40th Anniversary 03 Windchill Cardigan - Knitting Pattern for Women in Valley Yarns Valley Superwash DK

Windchill Cardigan Knitting Pattern by Melissa LaBarre – A Top-Down Raglan Cardigan in Valley Yarns Valley Superwash DK

About This Pattern

The Windchill Cardigan, designed by Melissa LaBarre as part of the Guest Designer Series #3, is a beautifully versatile women's cardigan knitted in Valley Yarns Valley Superwash DK. Featuring open fronts and three-quarter-length sleeves, this cardigan is designed to serve as a comfortable, stylish extra layer suitable for nearly any season. The pattern is a downloadable PDF and is rated as intermediate in difficulty, making it an excellent project for knitters who are comfortable with basic shaping and construction techniques and are ready to explore seamless, top-down garment construction.

What Is Being Made

This pattern produces a women's open-front raglan cardigan with three-quarter-length sleeves. Because the fronts do not meet, the garment has an elegant, relaxed drape rather than a structured button-band closure. It is worked in seven sizes, designed to fit chest measurements of 32¾, 35½, 39¼, 43, 47¼, 50, and 53¾ inches. The sizing guidance in the pattern advises knitters to choose the size closest to their bust measurement without going over — for example, a knitter with a 34-inch bust would select the 32¾-inch size — ensuring a flattering, intentional fit.

Construction Techniques

The Windchill Cardigan is constructed using a combination of techniques that make it both approachable and satisfying to knit:

• Top-down construction: The cardigan begins at the neckline and is worked downward toward the hem, allowing knitters to try on the garment as they go and make fit adjustments in real time.
• Seamless raglan yoke: The yoke is worked seamlessly in one piece, with raglan shaping that simultaneously grows the fronts, back, and sleeves. This eliminates the need for seaming at the shoulders and creates smooth, continuous fabric.
• Worked flat: Despite being seamless in construction, the body of the cardigan is worked flat (back and forth in rows), which is characteristic of open-front cardigans where the two fronts remain separate.
• Stitch markers and raglan increases: Stitch markers are placed at four raglan points during the yoke setup, and increases are worked on every right-side row using m1R (make one right) and m1L (make one left) techniques, adding 8 stitches per increase row and creating the classic raglan silhouette.
• Waste yarn and stitch holders: Waste yarn is used during construction, a common technique in top-down seamless knitting to hold sleeve stitches while the body is completed separately.

Stitches Used

The Windchill Cardigan relies on a focused set of stitches and techniques:

• Stockinette stitch (St st): The primary stitch pattern throughout the garment, worked by alternating knit rows on the right side and purl rows on the wrong side. Gauge is measured in stockinette stitch.
• Knit (k) and Purl (p): The foundational stitches used throughout.
• k2tog (knit two together): A right-leaning decrease used in shaping.
• m1R and m1L (make one right and make one left): Paired lifted increases used at each of the four raglan markers to shape the yoke. The m1L is worked by inserting the left-hand needle from front to back under the running strand and knitting through the back loop; the m1R is worked by inserting the needle from back to front and knitting through the front loop. These directional increases create a tidy, mirrored appearance at each raglan line.
• Slip marker (sm): Used throughout the yoke to maintain raglan placement.

Yarn and Materials

The pattern calls for Valley Yarns Valley Superwash DK, a 100% superwash merino wool yarn that comes in 50g s