Sorcha Girls Cabled Tunic in WYS The Croft Shetland Colours - Downloadable PDF

Sorcha Girls Cabled Tunic – Pattern Summary

The Sorcha Girls Cabled Tunic is a children's knitted tunic pattern published by West Yorkshire Spinners, available as a free downloadable PDF. Designed at an intermediate skill level, this pattern produces a versatile, stylish layering piece suitable for everyday wear. It is sized to fit girls aged 4–5, 6–7, 8–9, and 10–11 years, with chest measurements ranging from 61 cm to 73 cm and actual garment sizes spanning 69 cm to 97 cm in circumference, with a full length of 55 cm to 62 cm depending on the size knitted.

Design Overview

The Sorcha Cabled Tunic is described as a really versatile item for a child's wardrobe. Despite its polished, detailed appearance, the pattern is noted as a simple knit worked in an aran-weight yarn, making it approachable for knitters who have moved beyond beginner projects and are comfortable with basic cable techniques. The design features cable panels running through the body of the tunic, adding texture and visual interest, while garter stitch borders provide a neat, classic finish at the edges. The garment is completed with four buttons of 3 cm diameter, which are used as a finishing detail to set the garment off — likely at a shoulder or neck opening.

Yarn and Materials

• Yarn: West Yorkshire Spinners – The Croft Shetland Colours in the colourway Seafield (339)
• Yarn Weight: Aran
• Yarn Quantity: 4 x 100g balls (sizes 4–5 and 6–7 yrs) up to 6 x 100g balls (size 10–11 yrs)
• Needles: One pair of 5mm straight needles and one 4.5mm circular needle, 40 cm long
• Extras: 4 buttons, 3 cm diameter

The Croft Shetland Colours is a wool yarn from West Yorkshire Spinners inspired by the landscapes and heritage of Shetland. Its aran weight gives the finished tunic a satisfying stitch definition that allows the cable and garter stitch textures to stand out beautifully, while also ensuring the garment knits up at a comfortable pace.

Tension

The stated tension is 20 stitches × 25 rows to 10 cm × 10 cm worked over pattern using 5mm needles. Achieving the correct tension is particularly important in a fitted children's garment to ensure the sizing is accurate across the four available age ranges. Knitters are encouraged to work a tension swatch before casting on.

Techniques and Stitches Used

The Sorcha Cabled Tunic draws on a focused set of knitting techniques that are well within reach of an intermediate knitter:

• Cable knitting – The pattern uses two specific cable stitches that create the signature twisted rope effect seen in traditional Aran-style knitwear. Cables are worked using a cable needle to temporarily hold stitches while others are knitted, then the held stitches are worked to create the cross.
• C3F (Cable 3 Front): Slip 2 stitches onto a cable needle and hold at the front, knit 1 stitch, then knit 2 stitches from the cable needle. This creates a left-leaning cable cross.
• C3B (Cable 3 Back): Slip 1 stitch onto a cable needle and hold at the back, knit 2 stitches, then knit 1 stitch from the cable needle. This creates a right-leaning cable cross.
• Garter stitch – Worked by knitting every row, garter stitch forms the border details of the tunic, providing a flat, ridged texture that contrasts with the smoother stocking stitch and cable panels.
• Knit (K) and