The pattern
Materials
- Yarn: about 810 m.
- 40 cm (collar) and 80 cm (body) circular needles, in your gauge size; the cardigan is worked back and forth on the circular.
- 2 (one in a different color for the beginning of the round), waste yarn to hold the back, a tapestry needle.
- 6 buttons, 15 mm.
22 stitches × 30 rows = 10 cm in stockinette, after blocking.
Back, flat from the shoulders
80 sts: 22 for each shoulder and 36 in the middle for the back neck.
Shoulder slope, in German : the neck sits a little higher than the shoulder points, like the body.
- Short row 1 (wrong side): purl to 5 sts from the end; turn.
- Short row 2 (right side): make a double stitch, work to 5 sts from the end; turn.
- Short row 3 (wrong side): make a double stitch, work to 11 sts from the end; turn.
- Short row 4 (right side): make a double stitch, work to 11 sts from the end; turn.
- Short row 5 (wrong side): make a double stitch, work to 16 sts from the end; turn.
- Short row 6 (right side): make a double stitch, work to 16 sts from the end; turn.
- Row 1 (wrong side): make a double stitch, then work to the end of the row, working each double stitch as one stitch; row 2 (right side): work to the end of the row, working the remaining double stitches as one stitch. These two rows are rows 1 and 2: count the following rows from them.
Continue in stockinette, back and forth.
Armholes, on the right-side rows given: k1, M1L, knit to the last stitch, M1R, k1. +2 sts.
Increase at the armholes every 4 rows 3 times, then every 2 rows 9 times, the first time on row 38: the armhole curves out. Continue through row 65 (21.7 cm), ending with a wrong-side row: 104 stitches. Leave on hold.
Front
Turn the back over, cast-on edge at the top. Right side facing, 22 sts in the cast-on stitches of each shoulder; the 36 sts in the middle stay free: this is the back neck. Work both shoulders at the same time, each with its own ball, starting with the same slope as the back.
Shoulder slope, in German : the neck sits a little higher than the shoulder points, like the body.
On the front, both shoulders are on the same needle: “the end” is the end of the row, at the armhole edge of the second shoulder. The short rows only affect the armhole edges; in the middle, each shoulder is worked to its neck edge with its own ball.
- Short row 1 (wrong side): purl to 5 sts from the end; turn.
- Short row 2 (right side): make a double stitch, work to 5 sts from the end; turn.
- Short row 3 (wrong side): make a double stitch, work to 11 sts from the end; turn.
- Short row 4 (right side): make a double stitch, work to 11 sts from the end; turn.
- Short row 5 (wrong side): make a double stitch, work to 16 sts from the end; turn.
- Short row 6 (right side): make a double stitch, work to 16 sts from the end; turn.
- Row 1 (wrong side): make a double stitch, then work to the end of the row, working each double stitch as one stitch; row 2 (right side): work to the end of the row, working the remaining double stitches as one stitch. These two rows are rows 1 and 2: count the following rows from them.
On the right-side rows given below, increase at the neck edge: at the end of the first shoulder, knit to the last stitch, M1R, k1; at the start of the second, k1, M1L, knit to the end. +2 sts.
Increase at the neck edge every 4 rows 7 times, then every 2 rows twice (the first time on row 4): 9 times on each side.
After row 32, a right-side row: at the end of the right front, 5 sts. On the next row (wrong side), at the end of the left front, cast on 5 sts. The fronts stay separate: continue each with its own ball up to row 65, like the back, ending with a wrong-side row, working the armhole increases as well: 48 sts per front.
Dividing body and sleeves
The right front's stitches come first on the needle: slide them onto the cable and start with the left front, whose yarn waits at its center edge. Next row (right side): with the left front's ball, knit the left front from its center edge; 10 sts under the left arm; knit the 104 held back sts; cast on 10 sts under the right arm; knit the right front, from its side to its center edge: 220 sts. Cut the right front's ball. The body continues in rows.
Next row (wrong side): purl. Row 1 of the body is the right-side row that follows.
Body
Work (knit on the right side, purl on the wrong side) for 88 rows, i.e. 29.3 cm from the underarm.
Next row (right side), adjusting the stitch count for the edge: *k73, M1L* 2 times, k74. You now have 222 sts.
Work in for 15 rows, i.e. 5 cm: on the right side, k2, *p2, k2* to the end; on the wrong side, work the stitches as they appear.
The first rib row is a wrong-side row: p2, *k2, p2* to the end; then as above.
loosely in rib.
Armhole bands (both the same)
Right side facing, starting in the middle of the underarm cast-on stitches, 5 sts in these stitches, 82 sts all around the armhole (a little less than 3 sts for every 4 rows: the band stays flat), then the remaining 5 sts: 92 sts. Place the beginning-of-round marker.
Work in (k1, p1) for 6 rounds, i.e. 2 cm.
loosely in rib.
Neckband
Right side facing, starting at the right front edge, 31 sts along the right front neck, 36 sts across the back neck and 31 sts along the left front neck: 98 sts.
Work in for 8 rows, i.e. 2.7 cm: on the right side, k2, *p2, k2* to the end; on the wrong side, work the stitches as they appear.
The first rib row is a wrong-side row: p2, *k2, p2* to the end; then as above.
loosely in rib.
Button bands
Right front: right side facing, starting at the bottom, 109 sts along the front edge up to the top of the neckband (about 3 sts for every 4 rows). Left front: the same, from the top of the neckband down to the bottom. The pick-up row does not count: row 1 of the band is the wrong-side row that follows.
On row 4 of the right front band (a right-side row; these rows are part of the band's height), work the buttonholes: work 3 sts, bind off 2 sts, work 18 sts, bind off 2 sts, work 18 sts, bind off 2 sts, work 18 sts, bind off 2 sts, work 18 sts, bind off 2 sts, work 19 sts, bind off 2 sts, work 3 sts. Next row: 2 sts over each buttonhole.
Work in for 9 rows, i.e. 3 cm: on the right side, *k1, p1* to the last stitch, k1; on the wrong side, work the stitches as they appear.
The first rib row is a wrong-side row: p1, *k1, p1* to the end; then as above.
loosely in rib.
Finishing
Weave in the ends, closing any small gaps at the underarms as you go. the cardigan flat, buttoned, to the schematic measurements.
Sew the buttons onto the other band, opposite the buttonholes.
Pattern calculated by FARROW. Knit and wash a swatch in your yarn before you start: every measurement depends on it.