Cuddly Jacket - Kuscheljacke

Cuddly Jacket - Kuscheljacke by riwollis

What is Being Made

The Cuddly Jacket is a knitted cardigan-style jacket featuring a distinctive shawl collar design. This intermediate-level knitting project is available in five sizes: XS (32/34), S (36/38), M (40/42), L (44/46), and XL (48/50). The jacket is designed without buttons, making it a slip-on style garment with a relaxed, cozy aesthetic. The shawl collar is worked seamlessly together with the front of the jacket, creating a unified, comfortable neckline.

Techniques Used

This pattern employs several key knitting techniques to create visual interest and structure:

• Shawl collar construction - The collar is integrated into the front pieces and worked as part of the main garment rather than added separately
• Mixed stitch pattern combination - Different stitch patterns are strategically placed throughout the garment for both aesthetic and functional purposes
• Optical separation technique - A single purled stitch is worked between the front band and the main fabric to create visual definition and prevent the sections from blending together
• Seamless integration - The front band stitches flow naturally into the body of the jacket

Stitches Used

The Cuddly Jacket incorporates three primary stitch patterns:

• Rib pattern - Worked as *k1, p1* repeated across the row, creating vertical lines of texture
• Broken rib pattern - Worked differently on right side (knit) and wrong side (k1, *p1, k1; rep from *), producing an offset ribbed texture
• Seed stitch - Worked as *k1, p1* on the right side and *p1, k1* on the wrong side, creating a bumpy, textured fabric used for the front band and collar edges

Gauge and Sizing

The broken rib pattern gauge is 18 stitches by 34 rows equals 10 x 10 centimeters. This gauge measurement is essential for achieving the correct finished measurements. The pattern provides separate instruction pages for each of the five available sizes, with additional yardage requirements for larger sizes (M-XL require an additional 50 grams of yarn beyond the XS-S quantities).

Materials and Yarn

The Cuddly Jacket is designed to be made from 100% Merino Extrafein yarn in sport weight. The pattern specifies two colorway options:

• Ferner 160 in color 466 (light blue) - 450 grams for sizes XS-S; 160 meters per 50-gram ball
• La Doro in color 303 (grey) - 250 grams for sizes XS-S; 300 meters per 50-gram ball

The fine merino yarn provides softness and breathability, making this jacket comfortable for extended wear. The yarn weight and fiber content contribute to the "cuddly" quality referenced in the garment name.

Needles Required

This pattern requires two pairs of needles in different sizes to create varying fabric densities:

• 5mm (US 8) needles - Used for ribbed sections
• 5.5mm (US 9) needles - Used for the main fabric sections

The needle size progression allows the knitter to create structured ribbing while maintaining a more relaxed gauge in the body of the jacket.

Difficulty Level

Rated as intermediate, the Cuddly Jacket requires solid foundational knitting skills. Knitters should be comfortable with basic stitches, gauge measurement, and working with stitch pattern instructions. The integration of the shawl collar with the front pieces and the use of multiple stitch patterns add complexity beyond beginner projects, but the techniques themselves are standard knitting methods.