Reindeer Cable Cardigan Pattern

KnittingPattern

Dec 13

Written By

I am happy to present you Reindeer Cable Cardigan pattern.

The idea of the design came to me in July, but it took me more than 4 months to bring it to life. After knitting countless swatches, I got to know merino/silk blend enough to narrow my choice to 2 main stitch patterns - the main cable panel running on the back and the textured stitch for the hem, neck band and sleeve cuffs. I approached the design from two points that I am sure are important for many knitters - an engaging knit and a wearable final product. I wanted to create a pattern that will keep your mind busy, but at the same time will be relaxing enough to become a good movie companion. The textured stitch that "frames" the garment is a great alternative to a classic ribbing - it's very easy to knit and it creates beautiful contrast with the plain stockinette background.

One of the hardest things for me was to give the pattern a name. As it's the first official pattern, I wanted it to be personal and very "me". Brain storming didn't help at all! But one weekend when I was taking a long walk with my dog, the word reindeer sprang up in my head and it felt so perfect. My Mom used to call me Alinenok when I was little, which sounds exactly like "little deer" in Russian. Since then my close friends and family often call me this name. And something about the way the cables are intertwined in the panel reminds me of this noble and grand animal. And now, as Christmas is coming, I realize that it was the perfect choice :)Reindeer is a standard-fitting open cardigan. The body is worked in one piece back and forth without joining to armholes; then divided to work back and fronts separately. 40 stitch central cable panel won't let you get bored! I bet you will want to knit one more row, and then one more to see how the cables are forming a pattern. There is a slight waist shaping to create a nice fit.After you are done with the body of a cardigan, shoulders are joined and sleeves are picked up from armholes and worked in a round to a cuff. The cap is shaped with short rows to ensure the perfect fit.The bands are picked up and knitted last. The last rows of the bands are knit using smaller needles to "pull" the cardigan together. You can also experiment and make bands much wider to wrap yourself even more in the softness of this textured stitch.One of my favorite details in these design is the sleeves. I designed them "on the needles", experimenting with different stitch placement and finally came up with the textured stripes that gradually turn into a sleeve cuff mirroring the neckband and the hem stitch pattern. In the pattern you will find a little tutorial that will help you to create the perfect textured stripes in the round. I will also share it on the blog next week! The pattern gives you the opportunity to modify the sleeve length. You know how I love modifications and I encourage you to experiment with this! Lovely Johanna, a talented knitter from Finland, knit 3/4 sleeves for her Reindeer cardi and they look great! You can also make the sleeves extra long, if you wish.The pattern provides schematics, detailed measurements of the garment and a cable chart pattern with written instructions. I used color in the cable chart to facilitate the reading.And now the winner of the Mystery Pattern giveaway... Angela (Ravelry ID - harknessangels)!!! Congratulations! You will receive the copy of Reindeer Cable Cardigan today!

General Pattern Information

The pattern is graded for 8 sizes. The sample is shown in size S with 1 1/2 - 2" ease.SIZING (BODY SIZES):

XS (32"/81cm)
S (34"/86 cm)
M (37"/94 cm)
L (40"/ 101.5 cm)
XL (43"/109 cm)
XXL (46"/116 cm)
3XL (49"/124.5 cm)
4XL (52"/132 cm)

FINISHED MEASUREMENTS:Chest/Bust at Underarm: 34 (36, 39, 42, 45, 48, 51, 54)” [86 (91.5, 99, 106.5, 114, 122, 129.5, 137) cm]Finished Length: 28 3/4 (28 3/4, 29, 29, 29 1/2, 29 1/2, 30, 30)” [73 (73, 74, 74, 75, 75, 76, 76) cm]GAUGE:17 sts x 21 rows = 4" [10 cm] in St st on larger needles after blocking.MATERIALS:YARN 9 (9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 14) skeins of Knit Picks Gloss DK weight yarn (123 yds or 112 m/50 g; 70% Merino Wool, 30% Silk) colourway Hawk or any other DK weight yarn which gives you the proper gauge.Please keep in mind that the yardage is an estimate. NEEDLES

US size 6 [4 mm] 31" [80 cm] circular needle
US size 7 [4.5 mm] 31" [80 cm] circular needle or size to obtain correct gauge.
Optional - US size 7 [4.5 mm] double-pointed needles (set of 4) for the sleeves. You can use US size 7 [4.5 mm] 31" [80 cm] circular needle to work the sleeves using the magic loop method.
Cable needle

OTHER

3 stitch markers
Stitch holders or scrap yarn
Tapestry needle

Reindeer Cable Cardigan is available for $6.50

I would love to take a moment and thank my wonderful test knitters! Some are still working on their cardis and some already took absolutely beautiful pictures of the finished Reindeer that they will soon link to the pattern page. I really love how international this test knit was - lovely knitters from Japan, Finland, Lithuania, USA. If you read my World Carfters interview series, you know how fascinated I am with combination of fiber crafts and different corners of the world, so it really means a lot to me to see Reindeer taking shape on different continents!I am also deeply grateful to all and each of you for your support, your sweet comments and emails. This has been such an exciting project for me and I really hope you will enjoy knitting it. Feel free to write me any questions at alina@giftofknitting.com or giftofknitting@gmail.com. I will be happy to help you!