Cardigans in King Cole Pricewise DK - 4565 - Downloadable PDF

Cardigans in King Cole Pricewise DK – Pattern 4565: Detailed Summary

This downloadable PDF knitting pattern from King Cole presents a collection of children's cardigans worked in King Cole Pricewise DK yarn. The designs feature a classic raglan sleeve construction, making them a rewarding project for knitters who are comfortable with shaping techniques. Sizes range from 51 cm to 71 cm (20 in to 28 in) chest, covering a practical spread of children's sizing.

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What Is Being Made

The pattern produces raglan sleeve cardigans for children. A raglan sleeve is a distinctive construction style in which the sleeve extends in one piece fully to the neckline, with diagonal seam lines running from the underarm to the collar. This creates a comfortable, flexible fit that is particularly well suited to children's garments, allowing ease of movement and a neat, modern silhouette.

Construction and Techniques

• Raglan sleeve shaping: The defining construction technique of these cardigans. Stitches are decreased along the raglan lines on both the body and sleeve pieces, gradually reducing stitch counts as the work progresses toward the neckline. This requires careful attention to row counts and symmetry.
• Increasing and decreasing: The pattern makes use of standard increase and decrease techniques to shape the sleeves, body panels, and raglan lines throughout.
• Working in pattern (patt): Knitters are directed to continue in pattern across sections, maintaining stitch consistency while simultaneously working shaping rows.
• Right side and wrong side rows (rs/ws): The pattern distinguishes between right side and wrong side rows, which is essential for maintaining the correct appearance of the fabric and for correctly placing shaping decreases.
• Tension swatch: The pattern strongly emphasises achieving the correct tension before beginning. Knitters are advised to adjust needle size — moving to a finer needle if too few stitches are produced, or a larger needle if too many — until the stated tension is achieved.

Stitches Used

• Stocking Stitch (St-St): The primary fabric stitch used throughout the cardigans. Stocking stitch is formed by knitting on right side rows and purling on wrong side rows, producing a smooth, flat fabric on the right side. It is the most widely used stitch in garment knitting and gives these cardigans their clean, classic appearance.
• 1x1 Rib: Referenced in the abbreviations and special abbreviations section, 1x1 rib alternates one knit stitch with one purl stitch across the row. It is typically used for welts, cuffs, and button bands in cardigans, providing a stretchy, neat edge that retains its shape well.
• Knit (K) and Purl (P): The two fundamental knitting stitches that form the basis of all stitch patterns in this design.
• Pass slipped stitch over (psso): A decrease technique in which a slipped stitch is passed over a knitted stitch, reducing the stitch count by one. This is commonly used in raglan shaping to create a neat, directional decrease line.
• Through back of loops (tbl): A technique used to twist stitches, often employed in decrease methods or rib variations to create a tighter, neater result.

Materials

Yarn

• King Cole Pricewise DK — a double knit (DK) weight yarn. DK yarn is a versatile, medium-light weight that knits up at a relatively quick pace while still producing fine stitch definition, making it ideal for children's garments where both durability and detail matter.

Needles

• 4mm (US 6) knitting needles are specified as the needle size required to achieve the correct tension. Knitters should always work a tension swatch and adjust needle size accordingly, as the pattern tension of 22 stitches and 28 rows to 10 cm (4 in) over stocking stitch is essential for achieving the correct finished dimensions.