Basket Weave Cardigan - Free Knitting Pattern For Women in Paintbox Yarns Simply Super Chunky

Basket Weave Cardigan – Free Knitting Pattern for Women in Paintbox Yarns Simply Super Chunky

This Basket Weave Cardigan is a free, intermediate-level knitting pattern designed for women, worked in the luxuriously thick Paintbox Yarns Simply Super Chunky weight yarn. The finished garment is a classic, cosy cardigan featuring an eye-catching basket weave texture across the body, making it a rewarding project for knitters who are comfortable with basic techniques and ready to explore more structured stitch patterns. The super chunky yarn weight means the fabric grows quickly on the needles, delivering a satisfying knit with beautiful stitch definition.

What Is Being Made

The pattern produces a women's knitted cardigan with a rich, tactile basket weave surface texture. The design is available in multiple sizes, with instructions written for the smallest size and adjustments for larger sizes provided in round brackets throughout the pattern. The cardigan is a wardrobe staple piece, ideal for layering over knitwear or lighter tops during cooler seasons.

Construction Techniques

• Bottom-up construction: The cardigan is worked from the lower edge upward, which is a traditional approach that gives knitters a clear sense of the garment's shape as it develops and makes length adjustments straightforward.
• Worked flat: All pieces are knitted flat, meaning they are worked back and forth in rows rather than in the round, producing separate panels that are later assembled.
• Seamed finishing: The individual pieces — typically front panels, back, and sleeves — are joined together using seaming techniques, giving the finished cardigan a structured, tailored appearance with neat, durable seams.

Stitches and Stitch Patterns

The defining feature of this cardigan is the basket weave stitch pattern, which is created by combining knit and purl stitches in alternating blocks. This classic technique produces a woven, three-dimensional surface that resembles the interlaced structure of a wicker basket. The pattern repeats figures in square brackets a set number of times, making it easy to follow once the rhythm of the repeat is established.

• Basket weave pattern: Alternating blocks of knit and purl stitches, shifted at regular intervals to create the characteristic interlocking texture.
• Knit and purl stitches: The fundamental building blocks of the entire design, used both in the textured body sections and in any ribbing or edging details.

The gauge for this pattern is 9 stitches and 14 rows to a 4-inch (10cm) square worked in the basket weave pattern using US 13 (9mm) knitting needles. Achieving this gauge is important for ensuring the finished cardigan matches the intended sizing.

Materials Required

• Yarn: Paintbox Yarns Simply Super Chunky, a super chunky weight yarn sold in 3½oz / 100g balls. The pattern calls for 13 to 18 balls depending on the size being knitted, shown in the colourway Washed Teal. Paintbox Yarns notes that yarn quantities are approximate and based on average requirements. The brand also advises that it cannot accept responsibility for the finished item if any yarn other than the recommended Paintbox Yarns Simply Super Chunky is used.
• Needles: US 13 (9mm) straight knitting needles for the main flat-worked sections, plus a US 13 (9mm) circular knitting needle which is used for certain stages of the construction, such as picking up stitches along button bands or necklines.

Pattern Notes and Terminology

The pattern is written using US knitting terminology, with UK equivalents provided in italics within round brackets throughout. This dual-terminology approach makes the pattern accessible to knitters on both sides of the Atlantic. Instructions follow standard abbreviation conventions, including beg for beginning, and stitch repeats are indicated using square brackets followed by the number of repetitions required.

Difficulty Level

Rated as intermediate, this pattern is best suited to knitters who are already confident with knit and purl stitches and have some experience reading multi-size patterns. The basket weave stitch repeat is straightforward once established, but keeping