colors of yarn across each row, working the pattern in stockinette stitch.
• Ribbing: Both the lower body and cuffs begin with a 6 cm section of k2, p2 ribbing worked on smaller needles to create a neat, elastic edge.
• Armhole shaping: Markers are placed at specific chart rows to indicate the bottom of the armhole, and stitches are subsequently bound off in a stepped sequence to shape the armscye cleanly.
• Neckline shaping: Decreases for the neckline are integrated directly into the colorwork chart, with a total of 14 stitches decreased at the right front edge following the chart instructions.
• Sleeve increases: Stitches are increased at both ends of the sleeve by knitting the strand of yarn between stitches through the back loop, creating a tidy, virtually invisible increase within the colorwork pattern.
• Gauge adjustment: The pattern uses two needle sizes — smaller needles for ribbing sections and larger needles for the main colorwork body — a common technique in garment knitting to ensure the ribbing pulls in correctly while the main fabric maintains the correct drape and gauge.

Stitches Used

• Ribbing: *k2, p2* repeat, with wrong-side rows worked to maintain the rib pattern (knit the knit stitches, purl the purl stitches).
• Stockinette stitch: Knit on right-side rows, purl on wrong-side rows — used as the foundation stitch for the colorwork sections.
• Stranded colorwork: Stockinette stitch worked following the colorwork charts, carrying both Beard Lichen and Off White yarns across each row.

Materials – Yarn

The pattern calls for Novita Natura, a worsted-weight yarn, in two colorways:

• (032) Beard Lichen: 350(400)400(450)450 g depending on size — used as the main background color.
• (010) Off White: 250(300)300(350