Lace Cardigan - Knitting Pattern for Women in Debbie Bliss Nell by Debbie Bliss

Lace Cardigan Knitting Pattern for Women – Debbie Bliss Nell

This downloadable PDF knitting pattern by Debbie Bliss guides knitters through creating a beautiful lace cardigan for women, worked in the designer's signature Debbie Bliss Nell yarn. The finished garment is an elegant, relaxed-fit cardigan featuring an all-over lace pattern, making it a versatile layering piece suitable for a wide range of occasions. With its generous sizing options and classic construction, this pattern is an excellent project for intermediate knitters looking to develop their lace knitting skills while producing a wearable, stylish result.

Sizing and Finished Measurements

The pattern is offered in three sizes, designed to fit chest measurements ranging from 82–97 cm (32–38 in), 102–117 cm (40–46 in), and 122–137 cm (48–54 in). The finished chest measurements are notably generous, coming in at 120 cm, 160 cm, and 200 cm respectively, reflecting a relaxed, oversized silhouette that is very much in keeping with contemporary knitwear styling.

• Finished chest: 120 / 160 / 200 cm (47¼ / 63 / 78¾ in)
• Length: 54 / 56 / 60 cm (21¼ / 22 / 23¾ in)
• Sleeve length: 45 / 47 / 48 cm (17¾ / 18½ / 19 in)

What Is Being Made

The finished project is a women's lace cardigan with set-in or structured sleeves, button fastening, and an all-over lace stitch pattern. The cardigan features a classic open-front design secured with 7 (7:8) buttons, making it practical as well as decorative. The lace detailing gives the garment a lightweight, airy aesthetic despite being knitted in a chunky weight yarn, which means the project works up relatively quickly compared to finer-weight lace knitting.

Construction Techniques

This cardigan is constructed using a bottom-up, worked flat, seamed method — a traditional and highly reliable approach to garment construction. Each piece of the cardigan — the back, fronts, and sleeves — is knitted separately as flat panels and then joined together using seaming techniques. This method is particularly well suited to intermediate knitters who are comfortable with basic garment shaping and finishing but may not yet have moved on to more complex seamless construction.

• Bottom-up construction: Knitting begins at the lower hem and works upward toward the shoulders, allowing easy length adjustments before committing to armhole shaping.
• Worked flat: All pieces are knitted back and forth in rows on straight needles, meaning knitters alternate between knit and purl rows rather than working in the round.
• Seamed finishing: The completed flat pieces are sewn together, which adds structure and stability to the finished cardigan — particularly important when working with a lace pattern that benefits from a defined shape.
• Lace technique: The all-over lace pattern is integrated throughout the body and sleeves, requiring familiarity with yarn-over increases and paired decrease stitches to create the characteristic open, decorative fabric.

Stitches Used

The pattern makes use of a range of standard knitting stitches and techniques, all of which are defined within the abbreviations section of the PDF. Key stitches and techniques include:

• Knit (k) and purl (p) — the foundational stitches used throughout
• Yarn over (yo) — the primary method for creating the decorative holes that define the lace pattern
• Ssk (slip, slip, knit) — a left-leaning decrease worked by slipping two stitches individually and knitting them together through the front loops
• Psso (pass slipped stitch over) — another decrease technique used within the lace pattern to maintain stitch count
• Kfb (knit into front and back) — an increase stitch used for shaping, particularly in