327 Sojourner Cardigan - Knitting Pattern for Women in Valley Yarns Valley Superwash DK

327 Sojourner Cardigan – Knitting Pattern for Women by Dena Childs

The 327 Sojourner Cardigan is a women's knitting pattern designed by Dena Childs and published by Valley Yarns. This beautifully textured cardigan is worked in Valley Yarns Valley Superwash DK weight yarn and is rated as an intermediate difficulty project, making it an excellent choice for knitters who are comfortable with basic techniques and ready to explore more intricate stitch patterns including cables and bobbles.

What Is Being Made

The Sojourner Cardigan is a women's seamed cardigan featuring a richly detailed cable and texture panel. It is available in a range of finished bust sizes: 33.5, 37, 40.5, 44, 47.5, and 51 inches, offering an inclusive fit range for a wide variety of body types. The garment is a classic open-front or button-front cardigan style with decorative stitch work as a central design feature.

Construction Techniques

• Bottom-up construction: The cardigan is worked from the lower hem upward, a traditional approach that gives knitters familiar shaping checkpoints as the garment grows.
• Worked flat: All pieces are knitted flat, meaning back-and-forth on straight or circular needles, producing right-side and wrong-side rows throughout.
• Seamed finishing: The individual pieces — typically front panels, back, and sleeves — are sewn together after knitting is complete. This seamed construction adds structure and durability to the finished cardigan.
• Cable techniques: The pattern makes extensive use of cable crossings, which are worked using a cable needle to hold stitches temporarily while others are knitted, creating the signature twisted and braided visual effects.

Stitches and Stitch Patterns

The heart of the Sojourner Cardigan is Chart A, a richly detailed repeating stitch panel worked over a multiple of 10 stitches plus 17, which increases to 14 stitches plus 17 during the course of the pattern. The chart is 28 rows tall and contains a variety of named and specialized stitches:

• Knit and purl stitches: All wrong-side rows are purled, providing a clean reverse stockinette background that allows the cable and texture work to stand out prominently on the right side.
• Make 1 (m1): A standard increase stitch used in Row 1 to expand the stitch count in preparation for the cable panel.
• CDI (Central Double Increase): A decorative increase that adds two stitches from a single stitch, creating a central raised column — a more advanced technique that adds elegance to the cable setup.
• BC (Back Cross) and FC (Front Cross): These are cable crossings worked over multiple stitches. A Back Cross places stitches on a cable needle held to the back before knitting, creating a right-leaning twist. A Front Cross holds stitches to the front, creating a left-leaning twist. Together, BC and FC form the flowing, interlocking cable motifs throughout the panel.
• Left Cross and Right Cross: Additional cable crossing variations used at specific rows (Rows 9, 15, and 21) to create directional movement and visual symmetry within the repeating motif.
• Bobble: Worked on Row 5 and Row 25, bobbles are small three-dimensional popcorn-like embellishments created by working multiple times into a single stitch and then decreasing back. They punctuate the cable panel with tactile detail at regular intervals.
• 5-stitch decrease: Worked on the wrong-side Row 28, this decrease returns the stitch count back to the original multiple, neatly closing the expanded cable panel at the end of each full repeat.

Materials – Yarn, Needles, and Notions

The pattern is specifically designed for Valley Yarns Valley Superwash DK, a machine-washable DK weight yarn from Valley Yarns. The superwash treatment makes this yarn practical for everyday wear, as the finished cardigan can be laundered without the risk of felting or shrinkage. DK weight yarn strikes a balance between the fine detail of fingering weight and the quicker knit of worsted weight, making it well-