The pattern
Materials
- Yarn: about 1,250 m.
- 40 cm (collar) and 80 cm (yoke and body) circular needles, in your gauge size; the cardigan is worked back and forth on the circular; or magic loop for the sleeves.
- 4 (one in a different color for the beginning of the round), waste yarn to hold the sleeves, a tapestry needle.
- 6 buttons, 15 mm.
22 stitches × 30 rows = 10 cm in stockinette, after blocking.
Round neckline, worked flat
77 stitches. Row 1 (wrong side), purl, placing markers: 2 sts for the right front, marker, 17 sts for the right sleeve, marker, 39 sts for the back, marker, 17 sts for the left sleeve, marker, 2 sts for the left front. (Worked top down, the piece hangs upside down: wrong-side rows start with the right front, right-side rows with the left front.)
increases: the yoke schedule (below) starts on row 2, a right-side row.
At the same time, on the right-side rows listed below, increase at the neck edges: k1, M1L, knit to the last stitch, M1R, k1. +2 sts. The increases get closer together as you go down: that's what rounds the neckline.
Increase at the neck edges every 4 rows twice, then every 2 rows 5 times (the first time on row 4): 7 times on each side.
After row 18, a right-side row, 7 sts at the end of the row (right front edge); on the next row, cast on 7 sts at the end of the row (left front edge). The cardigan stays open: keep working in rows.
Yoke
The schedule starts at row 2.
Increase row (right side): *knit to 1 st before the marker, M1R, k2 (marker in between), M1L* 4 times, knit to the end. +8 sts.
Body increase row: increase only on the body side of each marker (back and fronts). +4 sts.
- Full increase row: 25 times, every other row, on the right side: each increase row is followed by a wrong-side row without increases.
- Body increase row: 8 times, every other row, on the right side: each increase row is followed by a wrong-side row without increases.
You have 337 sts: 105 for the back, 49 for each front, 67 for each sleeve. The yoke measures 22 cm from the collar.
Dividing body and sleeves
Dividing row (right side): knit the left front (49 sts); place the 67 left-sleeve sts on hold; 10 sts; knit the back (105 sts); place the right sleeve on hold; cast on 10 sts; knit the right front. You have 223 sts for the body.
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 94 rows, i.e. 31.3 cm from the underarm.
Next row (right side), adjusting the stitch count for the edge: k110, k2tog, k111. 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.
Sleeves (both alike)
Return the 67 held sts to the needles and pick up 10 sts from the underarm cast-on: 77 sts. Place the beginning-of-round marker at the middle of the underarm.
Knit 8 rounds.
Decrease round: k1, k2tog, knit to the last 3 sts, ssk, k1. −2 sts.
Work this decrease round every 6 rounds twice, then every 7 rounds 13 times: 15 times in all, the first on the 6th round after the plain rounds; then knit to 39.5 cm from the underarm. You have 47 sts.
Next round, adjusting the stitch count for the edge: k47, M1L. You now have 48 sts.
Work in (k2, p2) for 15 rounds, i.e. 5 cm.
loosely in rib.
Neckband
Right side facing, starting at the right front edge, 23 sts along the right front neck, 17 sts across the top of the right sleeve, 38 sts across the back, 17 sts across the top of the left sleeve and 23 sts along the left front neck: 118 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, 125 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 4 sts, bind off 2 sts, work 21 sts, bind off 2 sts, work 21 sts, bind off 2 sts, work 21 sts, bind off 2 sts, work 21 sts, bind off 2 sts, work 21 sts, bind off 2 sts, work 4 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.