787 Colum Cardigan - Knitting Pattern for Women in Valley Yarns Northfield

787 Colum Cardigan – Knitting Pattern for Women in Valley Yarns Northfield

The 787 Colum Cardigan is a women's knitting pattern designed by Kirsten Hipsky, featuring a beautifully elegant seamless construction and delicate lace detailing. This intermediate-level pattern produces a classic open-front cardigan with a refined, feminine silhouette made possible by its thoughtful raglan shaping and decorative eyelet work.

What Is Being Made

This pattern creates a seamless, bottom-up raglan cardigan for women, available in a wide range of finished sizes: 32, 36, 40, 44, 48, 52, and 56 inches in finished bust circumference. The sample shown in the pattern is knitted in size 36 inches. The cardigan features wing-shaped eyelets that elegantly frame the raglan decrease lines, adding a lace element that elevates this piece beyond a standard everyday cardigan. The result is a wearable, sophisticated layering piece suited to a variety of occasions.

Construction and Techniques

The Colum Cardigan is worked using several key knitting techniques that make it an excellent project for knitters ready to move beyond beginner-level construction:

• Bottom-up construction: The lower body is cast on and worked upward, beginning with the right front, back, and left front sections joined together on a long circular needle. The body begins with 160 (180, 200, 220) (240, 260, 280) stitches total across all three sections.
• Seamless knitting: The garment is designed to minimize finishing work by joining sections and working in the round where appropriate, reducing or eliminating the need for seaming.
• Worked flat: Certain portions of this cardigan, consistent with open-front cardigan construction, are worked flat on circular needles, allowing the front edges to remain open.
• Lace and eyelet detailing: Wing-shaped eyelets are incorporated along the raglan decrease lines, creating a decorative lace effect. This technique involves deliberate yarn-over increases paired with corresponding decreases to form the eyelet openings without adding extra stitches.
• Raglan shaping: The yoke is shaped using raglan-style decreases, a method that distributes the shaping evenly across the shoulders and creates a smooth, fitted upper body without the need for traditional set-in sleeve construction.

Sleeves

The sleeves are worked separately and are each begun by casting on 48 stitches, joined in the round, and worked with an initial k1, p1 ribbing section of 1½ inches. After the ribbing, the sleeves are worked in stockinette stitch with regular increases at the beginning and end of rounds. The frequency of these increases varies by size, ranging from every 8th round for the smallest size down to every 3rd round for the largest sizes, ensuring a properly tapered sleeve shape across all sizes. The sleeve cast-on begins with 40 (45, 50, 55) (60, 65, 70) stitches for the lower body section reference, with the sleeve itself starting at 48 stitches.

Stitches Used

• Stockinette stitch (St st): The primary stitch pattern used throughout the body and sleeves, creating a smooth, classic fabric.
• k1, p1 ribbing: Used at the cuffs and likely at other edges to create a neat, stretchy border that helps the garment maintain its shape.
• Eyelet/lace stitches: Yarn-over increases and paired decreases are used to create the signature wing-shaped eyelet motifs along the raglan lines.
• Raglan decrease stitches: Worked consistently at the yoke to shape the shoulders and join the body and sleeves.

Materials

The pattern calls for Valley Yarns Northfield, a luxurious DK weight yarn with a fiber composition of 70% Merino wool, 20% Baby Alpaca, and 10% Silk. Each skein contains 50 grams and approximately 124 yards. The quantity required ranges from