Spela Cardigan - Knitting Pattern For Kids in Millamia MillaMia Naturally Soft Merino

Spela Cardigan Knitting Pattern for Kids – MillaMia Naturally Soft Merino

The Spela Cardigan is a folk-inspired Fair Isle cardigan for children, designed by MillaMia and knitted in MillaMia Naturally Soft Merino yarn. Described as a high-impact, visually striking garment, this advanced-level knitting pattern produces a fully seamed, colourwork cardigan with a classic, heritage aesthetic. Despite its bold, intricate appearance, the pattern is cleverly constructed so that only two colours are ever worked simultaneously at any point in the stranded colourwork sections, making the Fair Isle technique more manageable for confident knitters ready to take on a challenge.

What Is Being Made

The finished project is a children's stranded colourwork cardigan featuring a richly patterned Fair Isle design worked in multiple colours across the body and sleeves. The cardigan is sized to fit children aged 2–3, 4–5, 6–7, 8–9, and 10–11 years, with actual chest measurements ranging from 68 cm to 84 cm (approximately 27¾ in to 33 in). Sleeve lengths range from 26 cm to 38 cm (10¼ in to 15 in), and the length to shoulder ranges from 43 cm to 61 cm (17 in to 24 in), making this a well-proportioned, wearable garment across a wide range of children's sizes.

The cardigan fastens at the front with three buttons, which are incorporated using worked buttonholes. The finished fabric has a warm, structured feel characteristic of sport-weight merino worked in stranded colourwork.

Techniques Used

• Stranded colourwork (Fair Isle): The defining technique of this pattern. Stranded knitting involves carrying two yarn colours across a row, knitting with one while floating the other loosely across the back of the work. The pattern explicitly advises knitters to keep floating yarns nice and loose on the wrong side to prevent puckering or drawing in of the finished fabric — a critical tip for achieving a professional result.
• Bottom-up construction: The cardigan is worked from the cast-on edge upward, which is the traditional direction for seamed garments and allows the knitter to try the piece on as work progresses.
• Worked flat: Pieces are knitted back and forth on straight needles rather than in the round, meaning the knitter works both right-side and wrong-side rows.
• Seamed finishing: The individual pieces — body sections and sleeves — are sewn together after knitting, producing a structured, tailored finish with seams that add stability and shape to the garment.
• Buttonhole construction: Buttonholes are worked directly into the button band during knitting to accommodate the three buttons used for the front closure.
• Button band and border finishing: As is typical with flat-knitted cardigans, button and buttonhole bands are worked as part of the construction.

Stitches Used

• Stranded colourwork pattern stitch: The main body fabric is worked in a Fair Isle pattern stitch, creating the signature folk-inspired motifs across the garment.
• Garter stitch (g-st): Referenced in the abbreviations, garter stitch is typically used for borders, hems, or button bands in patterns of this style, providing a neat, non-curling edge.
• Standard knit and purl stitches form the foundation of the flat-worked fabric throughout.

Tension and Needle Sizes

Achieving the correct tension is especially important in stranded colourwork, as the floats on the wrong side can tighten the fabric if not managed carefully. The pattern specifies a tension of 29 stitches and 33 rows to 10 cm / 4 in over pattern using 3.25 mm (US 3) needles. A smaller needle size of 2.75 mm (US 2) is also used, most likely for ribbing, borders, or cuffs. Knitters are advised to swatch carefully before beginning, particularly given the advanced difficulty rating.

Materials – Yarn

The pattern is written specifically for MillaMia Naturally Soft Mer