Raglan Cardigans & Blanket in King Cole Drifter For Baby DK - 4489 - Downloadable PDF

Raglan Cardigans & Blanket Knitted in King Cole Drifter For Baby DK – Pattern 4489

Pattern 4489 from King Cole is a downloadable PDF knitting pattern offering two distinct baby projects: a V Neck Raglan Cardigan and a Blanket, both worked in King Cole Drifter For Baby DK yarn. The pattern covers a wide size range of 36–56 cm (14–22 in), making it suitable for newborns through to older babies and toddlers. It is rated as an intermediate difficulty level, making it ideal for knitters who are comfortable with shaping techniques and working multiple pieces in one project.

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About the Yarn: King Cole Drifter For Baby DK

Both projects are worked in King Cole Drifter For Baby DK, a double knit weight yarn specifically formulated for babywear. The Drifter For Baby range is known for its soft, gentle feel and its subtle tonal or self-striping colour effects, which add visual interest to simple stitch patterns without requiring any complex colourwork techniques. The pattern uses both a Main yarn and a Contrast yarn, allowing knitters to take advantage of the yarn's palette for neat, contrasting rib edgings and borders.

Needles Required

• 4mm knitting needles – used for the main body fabric worked in Stocking Stitch
• 3.25mm knitting needles – used for ribbed edgings and borders worked in the Contrast yarn

Tension

Achieving the correct tension is essential for this pattern, particularly because the raglan shaping uses fully fashioned decreases that are calculated precisely to stitch count. The stated tension is 22 stitches and 28 rows to 10 cm (4 in) over pattern using 4mm needles. The raglan sections are worked at a slightly different row tension of 30 rows to 10 cm (4 in) due to the fully fashioned shaping involved. Knitters are advised to swatch carefully and adjust needle size accordingly before beginning.

Design 1: V Neck Raglan Cardigan

What Is Being Made

This is a classic baby V neck cardigan constructed with raglan sleeve shaping. The raglan construction means that the sleeves and body pieces are all shaped to meet at the armhole, creating a smooth, fitted shoulder line without a traditional set-in sleeve seam. This style is particularly well-suited to baby garments as it provides a comfortable, flexible fit across the shoulders and chest.

Construction Method

The cardigan is worked in separate pieces — a Left Front, Right Front, Back, and two Sleeves — which are then joined and finished. The raglan shaping is worked using fully fashioned decreases, a technique where the decreases are placed a set number of stitches in from the edge, creating a neat, decorative line of shaping that is visible on the finished garment. This is a hallmark of quality knitwear construction.

After the individual pieces are worked, all sections are brought together onto a single needle for the yoke, joining the Left Front, Back, Right Front, and both Sleeves with stitch markers separating each section. The combined stitch count at this joining row — for example 133 [163:177:203:235] stitches across the five sizes — reflects how all pieces converge for the top-down finishing of the yoke and neckband.

Techniques Used

• Raglan sleeve shaping with fully fashioned decreases
• V neckline shaping
• Joining separate knitted pieces onto a single needle for yoke construction
• Working with stitch markers to separate sections during yoke knitting
• Casting on with Contrast yarn for contrast rib edgings
• Picking up and working stitches evenly along edges for neckbands and button bands
• Working buttonholes within the rib border (referenced by cast-off and re-cast-on sequences within the