Soft Cardigan in Adriafil Touch - Downloadable PDF

Soft Cardigan Knitting Pattern in Adriafil Touch Yarn – Free Downloadable PDF

This free downloadable knitting pattern provides full instructions for creating a soft, feminine cardigan jacket worked in Adriafil Touch yarn. The design is sized for a size 44 (46) and combines several elegant stitch patterns to create a textured, lightweight garment with a refined finish. The pattern is suitable for knitters who are comfortable working with multiple stitch techniques, including lace and decorative rib variations.

What Is Being Made

The finished project is a soft cardigan jacket — a classic, wearable layering piece ideal for cooler seasons or as a stylish cover-up. The garment features a structured body with decorative stitch panels and is fastened with 8 buttons, giving it a neat, polished front opening. The combination of lace and rib stitches creates visual interest and a delicate drape suited to the lightweight yarn used.

Materials Required

• Yarn: Adriafil Touch in green, shade no. 32 — approximately 150 g required. Touch is a lace weight yarn from the Adriafil range, known for its soft handle and fine construction, making it ideal for delicate, drapey knitwear.
• Knitting Needles: Two sizes are used — 3 mm and 3.5 mm knitting needles. The smaller needles are typically used for ribbed edgings and borders, while the larger needles are used for the main body fabric.
• Notions: A tapestry needle for seaming and finishing, plus 8 buttons for the front band closure.

Tension / Gauge

The stated tension for this pattern is 28 stitches and 37 rows over 10 x 10 cm, measured using 3.5 mm needles in the lace stitch. As with all knitting patterns, achieving the correct tension swatch before beginning is strongly recommended to ensure the finished cardigan matches the intended sizing.

Stitches and Techniques Used

This pattern makes use of several distinct stitch patterns, each contributing to the texture and visual character of the finished cardigan. Knitters will work across the following techniques:

• Elastic Rib: A standard stretchy rib used for borders and edgings, providing a neat, fitted finish at cuffs, hems, and front bands. The cast-on edge of the back begins with 153 (159) stitches worked in elastic rib using the smaller 3 mm needles.
• Rib Stitch 3/3: A classic knit 3, purl 3 rib worked in columns, creating a deeply textured, structured fabric. This is a foundational rib technique used widely in garment knitting for its elasticity and visual definition.
• Fancy Rib Stitch: A decorative variation of the 3/3 rib, worked over a repeat of 6 stitches plus 3. This stitch introduces a yarn over (yo) and purl 2 together on Row 9, creating a subtle eyelet detail within the rib structure. The pattern repeats across an 11-row sequence, with even rows worked as the stitches present themselves. This technique adds decorative interest while maintaining the ribbed character of the fabric.
• Lace Stitch: The primary stitch pattern used for the main body of the cardigan, worked over a repeat of 8 stitches plus 6. This is a 20-row lace repeat that incorporates yarn overs (yo) and k2 together decreases to form an open, airy eyelet pattern. The lace holes are offset across the repeat — appearing at Row 9 and Row 19 — to create a staggered, elegant lace effect. Right-side rows are worked in knit stitch between the lace rows, and wrong-side (even) rows are purled, giving the fabric a clean reverse. This type of simple drop-stitch lace is well-suited to lace weight yarn, allowing the fine fibres of the Adriafil Touch to show off the delicate openwork to best effect.