Ladies Cardigans Knitted in King Cole Homespun DK - 5791 - Downloadable PDF

Ladies Cardigans Knitted in King Cole Homespun DK – Pattern 5791

This King Cole pattern 5791 is a downloadable PDF featuring ladies cardigans knitted in King Cole Homespun DK yarn. Designed for the intermediate knitter, the pattern covers a generous size range of 81–127 cm (32–50 in), making it accessible to a wide variety of figures. A donation to the Pink Ribbon Foundation is made with every King Cole pattern purchased.

About the Design

The pattern presents ladies cardigans worked in King Cole Homespun DK, a double knitting weight yarn chosen for its texture and warmth. The cardigans feature a combination of classic and decorative knitting techniques, blending smooth stocking stitch fabric with an elegant cable panel for added visual interest. The cable panel measures 11.5 cm (4½ in) wide and is worked over 37 stitches, forming a prominent design feature on the garment.

Techniques Used

• Stocking stitch (st-st): The primary background fabric, created by knitting on the right side and purling on the wrong side. This produces a smooth, classic knitted surface that forms the body of the cardigan.
• Cable knitting: A traditional technique using a cable needle to cross groups of stitches over one another, creating twisted rope-like patterns. In this pattern, the special abbreviation C4B is used — slip the next 2 stitches onto a cable needle and hold at the back of the work, knit 4 stitches, then knit the held stitches from the cable needle. This creates a classic four-stitch back cross cable.
• Increasing and decreasing: Standard shaping techniques used throughout the garment to create the fitted silhouette of a cardigan, including armhole shaping, neckline shaping, and sleeve tapers.
• M1 (Make 1): A neat increase method where a stitch is created by picking up the horizontal strand lying between two stitches at the front of the work and knitting into it, adding stitches without leaving a visible hole.
• Marker placement: Stitch markers are slipped as work progresses to keep track of pattern repeats and shaping points, an important technique when working cables alongside shaping.

Stitches Used

• Knit (k) — the foundational knitting stitch
• Purl (p) — used on wrong-side rows and within cable panel borders
• Stocking stitch (st-st) — knit on right side, purl on wrong side
• C4B — four-stitch back cross cable, a key decorative stitch in the cable panel
• M1 — make one increase stitch
• Knitting through back of loop (tbl) — used to twist stitches for a neater finish in certain techniques
• Slip marker (sm) — used to denote pattern sections

Materials

• Yarn: King Cole Homespun DK — a double knitting weight yarn, ideal for garments requiring stitch definition and a comfortable drape
• Needles: 4 mm knitting needles, or the size needed to achieve the correct tension
• Tension: 22 stitches and 28 rows to 10 cm (4 in) over stocking stitch on 4 mm needles. The cable panel of 37 stitches measures 11.5 cm (4½ in) wide. Achieving the correct tension is essential — use thinner needles if you have fewer stitches per 10 cm, or thicker needles if you have more.

Who Is This Pattern Suitable For?

Rated as intermediate in difficulty, this pattern is well suited to knitters who are comfortable with basic knitting techniques and are ready to tackle simple cable work. The inclusion of C4B cables, M1 increases