Ladies Cardigans in King Cole Drifter DK - 4854 - Downloadable PDF

Ladies Cardigans Knitted in King Cole Drifter DK – Pattern 4854

Pattern 4854 from King Cole is a knitting pattern for ladies cardigans, worked in King Cole Drifter DK yarn. The pattern is available as a downloadable PDF and is rated as suitable for beginner knitters, making it an excellent choice for those who are relatively new to garment knitting but ready to tackle a classic, wearable piece. The pattern covers a generous size range of 81–107 cm (32–42 in) chest, offering five sizes to suit a variety of figures.

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What Is Being Made

The pattern produces a ladies cardigan — a front-opening knitted jacket with a structured ribbed border and elegant side vents. The design features a neat button band worked as an integral part of the fronts, giving the finished garment a clean, professional appearance. The cardigan is knitted in separate pieces — a back, a left front, and a right front — which are then seamed together, a traditional construction method well suited to beginner and intermediate knitters building their skills.

Techniques Used

• Thumb method cast-on – used to begin each piece, this beginner-friendly cast-on creates a neat, slightly elastic edge ideal for ribbed welts.
• Ribbing – the welts and button bands are worked in k1, p1 rib, providing stretch and structure at the edges of the garment.
• Stocking stitch (st-st) – the main body fabric is worked in stocking stitch, knitting on right-side rows and purling on wrong-side rows, creating a smooth, classic fabric that showcases the tonal qualities of Drifter DK yarn.
• Side vents – a decorative and practical feature at the lower edges of the garment, the side vents are formed by maintaining a moss or seed stitch border alongside the stocking stitch body for the first section of the work.
• Integrated button band – the front bands are worked simultaneously with the fronts by maintaining a six-stitch rib border on every row, avoiding the need to pick up and knit a separate band later.
• Shaping – the pattern uses standard knitting decrease techniques including p2tog (purl two together) and psso (pass slipped stitch over) to shape the armholes, neckline, and any fitted areas of the garment.
• Tension/gauge swatch – the pattern strongly emphasises checking tension before beginning, a key skill for achieving the correct finished size.

Stitches Used

• Knit (k) – the fundamental knitting stitch, used throughout the right-side rows of the stocking stitch body.
• Purl (p) – used on wrong-side rows of stocking stitch and within the rib borders.
• K1, P1 Rib – alternating knit and purl stitches across a row to form an elastic, textured border used on welts and button bands.
• Stocking Stitch – the primary fabric stitch, formed by alternating knit and purl rows, producing a smooth face and a textured reverse.
• P2tog (purl two together) – a simple decrease stitch used in shaping rows to reduce the stitch count neatly on wrong-side rows.
• Slip 1 knitways (s1) – a technique used in conjunction with decrease methods to create tidy, directional shaping.
• Yarn forward (yfwd) – listed in the abbreviations, this stitch creates a decorative eyelet or is used in conjunction with decreases, potentially for buttonhole construction.

Materials Required

This pattern is designed specifically for King Cole Drifter DK, a double knitting (DK) weight yarn. Drifter DK is known for its beautiful, softly variegated tonal colourways that blend multiple shades along the strand, giving knitted fabric a subtle, painterly appearance without the knitter needing to change colours manually.