Cable Baby Cardigan (0–3 months) — Knit in Pieces, Raglan Yoke

Construction overview: Knit back, two fronts and two sleeves flat to underarm. Transfer live stitches to a circular needle in order, place markers for raglan seams and work raglan decreases in the round to form the yoke. Shape the neck as written, then finish button bands, pick up for collar and seam underarms and sleeve seams. Cable panels decorate center back, fronts and sleeves.

Finished measurements

• Chest circumference: ~18 in / 46 cm (0–3 months)
• Body length (shoulder to hem): ~9 in / 23 cm
• Sleeve length (shoulder to cuff): ~6.5 in / 16.5 cm

Materials

• Yarn: DK / Light Worsted (US/Metric): Main color approx 220–250 yd / 200–230 m; Contrast/trim (if any) 30–50 yd / 28–45 m.
• Needles: US 5 (3.75 mm, UK 9) for ribbing; US 6 (4.00 mm, UK 8) for body and cables. Optional: short circular 16 in / 40 cm in US 6 to hold stitches for raglan join.
• Notions: cable needle (or spare dpn), 5 removable stitch markers, tapestry needle, stitch holders or spare circular needle to hold live stitches, 5 small buttons (10–12 mm), scrap waste yarn for provisional cast-on if desired, crochet hook 3.5 mm (US E/4) for finishing.

Gauge

22 sts and 28 rows = 4 in / 10 cm in stockinette on US 6 / 4.0 mm needles. Check your gauge and adjust needle size to match.

Abbreviations

• CO — cast on
• BO — bind off
• k — knit
• p — purl
• st(s) — stitch(es)
• RS — right side
• WS — wrong side
• ssk — slip, slip, knit (left-leaning decrease)
• k2tog — knit two together (right-leaning decrease)
• m1 — make one (increase)
• pm — place marker
• C4F — slip next 2 sts to cable needle and hold in front, k2, then k2 from cable needle
• C4B — slip next 2 sts to cable needle and hold in back, k2, then k2 from cable needle

Special notes

• Each piece begins with a 1 in / 2.5 cm 1x1 rib (use US 5), then change to US 6 for cable and stockinette.
• Every piece uses a 1-st garter selvedge on each edge to make seaming neat: on RS rows, k1 at first st and k1 at last st; on WS rows p1 on first st and p1 on last st. When working in the round during the yoke, these become regular sts; retain their look while seaming later.

Cable motifs (written)

8-st center cable (C8): worked over 8 sts. Row pattern (RS rows shown): Rows 1,3,5,7: knit cable sts in pattern (follows stockinette positions); Row 2,4,6,8: purl across cable sts on WS. Cable cross repeat: every 6th RS row: C8F on row indicated, on alternate crossing row use C8B. For compactness: when you read the instructions you’ll be told ‘work cable pattern’ which means follow this 6-row crossing schedule: Rows: 1 (no cross), 2 (WS), 3 (no cross), 4 (WS), 5 (C8F cross), 6 (WS), then repeat starting row 1 but alternate cross to C8B the next time you reach the crossing row.

Stitch distribution and cast-on

To achieve the finished chest given the gauge the sample is worked with these stitch counts:

• Back: CO 32 sts
• Each Front (left & right): CO 20 sts (right front will include eyelets/buttonhole instruction)
• Each Sleeve: CO 12 sts

Total when joined for yoke: 32 + 20 + 20 + 12 + 12 = 96 sts.

Back

1. Using US 5 (3.75 mm) needles, CO 32 sts. Work 1x1 rib (k1, p1) for 1 in / 2.5 cm, ending with RS facing.
2. Change to US 6 (4.0 mm). Work row 1 (RS): k1 (selvage), k11, work 8-st cable panel (center cable), k11, k1 (selvage). On WS rows purl across, keeping selvedge p1. Maintain pattern: outside of the cable is stockinette; follow cable crossing schedule described above. Work even in pattern until piece measures 5.25 in / 13.5 cm from cast-on (to underarm).
3. Place live stitches on a holder or spare circular needle for joining later.

Right Front (button band on right)

1. Using US 5, CO 20 sts. Work 1x1 rib for 1 in / 2.5 cm, ending RS.
2. Change to US 6. Layout from right (center front) to left (underarm): 6-st garter button band (these 6 sts are worked in garter: on RS k, on WS k), then k11 stockinette, then 1-st of the cable edge or part of a small 6-st cable if you wish (for this sample we place a small 4-st cable on sleeve only; the front will mirror the back’s cable by placing its outer edge close to side). Work even until 5.25 in / 13.5 cm from cast-on. On the RS at 2.25 in / 5.5 cm from cast-on, make buttonholes: working the garter button band, on that RS row, work buttonhole as follows: k4, yo, k2tog (this creates a small eyelet), k remaining 0 sts of band. Place 4 buttonholes evenly spaced on right front band if you prefer more; sample uses 3 small buttons so make 3 buttonholes spaced ~1.75 in / 4.5 cm apart starting 1 in from hem.
3. Place live stitches on holder.

