Cardigans in King Cole Yummy Crush - 5601 - Downloadable PDF

Cardigans in King Cole Yummy Crush – Pattern 5601: Knitted Baby and Children's Cardigans in Super Chunky Yarn

Pattern 5601 from King Cole is a knitting pattern for children's cardigans, designed to be worked in King Cole Yummy Crush, a super chunky weight yarn. The pattern covers a wide size range of 46–66 cm (18–26 inches) chest, making it suitable for babies through to young children. For every King Cole pattern purchased, a donation is made to the Pink Ribbon Foundation, adding a charitable dimension to every project.

What Is Being Made

This pattern produces classic knitted cardigans — a wardrobe staple for young children. Cardigans are open-fronted garments, typically featuring a button or fastening at the centre front, making them easy to put on and take off — a practical choice for babies and toddlers. The generous size range means the same pattern can be used to knit garments for a newborn right through to a toddler or young child.

Yarn and Materials

The specified yarn is King Cole Yummy Crush, a super chunky weight yarn. Yummy Crush is known for its soft, tactile texture, making it a popular choice for children's knitwear where comfort against delicate skin is a priority. The pattern uses both a Main (M) colour and a Contrast (C) colour, suggesting the cardigans incorporate two-colour design elements such as contrast trims, borders, or stripes.

• Yarn: King Cole Yummy Crush, super chunky weight
• Needle size: 10mm knitting needles, or the size required to achieve the correct tension
• Colours: Main (M) and Contrast (C) shades used throughout

Tension

The stated tension for this pattern is 8 stitches and 13 rows to 10 cm (4 inches) measured over stocking stitch using 10mm needles. Achieving the correct tension is essential — if fewer stitches than stated are produced over 10 cm, finer needles should be used; if more stitches are produced, larger needles are required. Checking tension before beginning ensures the finished cardigan matches the intended measurements.

Stitches Used

The pattern employs a small but versatile set of classic knitting stitches, well suited to an intermediate knitter:

• Stocking Stitch (St-St): The primary fabric stitch, formed by alternating a knit row and a purl row. This creates a smooth, flat fabric on the right side and is the main body stitch of the cardigans. It works particularly well with super chunky yarn, producing a dense yet drapeable fabric that knits up quickly.
• 1x1 Rib: A stretchy, textured stitch pattern formed by alternating knit 1 and purl 1 stitches across the row. In this pattern, the ribbing follows a specific two-row repeat: the first row works K1, P1 repeated to the last stitch, ending K1; the second row begins P1 and then repeats K1, P1 to the end. Ribbing is traditionally used for cuffs, hems, and neckbands, providing a neat, elastic finish that helps garments retain their shape.

Techniques Used

As an intermediate-level knitting pattern, this design calls upon a range of standard garment construction techniques:

• Increasing (inc): Used to shape the garment, adding stitches at specified points to create the correct silhouette.
• Decreasing (dec): Used for armhole shaping, neckline shaping, and other fitted areas, reducing stitch counts in a controlled manner.
• Working with two colours: The use of both a Main (M) and a Contrast (C) colour requires the knitter to manage yarn changes, making this pattern a good introduction to simple two-colour knitting techniques.
• Right side (RS) and wrong side (WS) awareness: The pattern specifies working on both the right and wrong sides of the fabric, which is standard in flat knitting for garment pieces.
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