Pretty girl's cabled cardigan

Pretty Girl's Cabled Cardigan by Sarah Murray

What is Being Made

This is a child's cabled cardigan designed by Sarah Murray for the Cornish Knitting Company (pattern CKC071). The cardigan is a quick-knitting garment featuring decorative cable details and garter stitch construction, intended for little girls. The design includes button closures with the option to use mismatched coloured buttons for a playful aesthetic, though matching buttons can be substituted according to preference.

Knitting Techniques Used

The cardigan employs several key knitting techniques. Garter stitch forms the primary fabric base, creating a textured, reversible surface that knits up quickly. Cable stitches are incorporated as decorative elements throughout the design, adding visual interest and dimension to the garment. The pattern requires picking up stitches from garter stitch edgings, with specific guidance provided: pick up 3 stitches for every 4 rows as a standard ratio. This technique is essential for constructing the button bands and other finished edges of the cardigan.

Stitches and Abbreviations

The pattern utilizes specialized cable stitches worked with a cable needle. The abbreviations include:

• C3L (Cable 3 Left): Slip next 2 stitches onto cable needle and hold at front of work, knit 1 stitch, then knit 1 stitch from cable needle
• C3R (Cable 3 Right): Slip next stitch onto cable needle and hold at back of work, knit 2 stitches, then knit 1 stitch from cable needle
• C4L (Cable 4 Left): Slip next 2 stitches onto cable needle and hold at front of work

These cable crosses create the decorative twisted rope effects characteristic of cabled knitwear.

Materials Required

The cardigan is worked in King Cole Baby Big Value 4 ply yarn, a 100% acrylic yarn supplied in 100g balls with 400 metres per ball. This yarn weight and fibre content makes the garment durable and easy-care for children's wear. Needles required include 2¾ mm straight needles and 3mm straight needles, along with a cable needle for working the cable stitches. The pattern calls for 6 to 7 buttons depending on the size being knitted, with the designer's sample featuring mismatched coloured buttons.

Tension and Sizing

The pattern specifies a tension of 25 stitches and 52 rows to measure 10cm x 10cm (4 inches x 4 inches) when worked on 3mm needles over garter stitch. This tension is essential to achieve the correct finished measurements. The cardigan is available in multiple sizes, with button quantities ranging from 6 buttons for smaller sizes to 7 buttons for larger sizes.

Difficulty Level

This pattern is classified as intermediate difficulty, making it suitable for knitters with some experience beyond absolute beginners. While garter stitch is a fundamental technique accessible to novices, the incorporation of cable stitches and the construction techniques required—particularly picking up stitches from edges—require intermediate-level skills and understanding of cable manipulation.