Carden

Carden Knit Sweater by Jennifer Wood

What is Being Made

Carden is an intermediate-level knit sweater pattern designed by Jennifer Wood and published through woodhouseknits.com. This downloadable PDF pattern offers nine finished bust sizes ranging from 34 inches to 61.5 inches (86 cm to 156 cm), making it suitable for a wide range of body measurements. The pattern is modeled in a size 37.5 inch finished bust with 3 inches of positive ease, allowing for a comfortable, relaxed fit.

Craft and Primary Technique

Carden is created using the knitting craft, worked primarily in the round on circular needles. The pattern employs cable knit techniques, as evidenced by the inclusion of cable needle abbreviations and instructions in the pattern documentation. This construction method creates a cohesive, seamless garment body while allowing for detailed stitch patterning.

Stitches and Techniques Used

The pattern utilizes fundamental knitting stitches and decreasing techniques essential to shaping and cable work:

• Knit (k) and Purl (p) stitches form the foundation of the fabric
• Cable needle (cn) work creates the decorative cable pattern elements throughout the sweater
• Decreases including k2tog (knit two stitches together) and ssk (slip, slip, knit) for shaping the garment
• Slip stitches (sl) used in decrease techniques and stitch manipulation
• Cast on (CO) and bind off (BO) techniques for starting and finishing edges

The pattern is worked in rounds, requiring the use of stitch markers to track pattern repeats and construction points.

Materials and Yarn Specifications

Carden is designed to be worked in Amano Puyu yarn, a luxury blend composed of 70% alpaca and 30% silk. This fiber combination creates a soft, lustrous fabric with excellent drape and breathability. The yarn is provided in 50-gram skeins, each containing 82 yards (75 meters).

Yardage requirements vary by size, ranging from 685 yards (630 meters) for the smallest size to 1460 yards (1335 meters) for the largest size. The pattern calls for 9 to 18 skeins depending on the finished size selected. The recommended color is 3008 Fog, a neutral shade suitable for versatile styling.

Needles and Notions

The pattern requires size 8 (5mm) circular needles in two lengths: 16 inches (40 cm) for ribbed sections and neckline work, and 24 inches (60 cm) or longer for working the body in the round. Additionally, a set of 4 or 5 double-pointed needles in the same size is needed for smaller circumference sections.

Essential notions include stitch markers for tracking pattern repeats, stitch holders or waste yarn for holding stitches during construction, and a cable needle for executing the cable stitch patterns throughout the sweater.

Difficulty Level

Carden is rated as an intermediate-level knitting pattern, suitable for knitters with foundational skills in circular knitting, cable work, and garment shaping. The combination of cable techniques and seamless construction requires comfort with reading pattern instructions and managing multiple stitches on circular needles.