Luna Fairisle Cardigan - Knitting Pattern For Women in MillaMia Naturally Soft Merino by MillaMia

Luna Fairisle Cardigan Knitting Pattern for Women by MillaMia

The Luna Fairisle Cardigan is a beautifully detailed women's knitting pattern by MillaMia, designed to be knitted in MillaMia Naturally Soft Merino yarn. This eye-catching cardigan features a classic Fair Isle colourwork design, making it a standout piece that celebrates the rich tradition of stranded colourwork knitting. The pattern is rated as Improving (intermediate) in skill level, making it an excellent next step for knitters who are comfortable with the basics and ready to explore more advanced colourwork techniques.

What Is Being Made

The Luna Fairisle Cardigan is a women's fitted cardigan worked in a sport-weight yarn with a vibrant, multicolour Fair Isle pattern. It is a seamed, flat-knitted garment constructed from the bottom up, with set-in or structured sleeves and a button band. The finished cardigan features a rich palette of colours that can be customised to suit your personal style, making it as unique as the knitter who creates it.

The pattern is available in four sizes to fit bust measurements of 82–87, 92–97, 102–107, and 112–117 cm (32–34, 36–38, 40–42, and 44–46 inches), with actual bust measurements of 96, 107, 118, and 129 cm (37¾, 42, 46½, and 50¾ inches). The length to back neck measures 62, 64, 66, and 68 cm respectively, and the sleeve length is a consistent 48 cm (19 inches) across all sizes.

Techniques Used

• Stranded colourwork (Fair Isle): The defining technique of this cardigan, stranded knitting involves carrying two or more yarn colours across each row, creating the intricate repeating motifs characteristic of traditional Fair Isle design. Knitters work with multiple colours simultaneously, carrying the unused yarn loosely across the back of the work to create "floats."
• Bottom-up construction: The cardigan is built from the cast-on edge upward, which allows knitters to easily adjust length before beginning armhole shaping.
• Worked flat: All pieces are knitted flat (back and forth in rows), meaning the colourwork is worked on both right-side and wrong-side rows, which requires careful attention to maintaining correct tension and float management.
• Seamed construction: Individual pieces — typically the back, two fronts, and sleeves — are knitted separately and then joined using seaming techniques such as mattress stitch, giving the finished garment a neat, structured finish.
• Buttonholes: The button band includes worked buttonholes to accommodate buttons, a technique that adds a polished, functional closure to the front of the cardigan.
• Buttons: The pattern incorporates buttons as a design and functional element of the finished garment.

Stitches Used

• Stranded stockinette stitch: The main body of the cardigan is worked in stockinette (knit on the right side, purl on the wrong side) while carrying multiple yarn colours to form the Fair Isle motifs.
• Ribbing: Rib stitches are typically used for the welts, cuffs, and button bands in MillaMia patterns to provide elasticity and a tidy, professional edge finish.
• Buttonhole stitch construction: Incorporated within the button band rows to create neat, reinforced openings for the buttons.

Materials

The pattern is designed for MillaMia Naturally Soft Merino, a sport-weight yarn known for its softness, stitch definition, and beautiful range of colours — all qualities that make it particularly well suited to colourwork knitting. The yarn is available exclusively through LoveCrafts.

The suggested colourway uses a rich, multi-colour palette:

• Midnight (101) — Colour A: 4(4:5:5) × 50g/1¾oz balls
• Grass (141) — Colour B: 4(4:5:5) × 50g/1¾oz balls
• Petal (122) — Colour C: 2(2:3