Ben's Jacket Cascade Pacific - DK178

Ben's Jacket – Free Knitting Pattern Using Cascade Pacific Yarn (DK178)

Ben's Jacket, pattern number DK178, is a classic knitted jacket designed by Linda Voss Plummer and published by Cascade Yarns. This free, downloadable PDF pattern is rated intermediate in difficulty and produces a structured, cable-accented jacket suitable for everyday wear. The design features a clean silhouette with garter stitch borders, smooth stockinette body panels, and a striking central cable panel on each front piece, making it an excellent project for knitters who are comfortable with basic shaping and ready to incorporate cable work into a garment.

What Is Being Made

The finished project is a knitted jacket worked in separate pieces — a back panel, a left front, and a right front — which are seamed together to create the complete garment. The jacket is sized to fit a range of body measurements, with stitch counts and measurements given for five sizes. Circular needle lengths range from 24 to 32 inches depending on size, accommodating the full width of each panel comfortably. The jacket is designed with a button or open front and features decorative cable detailing along the front bands, giving it a polished, tailored appearance.

Techniques Used

• Flat knitting: All pieces are worked flat, back and forth in rows, rather than in the round.
• Garter stitch borders: Each piece begins with a garter stitch section worked over 17 to 21 rows depending on size, creating a firm, non-curling lower edge that adds structure to the hem.
• Stockinette stitch body: The main body of the jacket is worked in classic stockinette stitch, knitting on the right side and purling on the wrong side, for a smooth, even fabric.
• Cable knitting: An 11-stitch cable panel is incorporated into each front piece. The cable is set off by a purl stitch on each side and is worked over a four-row repeat. This technique requires a cable needle and involves crossing stitches to create a twisted rope-like texture.
• Armhole shaping: Stitches are cast off at the beginning of rows to shape the armhole openings on the back piece, a standard garment-construction technique for set-in or modified drop-shoulder styling.
• Stitch holders: Live stitches are placed on holders at the shoulders and other points, a technique used to keep stitches available for later joining or finishing steps such as a three-needle bind-off or grafting.
• Marker placement: Stitch markers are used to isolate the cable panel from the surrounding knit stitches, helping the knitter maintain pattern consistency across rows.

Stitches Used

• Garter stitch – knit every row; used for the lower border of all pieces
• Stockinette stitch – knit on right side, purl on wrong side; used for the main body
• C4L (Cable 4 Left): Slip 2 stitches to cable needle and hold in back, knit 2, then knit 2 from the cable needle — creates a right-leaning cross
• C4R (Cable 4 Right): Slip 2 stitches to cable needle and hold in front, knit 2, then knit 2 from the cable needle — creates a left-leaning cross
• 11-stitch cable panel: Worked over a four-row repeat using C4L and C4R in combination, with a central knit stitch and purl borders, producing a classic braided or rope cable motif
• Knit and purl combinations within the cable panel rows to frame and define the cable texture against the surrounding fabric

Cable Panel Detail

The cable at the heart of this jacket's front panels is an 11-stitch cable framed by a single purl stitch on each side. The four-row repeat is structured as follows:

• Row 1 (right side): p1, k9, p1
• Rows 2 and 4 (wrong side): k1, p9, k1