Juliet Leaf Cardigan Pattern in West Yorkshire Spinners Illustrious - DBP0029 - Downloadable PDF

Juliet Leaf Cardigan Knitting Pattern – West Yorkshire Spinners Illustrious (DBP0029)

The Juliet Leaf Cardigan is a beautifully detailed knitted cardigan pattern designed by Emma Wright for West Yorkshire Spinners, worked in their Illustrious DK yarn. This is a free downloadable PDF pattern suitable for intermediate knitters who are ready to explore elegant stitch textures and classic cardigan construction. The design features a V-neck silhouette, a cabled vine leaf motif, and is finished with shell buttons, giving it a refined, feminine aesthetic that works beautifully across multiple sizes.

Design Overview

The Juliet Leaf Cardigan is a V-neck cardigan featuring a signature cabled vine leaf pattern as its central decorative element. The leaf motif adds organic, botanical charm to the garment, making it a standout piece that goes beyond a simple everyday cardigan. The addition of shell buttons as fastenings gives the finished garment a delicate, artisan quality. The pattern is written for multiple sizes, with instructions given for the first size and larger sizes provided in brackets — a standard convention that makes it straightforward to follow once you have identified your size.

Techniques Used

This pattern draws on a range of intermediate knitting techniques, making it an excellent project for knitters who have moved beyond beginner basics and are looking to develop their skills further. Key techniques include:

• Cable knitting — worked with a cable needle (CN) to create the vine leaf motif that defines the cardigan's character
• Stocking stitch (ST ST) — the classic knit on the right side, purl on the wrong side fabric used throughout much of the garment body
• Reverse stocking stitch (REV ST ST) — purl on the right side and knit on the wrong side, often used as a background to make cable and leaf motifs pop
• Shaping techniques — including increases such as KFB (knit into front and back) and M1 (make one), and decreases such as K2TOG, SSK, SKPO, SK2PO, SP2PO, and P3TOG, which are used to shape the V-neck, armholes, and garment silhouette
• Working with markers — using place marker (PM) and slip marker (SM) to keep track of pattern repeats and shaping sections
• Yarn overs (YO) and yarn forward (YF) — used within the leaf motif to create decorative eyelets and increases that form the leaf shapes

Stitches Used

The Juliet Leaf Cardigan incorporates a rich vocabulary of knitting stitches and stitch manipulations. Knitters working this pattern will use:

• Knit (K) and Purl (P) — the foundational stitches of all knitted fabric
• Stocking stitch and Reverse stocking stitch — for the main body fabric and motif backgrounds
• Cable stitches — forming the cabled vine leaf design that is central to this pattern's identity
• SKPO — slip one, knit one, pass slipped stitch over (single decrease leaning left)
• SK2PO — slip one, knit two together, pass slipped stitch over (double decrease)
• SP2PO — slip one purlwise, purl two together, pass slipped stitch over (double decrease on purl side)
• K2TOG — knit two stitches together (single decrease leaning right)
• SSK — slip, slip, knit (single decrease leaning left)
• P3TOG — purl three stitches together (double decrease on purl side)
• KFB — knit into front and back