Butternut Cardigan in Rowan Creative Linen - ZB298-00011-FR - Downloadable PDF

Butternut Cardigan by Lisa Richardson in Rowan Creative Linen – Pattern Summary

About This Design

The Butternut Cardigan is a beautifully crafted knitted cardigan designed by Lisa Richardson and published by Rowan. This pattern, available as a downloadable PDF (reference ZB298-00011-FR), presents an elegant, relaxed cardigan suitable for intermediate-level knitters who are comfortable with shaping techniques and reading multi-size instructions. The design is photographed in Rowan Creative Linen in the colourway Straw 622, giving it a warm, natural, and summery aesthetic that suits the garment's name perfectly.

Sizing and Fit

The Butternut Cardigan is offered across five sizes, designed to fit the following chest measurements:

• 81–86 cm – finished chest: 96 cm
• 91–97 cm – finished chest: 106.5 cm
• 102–107 cm – finished chest: 117 cm
• 112–117 cm – finished chest: 125.5 cm
• 122–127 cm – finished chest: 136 cm

The generous positive ease built into each size gives the cardigan a comfortable, relaxed drape — ideal for the linen-blend yarn used throughout the project.

Yarn and Materials

This pattern is written specifically for Rowan Creative Linen, a DK weight yarn that blends cotton and linen fibres to create a fabric with beautiful drape, subtle texture, and breathability. The natural fibre content makes it especially well-suited to warm-weather layering pieces like a cardigan. Depending on size, the pattern requires between 4 and 6 x 100 g balls of Rowan Creative Linen. The colourway shown in the photography is Straw 622, a soft golden-yellow tone that complements the garment's relaxed, natural character.

Needles and Tools

As a DK weight knitting pattern, the Butternut Cardigan is worked on knitting needles appropriate for this yarn weight. Knitters should refer to the tension/gauge section of the PDF for the precise needle size recommended by Lisa Richardson to achieve the correct finished measurements across all sizes.

Techniques and Construction

The Butternut Cardigan is rated as an intermediate difficulty project, making it an excellent next step for knitters who have moved beyond basic garment construction. The pattern involves several key techniques:

• Flat knitting – the garment pieces are worked back and forth in rows rather than in the round
• Shoulder shaping – worked using staggered cast-offs (binding off) at the beginning of right-side and wrong-side rows to create a neat, angled shoulder line
• Neckline shaping – the front neckline is shaped by placing stitches on hold for the neckband and then decreasing at the neck edge over subsequent rows to create a smooth, tailored curve
• Decreasing – used at both the neck edge and shoulder to shape the garment cleanly and precisely across all five sizes
• Stitch holds and neckband construction – stitches are left on a holder at the centre front to be picked up later for the neckband finishing

Stitches Used

The Butternut Cardigan features a combination of classic knitting stitches that create both structure and texture:

• Seed stitch (point de riz) – used as a key stitch pattern, particularly at the front bands and neckband, giving the cardigan a subtle, tactile surface that lies flat without curling
• Stocking stitch (stockinette) – likely used across the main body panels, providing a smooth, classic fabric that showcases the drape of Rowan Creative Linen
• Standard cast-on and cast-off methods – used throughout construction and for shoulder shaping