Sweaters in King Cole DK - 5108pdf - Downloadable PDF

Sweaters in King Cole DK – Pattern 5108: Children's Raglan Sleeve Sweaters (Downloadable PDF)

Pattern 5108 from King Cole is a knitting pattern for children's sweaters featuring classic raglan sleeve construction. Designed to fit chest sizes 51–71 cm (20–28 inches), the pattern covers a generous size range spanning 1 to 10 years, making it a versatile addition to any knitter's collection. The pattern is available as a downloadable PDF and is rated as intermediate in difficulty, making it well suited to knitters who are comfortable with basic shaping techniques and are ready to tackle more structured garment construction.

King Cole also notes that a donation is made to the Pink Ribbon Foundation for every King Cole pattern purchased, adding a charitable dimension to each project.

What Is Being Made

The pattern includes at least one design described as a Sweater with Button Raglans. This is a children's pullover-style sweater constructed with raglan sleeves — a style in which the sleeve extends in one piece to the collar, with diagonal seam lines running from the underarm to the neckline. Raglan construction is a popular choice for children's knitwear because it provides a comfortable, flexible fit with no hard shoulder seams, and it allows for easy size adjustment. The sweater features a striped colourwork design using a main yarn (M) and a contrast yarn (C), worked in a two-row stripe sequence.

Techniques Used

• Raglan sleeve shaping: The defining construction technique of this pattern. Stitches are decreased along four diagonal raglan lines — at both sides of each sleeve and each body section — to shape the yoke. This creates the characteristic diagonal lines that run from underarm to neck.
• Stripe colourwork: The pattern uses stripes of 2 rows M, 2 rows C, requiring the knitter to carry or join yarns at regular intervals. This is a straightforward introduction to working with two colours.
• Neck shaping: The pattern includes instructions for shaping the neckline, with decreases worked at the neck edge on specified rows and alternate rows to create a smooth, fitted finish.
• Tension/gauge swatch: The pattern explicitly instructs knitters to work a tension square before beginning, an essential step for achieving correct sizing in any garment.
• Casting on and ribbing: Smaller needles are used for the cast-on and initial rows, a standard technique for creating a neat, elasticated hem or cuff.

Stitches Used

• Stocking stitch (st-st): The main fabric stitch, worked with knit on the right side and purl on the wrong side, producing a smooth, classic knitted fabric.
• Reversed stocking stitch (rev st-st): The reverse of stocking stitch, with purl on the right side and knit on the wrong side, giving a textured, bumpy surface sometimes used as a contrast or decorative element.
• Garter stitch (gst): Every row knitted, producing a ridged, reversible fabric. Often used for borders, hems, or decorative bands.
• K2tog (knit two together): A right-leaning decrease used extensively in the raglan and neck shaping sections.
• sl1, K1, psso (slip one, knit one, pass slipped stitch over): A left-leaning decrease, paired with K2tog to create symmetrical raglan shaping lines.
• P2tog and P2tog tbs (purl two together through back of stitch): Purl-side decreases used to maintain the shaping on wrong-side rows.
• yfwd, yon, yrn (yarn forward / yarn over needle / yarn round needle): Yarn-over movements referenced in the abbreviations, used to create eyelets or to manage yarn position between knit and purl stitches.

Materials

The pattern is designed to be knitted in King Cole DK (double knit weight) yarn. Two colours are required — a main colour (M) and a contrast colour (C) — to achieve the stripe pattern. The recommended needle sizes are 3.75 mm needles for