Cardigans in King Cole Cherish DK and Cherished DK - 4200 - Downloadable PDF

Cardigans in King Cole Cherish DK and Cherished DK – Pattern 4200

This downloadable PDF knitting pattern from King Cole presents a collection of charming baby and children's cardigans designed to be knitted in King Cole Cherish DK and King Cole Cherished DK yarns. The pattern covers a size range of 41–66 cm (16–26 inches), making it suitable for babies and young children across multiple age stages. Rated as an intermediate knitting project, it offers a rewarding make for knitters who are comfortable with standard garment construction and are ready to work with shaping and stitch pattern combinations.

Every purchase of a King Cole pattern includes a donation to the Pink Ribbon Foundation, meaning your crafting also contributes to a meaningful charitable cause.

Yarns and Materials

The cardigans are specifically designed for use with two yarns from the King Cole range:

• King Cole Cherish DK – a soft, baby-friendly double knit weight yarn ideal for delicate garments worn close to sensitive skin.
• King Cole Cherished DK – another double knit weight yarn from King Cole, offering a similarly gentle feel suited to infant and toddler knitwear.

Both yarns fall into the DK (double knit) weight category, which is one of the most versatile and popular yarn weights for baby garments, striking a balance between speed of knitting and a fine, neat fabric. The pattern makes use of a main colour (M) and a contrast colour (C), suggesting that the designs incorporate colour combinations or contrast detailing, adding visual interest to the finished cardigans.

The recommended needle size is 4 mm, or the size required to achieve the correct tension. As with all garment knitting, working a tension swatch before beginning is strongly advised.

Tension

Achieving the correct tension is essential to ensuring the finished cardigans match the stated size range. The pattern specifies two tension measurements:

• 22 stitches and 28 rows to 10 cm (4 inches) over stocking stitch on 4 mm needles.
• 20 stitches and 36 rows to 10 cm (4 inches) over garter stitch ridge pattern on 4 mm needles.

If your tension swatch produces fewer stitches than stated, switch to thinner needles; if it produces more stitches, switch to thicker needles. Because baby garments are sized precisely, matching tension is particularly important in this pattern.

Stitches and Techniques Used

The pattern draws on a combination of classic knitting stitches and techniques appropriate for an intermediate skill level:

• Stocking stitch – the smooth, classic fabric formed by alternating knit and purl rows, used as the primary fabric for the main body sections.
• Garter stitch ridge pattern – a textured stitch pattern based on garter stitch principles, adding surface interest and structure to sections of the cardigans. Garter stitch is created by knitting every row, producing a ridged, slightly elastic fabric that lies flat without curling.
• Knit (k) and purl (p) – the two foundational stitches of knitting, combined throughout the pattern to create the various fabric textures.
• Make 1 (m1) – an increase technique where a new stitch is created by picking up the horizontal strand lying between the last stitch worked and the next stitch, then knitting into the back of it to avoid a hole. This is commonly used for neat, nearly invisible shaping in garment knitting.
• Decrease (dec) – standard shaping techniques used to reduce stitch counts at armholes, necklines, or other shaped sections of the cardigan.
• Knit together (tog) – a decrease method where two stitches are knitted as one, used to shape the garment smoothly.
• Working into the back of a stitch – a technique used in conjunction with the make 1 increase to produce a twisted stitch that closes any gap in the fabric.

Garment Construction and Design

The pattern produces