Vapour Cardigan in Rowan Fine Tweed Haze - Downloadable PDF

Vapour Cardigan in Rowan Fine Tweed Haze – Knitting Pattern Summary

The Vapour Cardigan is an elegant, relaxed-fit knitted cardigan designed by Lisa Richardson and published by Rowan. Available as a downloadable PDF, this pattern is rated intermediate in difficulty and is worked in the luxurious Rowan Fine Tweed Haze yarn, a 4-ply weight yarn sold in 50g balls. The design showcases a beautifully airy, lightweight aesthetic — perfectly in keeping with its evocative name — making it an ideal transitional-season garment that layers effortlessly over everyday wardrobe staples.

Garment Overview

The Vapour Cardigan is a single garment design — a full cardigan with shaped shoulders and a back neck, worked in a structured stitch pattern that repeats across all sections of the garment. The finished piece is generously sized, with actual chest measurements ranging from approximately 125.5 cm (49½ in) up to 208 cm (82 in) across the full size range, reflecting a deliberately oversized, drapey silhouette.

Sizing

The pattern offers an impressive nine sizes, designed to fit chest measurements from 71–76 cm (28–30 in) through to 152–157 cm (60–62 in). This wide size range makes the Vapour Cardigan genuinely inclusive and accessible to a broad range of knitters and wearers. The substantial positive ease built into each size contributes to the garment's fluid, relaxed drape.

Construction Method

The Vapour Cardigan is constructed using classic flat knitting techniques, with individual pieces worked back and forth in rows before being seamed together. The back piece is a key structural element, worked upward from the cast-on edge through a substantial body section before shaping is introduced at the shoulders and back neck. Shoulder shaping is achieved through stepped cast-offs at the beginning of successive rows — a clean, traditional method that creates neat, structured shoulder seams. Back neck shaping is integrated into the same sequence of rows, ensuring a well-fitted neckline.

Stitch Pattern and Chart Work

The defining feature of the Vapour Cardigan is its use of a charted stitch pattern worked over a 48-row repeat. This pattern is worked entirely in stocking stitch (stockinette), beginning with a knit row on the right side. While stocking stitch itself is a foundational knitting technique — alternating knit rows on the right side with purl rows on the wrong side — the interest and texture in this design come from the interplay of the Rowan Fine Tweed Haze yarn itself, whose hazy, tweedy character adds visual depth and richness to what might otherwise appear a simple structure.

Working from a chart is an intermediate-level skill, requiring the knitter to track their position within a 48-row repeat across multiple sections of the garment simultaneously. Keeping the pattern correct through shaping rows — such as shoulder and neck cast-offs — demands careful attention and is one of the reasons this pattern is classified as intermediate rather than beginner level.

• Stitch pattern: Charted pattern worked entirely in stocking stitch (knit on RS, purl on WS)
• Pattern repeat: 48 rows, repeated throughout all sections
• Shaping technique: Stepped cast-offs for shoulder shaping; integrated back neck shaping
• Construction: Flat knitting, worked in separate pieces and seamed

Yarn: Rowan Fine Tweed Haze

Rowan Fine Tweed Haze is a 4-ply weight yarn sold in 50g balls. As a fine-weight yarn, it produces a delicate, lightweight fabric with excellent stitch definition, while the tweed haze quality adds a subtle, characterful texture that elevates the finished garment beyond a plain stocking stitch project. The yarn's fine weight is well-suited to the fluid, drapey silhouette of the Vapour Cardigan, ensuring the oversized proportions remain light and wearable rather than heavy or bulky.

Needles and Tools

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