Cardigans in King Cole Cottonsoft Crush DK - 4776 - Downloadable PDF

Cardigans in King Cole Cottonsoft Crush DK

What is Being Made

These are children's cardigans designed for ages 2 to 11 years, with finished chest measurements ranging from 56 to 76 centimeters (22 to 30 inches). The pattern provides instructions for creating classic cardigan garments suitable for young children, offering multiple size options within a single downloadable PDF pattern.

Yarn and Materials

Yarn: King Cole Cottonsoft Crush DK (double knit weight yarn). This yarn weight is a standard medium-weight option ideal for children's garments, providing good stitch definition and drape while remaining lightweight enough for comfortable wear.

Needles: 4 mm knitting needles are recommended, though the pattern notes that needle size may be adjusted based on individual tension. Thinner needles should be used if your stitch count exceeds the pattern tension, and thicker needles if your stitch count falls short.

Additional Tools: Cable needle (CN) is required for working cable stitch techniques incorporated into the design.

Knitting Techniques Used

This advanced-level knitting pattern incorporates several intermediate to advanced techniques. Cable work is featured, requiring the use of a cable needle to create textured, dimensional stitches. The pattern also includes shaping techniques such as decreasing and increasing stitches to form the cardigan's structure and fit.

Tension control is emphasized as essential for achieving the correct finished garment size. The pattern specifies working to exact tension measurements to ensure proper fit for children.

Stitches Used

• Knit (k): The fundamental knit stitch forming the base fabric
• Purl (p): Used to create textured effects and reverse stockinette stitch sections
• Stocking stitch: Primary fabric construction, created by alternating knit and purl rows, with a tension of 22 stitches and 28 rows over 10 centimeters (4 inches) on 4 mm needles
• Pattern stitch: A decorative stitch pattern worked at 25 stitches and 28 rows to 10 centimeters (4 inches)
• Cable stitches: Created using the cable needle technique for dimensional texture
• Make 1 (m1): An increase technique performed by picking up horizontal strands to add stitches
• Yarn forward (yfwd): A stitch technique creating decorative eyelet or lace effects
• Decreasing (dec): Techniques to reduce stitch count for shaping

Pattern Structure and Abbreviations

The pattern uses standard knitting abbreviations including: alternate (alt), following (foll), remaining (rem), beginning (beg), repeat (rep), continue (cont), together (tog), right side (rs), wrong side (ws), stitches (sts), stitch (st), centimeters (cm), millimeters (mm), inches (in), and grammes (g). Understanding these abbreviations is essential for following the detailed instructions throughout the pattern.

Difficulty Level

Rated as advanced, this pattern is suitable for experienced knitters who are comfortable with cable work, tension management, and garment shaping. The emphasis on achieving precise tension and the inclusion of cable techniques make this pattern more challenging than beginner or intermediate projects.

Pattern Support

King Cole supports charitable giving through their pattern sales, with a donation made to the Pink Ribbon Foundation for each pattern purchased.