Salthouse Cardigan - Knitting Pattern For Women in Debbie Bliss Paloma

Salthouse Cardigan Knitting Pattern for Women – Debbie Bliss Paloma

The Salthouse Cardigan is a sophisticated, cosy women's cardigan knitting pattern designed by Debbie Bliss and worked in her luxurious Paloma super-chunky yarn. This is a seamed, flat-knitted garment constructed from the bottom up, combining elegant lace panelling with classic ribbed detailing to create a textured, fashion-forward piece suited to confident, advanced knitters. The pattern is available as a downloadable PDF and covers four women's sizes, fitting bust measurements from 81–86 cm (32–34 in) up to 112–117 cm (44–46 in), with generous finished bust measurements ranging from 112 cm (44 in) to 152 cm (60 in).

Garment Overview and Sizing

The Salthouse Cardigan is designed with a relaxed, oversized silhouette. Finished length to shoulder ranges from 64 cm to 70 cm (25¼ in to 27½ in) depending on size, while the sleeve length is a consistent 26 cm (10¼ in) across all sizes, giving the garment a cropped, contemporary sleeve proportion. The combination of generous ease and a structured lace panel makes this cardigan both stylish and wearable.

Construction Method

The Salthouse Cardigan is worked flat in separate pieces — back, fronts, and sleeves — and then seamed together using a traditional construction approach. Working flat means each piece is knitted back and forth in rows rather than in the round, which is well suited to the lace panel pattern that requires careful attention to right-side and wrong-side rows. The bottom-up construction begins at the cast-on edge and works upward toward the shoulders, a logical and familiar approach for knitters who prefer to shape garments progressively.

Techniques Used

• Lace knitting: The centrepiece of the Salthouse Cardigan is a repeating 15-stitch lace panel that runs vertically through the back and fronts. This panel uses yarn-forward increases (yfwd) paired with decreases (k2tog and skpo) to create an open, decorative eyelet pattern. The lace panel is worked over a 10-row repeat, with wrong-side rows purled throughout, making the right-side lace rows the primary focus for the knitter.
• Seamed finishing: Individual pieces are joined using seaming techniques, requiring knitters to be comfortable with mattress stitch or similar methods to achieve a neat, professional finish.
• Worked flat: All pieces are knitted back and forth in rows on straight or circular needles, with the pattern specifying clear right-side and wrong-side row instructions throughout.
• Bottom-up shaping: Construction begins at the lower cast-on edge and progresses upward, incorporating any shaping as the work advances toward the shoulder.
• Ribbing and seed stitch borders: The pattern uses combinations of knit and purl stitches — including (k1, p1) sequences — to frame the lace panels and create structured, non-curling edges at the borders of the back and fronts.

Stitches Used

• Lace panel stitches: k2tog (knit two together — a right-leaning decrease), skpo (slip one, knit one, pass slipped stitch over — a left-leaning decrease), and yfwd (yarn forward — creating an eyelet increase). These three elements work in tandem to form the decorative lace motif without changing the overall stitch count within the panel.
• Knit (k) and Purl (p): The fundamental stitches used throughout all sections of the garment, including the seed stitch and ribbed border areas.
• Seed stitch / moss stitch borders: Alternating knit and purl stitches — worked as (k1, p1) or (p1, k1) repeats — frame the lace panels on either side, adding texture and preventing the fabric from rolling.
• Slip stitch (sl 1): Used as part of the