Bubble Stitch Cardigan - Free Knitting Pattern For Women - Cardigan Knitting Pattern in Paintbox Yarns Simply Super Chunky

Bubble Stitch Cardigan: Free Knitting Pattern for Women in Paintbox Yarns Simply Super Chunky

The Bubble Stitch Cardigan is a striking women's cardigan knitting pattern worked in a bold, textured bubble stitch design. Released as a free downloadable PDF, this intermediate-level pattern is crafted using Paintbox Yarns Simply Super Chunky, making it a satisfying project that works up quickly thanks to the super chunky weight yarn. The finished garment is a cozy, statement-making cardigan featuring a distinctive two-color stripe construction that highlights the three-dimensional bubble texture throughout.

What Is Being Made

This pattern produces a women's cardigan worked in multiple sizes. The design is characterized by its eye-catching bubble stitch texture, which creates raised, rounded clusters of stitches across the fabric, giving the finished piece a playful yet sophisticated appearance. The two-color colorwork approach — using a main color (A) and a contrast color (B) — adds visual depth and makes the bubbles pop against the background stripes.

Construction and Techniques

The Bubble Stitch Cardigan is constructed using a bottom-up, seamed, worked flat method. This means knitters begin at the lower edge of each piece and work upward in rows, ultimately seaming the individual panels together to create the finished garment. Working flat is ideal for knitters who prefer straight-needle knitting or are less confident with in-the-round construction, as each piece — such as the fronts, back, and sleeves — is knitted separately before assembly.

• Bottom-up construction: Knitting begins at the cast-on edge and progresses toward the shoulders, allowing easy length adjustments early in the project.
• Worked flat: All pieces are knitted back and forth in rows rather than in the round, producing a fabric with right-side and wrong-side rows.
• Seamed finishing: Individual knitted panels are joined using seaming techniques, which adds structure and durability to the finished cardigan.
• Stripes: The two-color stripe sequence is integrated throughout the pattern, alternating between Color A and Color B to create the visual rhythm that defines the bubble stitch effect.

Stitches Used

The defining feature of this pattern is the bubble stitch, a textured knitting technique that creates raised, three-dimensional bobble-like clusters within the fabric. Bubble stitches typically involve working multiple times into the same stitch and then decreasing back down, or slipping and wrapping stitches in a specific sequence to create the characteristic puffed appearance. Alongside the bubble stitch, the pattern incorporates standard knit and purl stitches to form the background fabric and any ribbing or edging details. The combination of smooth stockinette-style sections with the raised bubble clusters gives the cardigan its distinctive tactile quality.

Materials: Yarn and Needles

The pattern is designed specifically for Paintbox Yarns Simply Super Chunky, a super chunky weight yarn available exclusively at lovecrafts.com. Two colorways are featured in the pattern:

• Color A: Grass Green or Red Wine — requiring 8(8:9:9:10:11:12) balls of 3½oz/100g each, depending on size.
• Color B: Candyfloss Pink — requiring 7(7:8:8:8:9:10) balls of 3½oz/100g each, depending on size.

The pattern notes that yarn quantities are based on average requirements and are therefore approximate. Using any yarn other than Paintbox Yarns Simply Super Chunky means Paintbox Yarns cannot accept responsibility for the finished item.

Two needle types are required:

• US 11 (8mm) straight knitting needles for working the flat pieces.
• US 11 (8mm) circular knitting needle for specific sections of the construction, such as picking up stitches along edges or working button bands.

Gauge and Sizing

Achieving the correct gauge is essential for a well-fitting cardigan. The pattern specifies a gauge of 10.5 stitches and 14.5 rows to a 4in/10cm square worked in pattern using