Blue Sky Fibers Cropped Cardigan

Blue Sky Fibers Cropped Cardigan – Knitting Pattern by Amy O'Neill Houck

The Blue Sky Fibers Cropped Cardigan is a women's knitted cardigan designed by Amy O'Neill Houck and published by Blue Sky Fibers (formerly Blue Sky Alpacas). Available as a downloadable PDF, this pattern is rated Advanced Beginner and is celebrated for its straightforward, seamless construction that makes it an ideal project for knitters ready to move beyond the basics. The finished garment is a cropped, open-front cardigan worked with yarn held double throughout, giving it a cozy, chunky feel despite being based on a sport-weight yarn.

What Is Being Made

This pattern produces a cropped cardigan for women, offered in four sizes: XS, S, M, and L. The cropped silhouette makes it a versatile layering piece, and the ribbed hem and cuffs give it a polished, structured finish. Because the yarn is held double throughout, the knitting works up quickly and the resulting fabric is warm and substantial.

Construction and Techniques

One of the standout features of this pattern is its seamless, top-down construction. The cardigan is cast on at the neckline and worked downward in one piece, meaning knitters never have to sew a single seam. This approach is highly popular in modern knitwear design because it allows for easy fit adjustments as the work progresses and eliminates the finishing work that many knitters find tedious.

• Top-down construction: The body begins at the neckline with a cast-on of 73 (73, 79, 79) stitches and is shaped downward, keeping the entire garment integrated from the start.
• Worked flat and in the round: The main body of the cardigan is worked flat on circular needles, which is typical for open-front cardigans where a continuous front opening runs the full length. Once the sleeve stitches are separated onto holders, the sleeves are worked in the round on double-pointed needles, making them seamless tubes.
• Seamless finishing: After the sleeves are completed, stitches are simply picked up and knit for any remaining edging. With no seams to sew, the finishing process is reduced to weaving in ends.
• Sleeve pickup: Sleeve stitches are distributed onto three larger double-pointed needles, and additional stitches are picked up under the arm — 3 (3, 4, 2) stitches depending on the size — to close the underarm gap neatly before working in the round.

Stitches Used

The pattern relies on a small, accessible set of stitches, making it well-suited to its Advanced Beginner rating:

• Stockinette stitch (St st): The main body of the sleeves is worked in stockinette stitch in the round, creating a smooth, classic knit fabric.
• Ribbing (k1, p1 and k2/p1 variations): Ribbing is used extensively throughout the pattern — at the hem, cuffs, and front bands. The ribbing is worked in two slightly different configurations depending on the section. For the hem, a specific two-row ribbing pattern is used: Row 1 (RS) works k2, then alternates k1 and p1 across, ending k3; Row 2 (WS) mirrors this with k2, then p1/k1 alternation, ending p1, k2. This creates a neat, stretchy border. The sleeve cuffs use a simpler k1, p1 rib worked in the round.
• Make One (M1) increase: The pattern uses a specific decorative M1 increase worked on the purl side by inserting the left needle from front to back into the horizontal strand between stitches and purling through the front loop. Notably, this version of M1 is intentionally untwisted, creating a small decorative eyelet hole rather than a closed increase — a thoughtful design detail that adds subtle texture.
• Stretchy bind-off: The hem ribbing uses a clever two-needle bind-off technique: after working the ribbing to length on the larger needle, the knitter switches to a smaller circular needle for two additional rows, then switches back to the larger needle to bind off in pattern. This method produces