Melle Cardigan and Top in Berroco Tillie - Downloadable PDF

Melle Cardigan and Top in Berroco Tillie — Pattern Summary

Overview

The Melle Cardigan and Top is a knitting pattern designed by Åsa Buchta and published by Berroco. It is offered as a downloadable PDF and is rated Intermediate in skill level. The pattern includes two garment designs — a cardigan and a top — both worked in Berroco Tillie, a sport-weight yarn. The designs share a clean, refined aesthetic suited to knitters who are comfortable working flat pieces, reading multi-size instructions, and seaming finished garments.

Garment One: The Melle Cardigan

The Melle Cardigan is a classic, button-front cardigan designed with a relaxed but polished silhouette. It is worked in separate flat pieces — the Back, two Fronts, and Sleeves — which are then seamed together. After seaming, stitches are picked up along the front edges to work the buttonband. The finished cardigan features 5 buttons and is designed with a recommended 2–4 inches (5–10 cm) of positive ease, making it a comfortable layering piece.

The cardigan is available in a generous range of 12 sizes, with finished bust measurements spanning from 36½ inches (92.5 cm) to 69½ inches (176.5 cm) with buttonbands overlapped. Finished lengths range from approximately 22¾ inches to 25¼ inches (58–64 cm) depending on size. The sample shown in the pattern is knitted in size 39½ inches (100.5 cm).

Garment Two: The Melle Top

The pattern also includes the Melle Top, a companion pullover design by Åsa Buchta worked in the same Berroco Tillie yarn. Like the cardigan, it is a sport-weight knit suited to intermediate knitters. The top offers a coordinating option for those who prefer a pullover silhouette, and both designs share the same yarn, gauge, and general construction philosophy, making them ideal wardrobe companions.

Construction Techniques

Both garments in this pattern are constructed using a traditional flat knitting method, meaning individual pieces are worked back and forth in rows rather than in the round. Key construction techniques include:

• Flat knitting of the Back, Fronts, and Sleeves as separate pieces
• Seaming to join finished pieces into the completed garment
• Picking up stitches along front edges for the integrated buttonband
• Shaping through bind-offs and row-by-row stitch adjustments, as evidenced by the detailed shaping sequences in the pattern instructions
• Stitch marker placement to track pattern sections and shaping points
• Alternating skeins of Berroco Tillie every two rows, as recommended for this hand-dyed yarn to ensure even color distribution across the finished fabric

Stitches Used

The primary fabric of the Melle Cardigan is worked in a Pattern Stitch, which forms the main body and sleeve fabric. The gauge for this pattern stitch is set at 24 stitches and 36 rows = 4 inches (10 cm), measured after blocking on the larger needle size. Additional stitches involved in the construction include:

• Pattern Stitch — the main textured or structured stitch used throughout the body and sleeves
• Buttonband stitch — worked by picking up stitches along the front edges after seaming
• Standard bind-off techniques for neckline and shoulder shaping

Intermediate knitters will be comfortable with the combination of flat stitch patterns, shaped armholes and necklines, and the finishing work required to complete these garments professionally.

Yarn: Berroco Tillie

Both designs call for Berroco