Summer Cardigan with Stripes in BC Garn Alba - 2394BC - Downloadable PDF

Summer Cardigan with Stripes in BC Garn Alba – Pattern 2394BC by Ann Højgaard Slot

This free downloadable knitting pattern by designer Ann Højgaard Slot for BC Garn produces a beautifully textured, stripe-detailed summer cardigan worked in the brand's own Alba yarn. Classified as an advanced knitting project, this design is ideal for experienced knitters looking to combine colourwork, shaping, and stitch texture in a single wearable garment. The pattern is numbered 2394BC and is available as a downloadable PDF.

What Is Being Made

The finished project is a summer cardigan featuring bold horizontal stripes worked across the body and sleeves. It is a button-front cardigan designed in three sizes:

• Small: 88 cm width, 52 cm length
• Medium: 96 cm width, 53 cm length
• Large: 104 cm width, 55 cm length

The garment is fastened with 6 buttons, each 20 mm in diameter, giving it a classic, structured finish suitable for warm-weather wear.

Construction and Techniques

The cardigan is worked back and forth on circular needles, meaning the body pieces are knitted flat rather than in the round. This approach is common for cardigans as it allows for clean front band edges and straightforward button band placement. The sleeves are worked separately using either double-pointed needles (DPNs) or a short circular needle.

One of the most important construction notes in this pattern is that the yarn is held double throughout — that is, two strands of BC Garn Alba are used together at all times. This technique effectively doubles the weight of the 4-ply yarn, producing a fabric with greater body, warmth, and stitch definition than a single strand would achieve.

The stripe sequence is clearly defined in the pattern:

• Each coloured stripe is 10 rows wide
• Stripes are worked in a repeating order: C1, C2, C3, C4, C1, C2…
• 6 rows of main colour are worked between each stripe

This regular alternation of main colour and accent stripes creates a rhythmic, graphic pattern across the fabric. The colour sequence is maintained consistently across all pieces of the garment — back, fronts, and sleeves — for a cohesive finished look.

Stitches Used

The primary stitch used throughout this cardigan is seed stitch (also known as moss stitch in some traditions). Seed stitch is created by alternating knit and purl stitches across each row, with the stitches offset on every subsequent row so that knits sit above purls and vice versa. This produces a beautifully textured, non-curling fabric that is ideal for a cardigan — particularly one without a separate ribbed border, as the seed stitch naturally lies flat at edges.

The pattern tension is set specifically for seed stitch: 16 stitches × 30 rows = 10 × 10 cm. Knitters are advised to swatch in seed stitch before beginning to ensure accurate sizing. Stockinette stitch (St st) is also referenced in the abbreviations, suggesting it may appear in specific sections of the construction.

Shaping is worked through cast-offs and decreases at the armholes and shoulders. For example, the back features cast-offs at the shoulder on each side, followed by individual shoulder shaping worked separately on left and right sides. The left front similarly incorporates stepped cast-offs to shape the neckline and shoulder.

Materials

Yarn: BC Garn Alba

BC Garn Alba is a 4-ply weight yarn used doubled throughout this pattern. The design calls for five colours:

• Main colour (Fv): eb15 — 250 (250) 300 g
• C1: eb26 — 100 (100) 100 g
• C2: eb06 — 100