Ren in MODE at Rowan Alpaca Haze - Downloadable PDF

Ren Cardigan in Mode at Rowan Alpaca Haze – Knitting Pattern Summary

The Ren cardigan is a beautifully crafted knitted garment designed by Quail Studio and worked in Mode at Rowan Alpaca Haze yarn. This downloadable PDF pattern delivers an elegant, lace-detailed cardigan with a relaxed, oversized silhouette — a hallmark of contemporary knitwear design. The pattern is rated intermediate in difficulty, making it a rewarding project for knitters who are comfortable with lace techniques, shaping, and reading charted stitch patterns.

What Is Being Made

The Ren pattern produces a women's lace cardigan with a generous, relaxed fit. The garment is photographed in Merlot 20, one of the colourways available in Alpaca Haze. With actual chest measurements ranging from 136.5 cm (53¾ in) to 216.5 cm (85¼ in), the pattern is designed to be worn with significant positive ease, creating a soft, drapey, oversized aesthetic that suits a wide range of body types. The pattern covers nine sizes, fitting chests from 71–76 cm (28–30 in) up to 152–157 cm (60–62 in).

Construction and Techniques

The Ren cardigan is knitted flat using a pair of straight needles, with separate pieces worked for the back, left front, right front, and sleeves. The construction follows a classic set-in or shaped-seam approach, with pieces seamed together on completion. Key construction techniques include:

• Lace pattern worked from a 2-row repeating chart, which forms the primary fabric of the garment and runs throughout the body and sleeves
• Front neck and shoulder shaping, worked simultaneously with decreases at the neck edge and cast-off sequences at the shoulder
• Graduated neck shaping using decreases spaced on alternating rows and every 4th or 6th rows, depending on size, for a smooth, professional neckline curve
• Stitch markers and stitch holders used to manage live stitches during shaping
• Pattern instructions for beginning and ending the lace chart as indicated per size, ensuring the repeat is correctly centred or aligned across all sizes

Stitches and Stitch Patterns

The Ren cardigan relies on a combination of foundational and decorative stitches. The primary fabric is a lace pattern worked over a 2-row chart repeat, creating an open, airy texture that is beautifully suited to the lightweight Alpaca Haze yarn. The following stitches and techniques are used throughout the pattern:

• Lace pattern – the main stitch pattern, worked from a charted 2-row repeat and continued throughout the body and sleeves
• yfrn (yarn forward round needle) – a yarn-over variation used to create the lace eyelets within the pattern, bringing the yarn to the front between needles
• K2tog (knit two together) – a right-leaning decrease used both within the lace pattern and for shaping
• SSK (slip, slip, knit) – a left-leaning decrease worked by slipping two stitches knitwise before knitting them together through the front loops, used for symmetrical shaping
• M1R (make 1 right) – a right-leaning increase made by lifting the strand between stitches from back to front and knitting it
• M1L (make 1 left) – a left-leaning increase made by lifting the strand between stitches from front to back and knitting through the back loop
• Purl stitches used in border and edging sections, such as the P4 detail noted at the front neck edge

The combination of yfrn, K2tog, SSK, M1R, and M1L within the lace repeat creates a delicate, balanced openwork fabric. Lace knitting of this type requires attention to maintaining the stitch count across each row, particularly during shaping sections where decreases must be carefully