"Swing Cardigan" - Free Cardigan Knitting Pattern For Women in Paintbox Yarns Simply Aran

Swing Cardigan – Free Women's Aran Knitting Pattern by Paintbox Yarns

The Swing Cardigan is a stylish, relaxed-fit women's cardigan knitting pattern offered free by Paintbox Yarns, rated at an intermediate difficulty level. Worked in a classic two-colour combination of Mustard Yellow as the main colour and Champagne White as the contrast, this design has a warm, contemporary feel that suits a wide range of casual and smart-casual occasions. The pattern is available as a downloadable PDF and is written using UK terminology with US equivalents provided throughout, making it accessible to knitters on both sides of the Atlantic.

What Is Being Made

The finished project is a women's seamed swing cardigan — a garment characterised by its gently flared or relaxed silhouette that swings away from the body, offering ease and comfort without sacrificing shape. It features a single button fastening and is designed to sit to a finished length of approximately 62–67 cm (24½–26½ in) to the back neck, depending on size. Set-in or structured sleeves with a length of 33–35 cm (13–13¾ in) complete the design. The cardigan is sized to fit bust measurements from 81 cm (32 in) to 107 cm (42 in), with actual garment measurements ranging from 88 cm (34¾ in) to 114 cm (45 in), providing a comfortable amount of positive ease across all sizes.

Techniques Used

• Bottom-up construction: The cardigan is worked from the lower edge upward, a traditional approach that gives knitters clear shaping progression and makes length adjustments straightforward before the armhole shaping begins.
• Worked flat: All pieces are knitted flat on straight needles, meaning the knitter works back and forth in rows rather than in the round. This is the conventional method for seamed garments and produces distinct right-side and wrong-side rows.
• Seamed finishing: Individual pieces — typically a back, two fronts, and two sleeves — are knitted separately and then joined using seaming techniques. Seamed construction adds structure and durability to the finished cardigan.
• Buttonhole: A single buttonhole is worked into one of the front bands or button bands to accommodate the 25 mm (1 in) button. Working a neat, stable buttonhole is a key intermediate skill this pattern develops.
• Two-colour knitting: The use of a main colour (Mustard Yellow) and a contrast colour (Champagne White) introduces colour management, requiring knitters to join and carry or cut yarn at appropriate points.
• Shaping: The swing silhouette is achieved through careful increase and decrease shaping, with instructions given for all six sizes using a combination of written figures and square bracket notation for larger sizes.

Stitches Used

• Stocking stitch (stockinette stitch): The primary stitch pattern throughout the body and sleeves. It is formed by knitting all stitches on right-side rows and purling all stitches on wrong-side rows, creating a smooth, classic fabric. Tension is measured over this stitch at 18 stitches and 24 rows to 10 cm (4 in) using 5mm needles.
• Knit (K) and Purl (P) stitches: The fundamental building blocks of the pattern, used in combination to create stocking stitch and any ribbed or textured edging sections.
• Increases and decreases: Standard shaping stitches — including working stitches together (tog) and adding stitches (inc) — are used to create the swing shape, armhole shaping, and sleeve taper.

Materials Required

The pattern calls for Paintbox Yarns Simply Aran, an aran-weight yarn, in two shades:

• Mustard Yellow (M): 4 [5: 5: 6: 6: 7] × 100g balls
• Champagne White (C): 1 [1: 1: 1: 2: 2] × 100g balls

Three sizes of straight