516 Firedance Cardigan - Knitting Pattern for Women in Valley Yarns Northfield

516 Firedance Cardigan – Knitting Pattern for Women by Elizabeth Vindedahl in Valley Yarns Northfield

The 516 Firedance Cardigan is a women's knitted cardigan pattern designed by Elizabeth Vindedahl and worked in Valley Yarns Northfield, a luxurious DK-weight yarn blending 70% Merino wool, 20% Baby Alpaca, and 10% Silk. This intermediate-level pattern produces a beautifully draped, stitch-defining cardigan featuring a classic V-neck, drop shoulders, and an elegant lace hem. The design is offered as a downloadable PDF and is knitted flat in separate pieces before being seamed together for a polished, structured finish.

What Is Being Made

The finished garment is a women's V-neck cardigan with drop shoulders, worked in five sizes ranging from 33.5 to 47.5 inches in finished bust circumference. The sample shown is knitted in size 33.5 inches. The cardigan features a decorative lace border along the lower body, transitioning into a texture pattern for the main body and sleeves. A single button closure completes the front opening. The design is described as a vibrant new interpretation of the classic Watered Steel Cardigan, brought to life in the colorway Firedance.

Construction Method

This cardigan is constructed using a bottom-up, seamed, worked-flat approach. The lower body begins as a single piece, cast on with the larger needles, and is worked flat from the bottom edge upward. After the lace border is complete, stitches are increased and the work transitions into the texture pattern. At the armhole, the fronts and back are divided and worked separately. Finished pieces are then blocked and seamed at the shoulders, sleeve seams, and underarms for a clean, tailored construction.

Techniques Used

• Bottom-up construction – the garment begins at the cast-on edge and is worked upward toward the shoulders
• Worked flat – all pieces are knitted back and forth in rows rather than in the round
• Lace knitting – an 8-row repeating lace pattern forms the decorative lower border of the body
• Seamed finishing – shoulder seams, sleeve seams, and underarm seams are sewn together after blocking
• V-neck shaping – the neckline is shaped with decreases on the front pieces
• Drop shoulder construction – a simplified armhole approach that omits complex armhole shaping
• Stitch increases – stitches are increased evenly across a single row when transitioning from the lace border to the texture pattern
• Blocking – all pieces are blocked before seaming to set the lace and texture patterns

Stitches Used

The pattern makes use of a variety of knitting stitches and techniques throughout the construction. The lace pattern is worked over a multiple of 4 stitches across 8 rows and incorporates the following stitch techniques:

• k2tog (knit 2 together) – a right-leaning decrease
• yo (yarn over) – creates the open, decorative eyelets characteristic of lace fabric
• skp (slip 1, knit 1, pass slipped stitch over) – a left-leaning decrease
• p2tog (purl 2 together) – a purl-side decrease
• p2tog tbl (purl 2 together through back loops) – a twisted purl decrease used for directional shaping within the lace rows
• Texture pattern – the main body stitch pattern used above the lace border and throughout the sleeves
• Garter stitch – three rows of garter stitch are worked at the cast-on edge before the lace begins, and selvedge stitches are maintained by knitting the first and last stitch of every row throughout the lace section
• Bind off (BO) – used at the underarms when dividing fronts from back