Cardigans in Stylecraft Soft Baby Easy Stripes and Bambino DK 10164

Cardigans in Stylecraft Soft Baby Easy Stripes and Bambino DK – Pattern 10164

Pattern 10164 from Stylecraft is a downloadable PDF knitting pattern offering two distinct baby and toddler cardigan designs worked in DK weight yarn. The pattern covers sizes from Birth (0–6 months) through to 4–5 years, with chest measurements ranging from 41 cm / 16 in up to 61 cm / 24 in, making it a versatile addition to any handknitter's collection. Both designs are rated as intermediate in difficulty, meaning they are well suited to knitters who are comfortable with basic shaping and simple stitch patterns but are ready to develop their skills further.

The Two Designs

Design One: Round Neck Cardigan

The first design featured in this pattern is a classic Round Neck Cardigan. This is a timeless, neat-fitting baby and toddler cardigan with a traditional rounded neckline that sits comfortably and safely on young children. The silhouette is clean and practical, making it suitable for everyday wear as well as smarter occasions.

Construction follows a conventional flat-knitting method, with the garment worked in separate pieces — Back, Fronts, and Sleeves — which are then seamed together. This approach gives knitters excellent control over shaping and finishing.

• Cast-on: The Back begins by casting on 49, 57, 61, 67, or 73 stitches (depending on size) loosely using 3.25 mm needles, with the pattern advising the use of a size larger needle if necessary to keep the cast-on edge flexible and comfortable.
• Rib/Garter Border: The lower border is worked in garter stitch (knit every row), creating a firm, non-curling edge that is both practical and attractive on baby garments. The border spans 9 or 11 rows depending on size.
• Shaping: A decrease row is worked on the wrong side after the garter border, using k2tog decreases placed at regular intervals to shape the body neatly into the correct stitch count for the main fabric.

Design Two: A Second Cardigan Style

The pattern contains a second cardigan design, also worked in Stylecraft DK yarn. While the PDF extract provided focuses primarily on the Round Neck Cardigan instructions, the pattern cover clearly states two designs are included. Both designs share the same size range — 0–6 months through 4–5 years — and the same yarn recommendations, giving knitters a choice of style within a single purchase.

Yarns Used

This pattern is specifically written for two Stylecraft DK weight yarns:

• Stylecraft Soft Baby Easy Stripes DK – a self-striping yarn that creates automatic colour sequences without the need to change yarn, making it ideal for beginner-friendly colourwork and producing a cheerful, modern look on baby garments.
• Stylecraft Bambino DK – a smooth, soft DK yarn designed with babies and young children in mind, offering a gentle feel against delicate skin.

Using a self-striping yarn such as Soft Baby Easy Stripes adds visual interest to an otherwise straightforward stitch pattern without requiring any additional technique, which is part of what makes this pattern appealing at the intermediate level. The stripes emerge organically as the knitter works through the yarn, producing consistent, evenly spaced colour bands across the garment pieces.

Techniques and Stitches Used

Stitches

• Garter Stitch – used for the lower borders and cuffs; created by knitting every row on both right and wrong sides, producing a ridged, reversible fabric that lies flat without curling.
• Stocking Stitch – the main body fabric, worked by alternating knit rows on the right side and purl rows on the wrong side, creating the smooth, classic knitted fabric familiar on most garments.
• k2tog (Knit Two Together) – a standard right-leaning