Sunset Oversized Cardigan - Cardigan Knitting Pattern For Women in Willow & Lark Poetry and Ramble by Willow & Lark

Sunset Oversized Cardigan Knitting Pattern by Willow & Lark

The Sunset Oversized Cardigan is a beautifully relaxed, long-line women's cardigan knitting pattern from Willow & Lark's Impressionists Collection, released in 2020. Designed with a generous, oversized silhouette and a finished length of approximately 80–84 cm (31½–33 in) depending on size, this cardigan is an elegant wardrobe staple that combines warmth, texture, and subtle colour work in a beginner-friendly construction.

What Is Being Made

This pattern produces a long, oversized women's cardigan with a relaxed fit and substantial ease. The design is part of Willow & Lark's Impressionists Collection, which draws on soft, painterly colour palettes. The cardigan features a main body worked in a neutral shade with colourful accent yarns introduced to create tonal, textural interest. It is available in five sizes to fit bust measurements ranging from 81–86 cm (32–34 in) up to 122–127 cm (48–50 in), with actual finished measurements spanning 98 cm (38½ in) to 142 cm (56 in) around the bust, providing a comfortable and intentional oversized drape across all sizes.

Construction Techniques

The Sunset Oversized Cardigan is constructed using a combination of classic knitting techniques well suited to confident beginners and those looking to build their skills:

• Bottom-up construction: The garment is worked from the lower hem upward, which is a traditional and intuitive method that allows knitters to try on the piece as they progress and make length adjustments with ease.
• Worked flat: All pieces are knitted flat on straight needles rather than in the round, meaning the knitter works back and forth in rows. This is a particularly approachable method for beginners who are not yet comfortable with circular needles or joining in the round.
• Seamed finishing: The individual pieces — including the front panels, back, and sleeves — are completed separately and then joined using seaming techniques. Seamed construction gives the finished cardigan structure and helps it hold its shape over time, and it also means each piece can be blocked individually before assembly.

These three techniques together — bottom-up, worked flat, and seamed — represent a foundational approach to garment knitting that has been used for generations. For newer knitters, this style of construction is especially helpful because it breaks the project into manageable sections and avoids the complexity of shaping in the round.

Stitches Used

The primary stitch pattern used throughout the Sunset Oversized Cardigan is garter stitch, which is formed by knitting every row when working flat. Garter stitch is one of the most beginner-friendly stitch patterns in knitting — it requires only the knit stitch, lies flat without curling, and creates a beautifully squishy, ridged fabric with excellent drape and elasticity. It is particularly well suited to chunky or held-together yarns, as the texture of the stitch complements the lofty, cosy quality of the fabric.

The tension for this pattern is set at 11 stitches and 22 rows to 10 cm (4 in), measured over garter stitch. This relatively open gauge, achieved by holding multiple strands of yarn together, creates a soft and airy fabric that works up quickly — making this an ideal project for knitters who want to complete a full-sized garment without spending months on fine-gauge work.

Materials: Yarn

One of the most distinctive features of this pattern is its use of three strands of yarn held together throughout, combining two different Willow & Lark yarn bases to create a unique, blended fabric with depth of colour and texture.

• Willow & Lark Poetry — a DK weight yarn with a luxurious fibre blend of 60% Merino Wool, 30% Microfibre, and 10% Camel, sold in 50g (1.8oz) balls. The main colour (MC) used is Clotted Cream 600, and the pattern calls for 23–25 balls depending on size. The inclusion of camel fibre gives this yarn an exceptionally soft handle and a subtle warmth, while the merino provides elasticity and the microfibre adds durability and a gentle sheen.