620 Coppice Cardigan - Knitting Pattern for Women in Valley Yarns 2/14 Alpaca Silk

620 Coppice Cardigan – Knitting Pattern for Women by Kirsten Hipsky

The 620 Coppice Cardigan is a beautifully simple yet elegantly detailed women's cardigan knitting pattern designed by Kirsten Hipsky. Published as a downloadable PDF, this pattern produces an open-front cardigan with a finished size of approximately 40 inches wide and 30 inches long, making it a relaxed, one-size-fits-all design suitable for a wide range of adult figures. The defining feature of this garment is its allover Bead Lace Stitch, which creates an intricate, airy texture that belies how straightforward the construction actually is — making it an ideal project for knitters at an intermediate skill level who want to explore lace without complex shaping.

What Is Being Made

This pattern produces a lightweight, open-front women's cardigan worked in a delicate lace fabric. The silhouette is clean and unfussy: a rectangular body folded in half, with sewn side seams that create armhole openings, finished with picked-up ribbed armhole bands. The result is a flowing, versatile layering piece that drapes elegantly thanks to the luxurious fiber content of the recommended yarn. The open front means no buttonholes or closures are required, keeping the finishing work minimal while the lace stitch provides all the visual interest.

Construction Techniques

• Bottom-up construction: The cardigan is cast on at the lower edge and worked upward to the bind-off, following a logical, straightforward progression.
• Worked flat: The entire body is knitted flat in rows, meaning knitters work back and forth rather than in the round for the main fabric sections.
• Seamed finishing: Once the flat fabric is complete, it is folded in half so that the cast-on and bind-off edges meet, forming a doubled rectangle. The outer 7 inches on each short side are sewn shut to create the side seams, leaving a center 16-inch opening on each side for the armholes.
• Lace knitting: The body fabric is dominated by the Bead Lace Stitch, a four-row repeating lace pattern worked over a multiple of 6 stitches plus 3. This technique uses yarn overs and decreases to form the characteristic beaded, openwork texture.
• Ribbing: Both the lower hem and the armhole bands are worked in k2, p2 ribbing, providing a neat, elastic edge that anchors the lace fabric and gives the garment a polished, finished look.
• Picking up stitches: Armhole ribbing is added by picking up and knitting 72 stitches around each armhole opening, then working 2 inches of k2, p2 rib before binding off. The side edges of the armhole ribbing are then sewn closed.

Stitches Used

The pattern relies on a focused set of stitches and techniques that are well within reach for an intermediate knitter:

• Bead Lace Stitch – a 4-row repeat lace pattern that forms the primary fabric of the cardigan body. The four rows are as follows:
• Row 1: Uses k2tog (knit 2 together) and yo (yarn over) to create paired decreases and increases that form the lace motif.
• Row 2: Introduces the sl1-k2tog-psso (slip 1 stitch, knit 2 together, pass slipped stitch over) — a centered double decrease — combined with yarn overs to maintain stitch count and develop the beaded pattern.
• Row 3: Mirrors Row 1 with a reversed placement of yarn overs and k2tog decreases.
• Row 4: Repeats the centered double decrease sequence with yarn overs to complete the four-row lace repeat.
• K2, P2 Ribbing – used for the 2-inch hem at the cast-on edge, the 2-inch hem at the bind-off edge, and the 2-inch armhole bands.
• Standard knit and purl stitches form the foundation of all sections.

Materials – Yarn and Needles