Leona Cardigan in Berroco Elements - Downloadable PDF

Leona Cardigan in Berroco Elements – Free Knitting Pattern Summary

The Leona Cardigan is a free, downloadable PDF knitting pattern from Berroco, designed for women and rated at an intermediate skill level. This beautifully structured dolman-style cardigan is a rewarding project that combines elegant lace detailing with a flattering, gently shaped silhouette. Because the pattern is available as a free downloadable PDF, knitters can access and print it immediately without any purchase required.

What Is Being Made

The Leona Cardigan is a women's dolman cardigan knitted in a distinctive cuff-to-center construction. Rather than being worked from the bottom up or top down in the conventional sense, each half of the garment begins at the cuff and is worked inward toward the center back, giving the finished piece its characteristic dolman sleeve shape. The cardigan features a back yoke formed by a continuous embossed leaf lace panel that travels up the sleeve and across the shoulders, creating a seamless visual flow of texture and pattern across the upper body.

The pattern is offered in a generous range of women's sizes: X-Small, Small, Medium, Large, 1X, and 2X. Finished bust measurements (closed) range from 32 inches up to 52 inches, and finished lengths range from approximately 24½ inches to 28 inches, including the bottom band. The sample shown in the pattern photography is knitted in size Medium.

Construction and Techniques

The Leona Cardigan is a seamed, worked-flat project, meaning the individual pieces are knitted back and forth in rows rather than in the round, and then joined together through seaming at the end. This traditional construction method gives knitters precise control over shaping and is well-suited to intermediate knitters who are comfortable with finishing techniques such as mattress stitch or backstitch seaming.

• Cuff-to-center construction: Each sleeve and front/back section begins at the cuff and is worked toward the center of the garment, a technique that creates the flowing dolman silhouette without the need for complex sleeve set-in shaping.
• Lace knitting: An embossed leaf lace pattern is the signature design element of this cardigan. Lace knitting typically involves a combination of yarn-over increases and corresponding decreases (such as k2tog or ssk) to form decorative openwork motifs. In the Leona Cardigan, this lace panel is not merely decorative trim — it runs continuously up the sleeve, across the shoulders, and forms the entire back yoke, making it a structural and visual centerpiece of the design.
• Seamed finishing: Once all pieces are complete, they are joined using seaming, a technique that adds structure and durability to the finished garment.
• Worked flat: All sections are knitted back and forth in rows on circular needles, which are used for their cable length and comfort rather than to work in the round.

Stitches Used

The Leona Cardigan incorporates a combination of foundational and decorative knitting stitches appropriate for an intermediate knitter:

• Embossed leaf lace pattern: The primary decorative stitch pattern, featuring yarn-overs and decreases arranged to create a raised, leaf-like motif across the sleeves, shoulders, and back yoke.
• Stockinette stitch: Likely used for the body sections to provide a smooth, classic fabric that allows the lace panel to stand out visually.
• Ribbing or bottom band stitches: The finished length measurement explicitly includes a bottom band, indicating a textured edging stitch such as ribbing or seed stitch is used to finish the lower edge of the garment.

Materials – Yarn, Needles, and Notions

The Leona Cardigan is designed specifically for Berroco Elements, an aran weight yarn sold in 50-gram balls. The pattern calls for 7 to 12 balls depending on the size being knitted, with smaller sizes requiring fewer balls and larger sizes requiring more. The colorway shown in the pattern is #4903. Berroco Elements is the recommended yarn for achieving the correct drape, stitch definition, and gauge for this design.

• Primary needles: Two