843 Giverny Cardigan - Knitting Pattern for Women in Valley Yarns Colrain

Pattern #843 Giverny Cardigan – A Stranded Colorwork Knitting Pattern for Women by Julie Turjoman

The Giverny Cardigan, pattern number 843, is an elegant women's knitting pattern designed by Julie Turjoman and worked in Valley Yarns Colrain. This advanced-level, downloadable PDF pattern produces a sophisticated bottom-up cardigan featuring Fair Isle colorwork borders, a deep V-neck with a single button closure, and flattering waist shaping. Inspired by the soft beauty of cool summer evenings and the first crisp days of fall, the Giverny Cardigan is a versatile layering piece with refined details and a gentle, luminous drape.

What Is Being Made

This pattern creates a women's stranded colorwork cardigan with a deep V-neckline, a single button closure at the center front, and waist shaping for a tailored silhouette. The garment features Fair Isle borders at the hem and cuffs, adding intricate multicolor patterning at the most visible edges of the piece. Ribbed edgings finish the cuffs, hem, and neckline for a polished, classic look. The cardigan is designed with a suggested fit of 2–3 inches of positive ease, making it a relaxed but shaped layer suitable for a wide range of body types.

Finished bust measurements range from 33½ inches up to 57½ inches, offered across eight sizes: 33½ (37½, 41½, 45½) (49½, 53½, 57½) inches. This generous size range makes the pattern accessible to a broad spectrum of knitters.

Construction Techniques

The Giverny Cardigan is constructed using a combination of techniques that make it an excellent project for an advanced knitter looking to expand their skills:

• Bottom-up construction: The garment is worked from the lower hem upward, a traditional approach that allows knitters to try on the piece as they go and make fit adjustments along the way.
• Worked in the round and flat: The pattern combines both circular and flat knitting, giving knitters experience with transitioning between the two methods within a single project.
• Seamless construction: Sections of the cardigan are worked seamlessly, reducing finishing work and creating a smooth, professional result.
• Stranded colorwork (Fair Isle): The hem and cuff borders are worked in the Fair Isle tradition, carrying multiple yarn colors across the row to create patterned motifs. This technique requires managing yarn tension carefully to keep the fabric smooth and even.
• Steeking: A particularly exciting feature of this pattern is a short section of steeking used for the Fair Isle border. Steeking involves knitting a small extra panel of stitches that is later cut open, allowing colorwork to be worked entirely in the round — where it is easiest to manage — before the steek is secured and trimmed. Julie Turjoman has incorporated this as a deliberate teaching moment, describing it as "a great way to practice this technique." For knitters new to steeking, this pattern offers a low-stakes introduction to a skill that opens up many future colorwork possibilities.

Stitches Used

• Ribbing: Used at the cuffs, hem, and edgings to create structured, stretchy borders that frame the garment neatly.
• Stockinette stitch: The primary body fabric of the cardigan, worked both flat and in the round depending on the section.
• Stranded colorwork stitches: Fair Isle motifs are worked in the round at the hem and cuffs, requiring knitters to carry the main color (MC) and contrast colors simultaneously across the fabric.
• Waist shaping decreases and increases: Shaping stitches are used to create the fitted waist, adding a tailored quality to the overall silhouette.

Yarn and Materials

The pattern is designed specifically for Valley Yarns Colrain, a worsted weight yarn with a distinctive fiber blend of 50% Merino wool and 50% Tencel. This combination gives the yarn exceptional softness from the Merino alongside a silky sheen and fluid drape from the Tencel, resulting in a fabric that is both comfortable to wear and beautiful to look at.