765 Honeycomb Child's Cardigan - Knitting Pattern for Kids in Valley Yarns Valley Superwash Bulky

765 Honeycomb Child's Cardigan – Knitting Pattern Summary

The 765 Honeycomb Child's Cardigan is a colorful, textured knitting pattern designed by Melissa Metzbower and published by Valley Yarns. This intermediate-level pattern creates a charming children's cardigan featuring a striking hexagonal honeycomb stitch panel on the lower body and cheerful striped stockinette sleeves, making it a visually engaging project that combines two distinct stitch patterns in one garment. The cardigan is worked in six sizes with finished chest measurements of 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, and 23 inches, and is designed to be worn with approximately 3 inches of positive ease for a comfortable, relaxed fit. The sample shown is knitted in size 23 inches.

Construction and Techniques

This cardigan is constructed using a bottom-up, seamless method, meaning knitters begin at the lower edge and work upward, eliminating the need for extensive seaming at the end. The seamless construction makes finishing quicker and cleaner, which is especially appealing for knitters who prefer a more streamlined process. The stripe technique is incorporated throughout the sleeves, where two colors alternate in a classic striped stockinette pattern, adding a playful, bold visual contrast to the textured honeycomb body.

The pattern is worked flat using circular or straight needles, with double pointed needles also required for certain sections. The use of circular needles for flat knitting is a common modern technique that allows knitters to manage larger stitch counts with greater ease and flexibility.

Stitches Used

• Honeycomb stitch pattern – A geometric, textural stitch worked at a gauge of 4 stitches and 4 rows per inch, used across the lower body of the cardigan to create a hexagonal, honeycomb-like surface texture. This stitch pattern adds visual depth and a handcrafted artisan quality to the finished garment.
• Stockinette stitch – The classic knit-on-right-side, purl-on-wrong-side stitch used throughout the sleeves and other sections, worked at a gauge of 3.5 stitches and 5 rows per inch. Stockinette provides a smooth, even fabric that showcases the stripe colorwork beautifully.
• Stripes – Color striping technique applied to the sleeves using alternating yarn colors, creating a bold, graphic look that complements the honeycomb body.

Yarn and Materials

The pattern calls for Valley Yarns Valley Superwash Bulky, a luxurious 100% Extra Fine Superwash Merino Wool yarn sold in 100g skeins with approximately 109 yards each. This yarn falls into the chunky weight category, which contributes to the pattern's reputation as a fast knit — ideal for knitters who want to complete a project relatively quickly without sacrificing stitch definition or softness. The Superwash treatment makes the finished cardigan machine washable, a highly practical feature for children's garments.

Three colors are used in this pattern:

• Color A – White (color #19): 1 skein for sizes 18–20 inches; 2 skeins for sizes 21–23 inches
• Color B – Mulberry (color #15): 1 skein for size 18 inches; 2 skeins for sizes 19–23 inches
• Color C – Lime (color #25): 1 skein for all sizes

The combination of White, Mulberry, and Lime gives the cardigan a bright, playful palette perfectly suited to children's knitwear.

Needles and Additional Materials

• US size 10.5 (6.50 mm) needles — both circular or straight for flat knitting, and double pointed needles — or the size needed to achieve gauge
• Seven ⅝-inch buttons with shanks (optional) for button band closure
• A small steel crochet hook sized to fit through the button shanks (optional), used in the unique technique of knitting buttons directly into the fabric

Difficulty and Appeal