Left Front (no buttonholes)

1. Work as for right front but mirror: CO 20 on US 5, rib 1 in, change to US 6. Work from left (center front) to right: 6-st garter button band (work garter to match the right front), then stockinette to underarm. Work same length as right front (5.25 in / 13.5 cm). Place live stitches on holder.

Sleeves (make 2)

1. Using US 5, CO 12 sts. Work 1x1 rib for 1 in / 2.5 cm.
2. Change to US 6. Work 1 st garter selvedge at each edge: on RS rows k1, on WS rows p1. Between selvedges work stockinette with a small 4-st cable centered if desired: if using cable, pattern across 12 sts could be: k1 (selv), k3, 4-st cable (C4F/C4B crossing every 6 rows), k3, k1 (selv). Work until sleeve measures 5.25 in / 13.5 cm from cast-on to underarm. Place stitches on holder.

Join for Raglan Yoke

1. Arrange and transfer all live stitches onto a 16 in / 40 cm circular US 6 (or your preferred circular): order should be Right Sleeve (12 sts), Right Front (20 sts), Back (32 sts), Left Front (20 sts), Left Sleeve (12 sts) = 96 sts total. Place markers between each section to mark raglan joins: M1 between RS and right front, M2 between right front and back, M3 between back and left front, M4 between left front and left sleeve.
2. Set-up round: work one round even in established pattern, treating each section’s internal stitch pattern the same (cable panels continue in their location). If cables fall across joins, simply maintain cable crossings as written; the markers define where decreases happen for the raglan lines.
3. Raglan decrease round (worked every round): *Work to 1 st before next marker, ssk (slip 1 knitwise, slip 1 knitwise, knit them together through back loops), k1, slip marker, k1, k2tog; repeat from * for each marker. This decreases 1 st at each side of each marker, 4 sts per round total.
4. Work the raglan decrease round every round until there are 36 sts remaining total. Math check: starting at 96 sts, decreasing 4 sts per round: (96 - 36) / 4 = 15 rounds of decreases. After the last decrease round, knit 1 round even.

Neck shaping (0–3 months)

1. After you have 36 sts on the needle, with RS facing, determine the centre front opening location: if you kept the order of sections as above, the boundary between Right Front and Right Sleeve is your center front; count across to find the exact center stitches to bind off to make the cardigan opening. For this sample bind off 12 sts for the center front opening to create the button band gap (this gives 12 sts left shoulder and 12 sts right shoulder). Instructions: Work across to the first side (e.g., right shoulder) and BO the next 12 sts. Place the remaining 12 sts for the opposite shoulder on a holder. You now have two shoulder pieces worked separately.
2. Work each shoulder separately flat: continue in pattern for 4 more rounds (or until shoulder height matches the other if you prefer fewer/more rows) then BO all sts for each shoulder. You will have two shoulder pieces separated by a bind-off gap at centre front. The bound-off center will be where you pick up for the buttonband and neckband.

Finishing

1. Seaming: Seam the underarms and sleeve seams using mattress stitch. Attach sleeves to body by seaming raglan diagonals: align sleeve top to body yoke and seam raglan lines tidy using mattress stitch or backstitch through both layers, keeping cable patterns matched where possible.
2. Buttonband and neckband: With RS facing, pick up stitches along right front edge and along the bound-off edge center and left front edge as needed to create a continuous band. For a neat 6-st garter buttonband you can pick up one stitch per bound-off stitch and 1 per every two rows along the front edges so that the band lies flat. Using US 5 needles, work garter stitch (knit every row) for 0.5–1 in / 1.5–2.5 cm or to match sample width. On the right band, create buttonholes: when you reach the height where buttons will sit, on an RS row: k4, yo, k2tog, continue. Space 3 small buttonholes evenly down the band. BO in garter to match left band.
3. Sew on buttons opposite the buttonholes. We placed buttons on the right front band. 
4. Collar variant: instead of the simple garter band you can pick up stitches around the entire neckline and work a narrow rib or garter collar 3/4 in / 2 cm, then BO softly to finish.
5. Weave in ends and block lightly to measurements. Press cables gently if desired.

Sizing adjustments and notes

• To increase chest size: add stitches to each section in multiples that keep cable placement consistent. For example add 4 sts to back and 2 sts to each front to increase about 1.5–2 in / 4–5 cm total chest circumference depending on gauge.
• To change neck opening size: change the number of stitches you bind off at neck (less bound off = smaller gap; more bound off = larger gap). Keep the two shoulder halves equal.
• When working the raglan decreases, if your cable crossings fall at or very near raglan markers, simply work the cable crossings on the body sections as written and perform the ssk/k2tog decreases adjacent to the markers. This may slightly displace the cable, but for a baby cardigan it blends nicely.

Blocking

Lightly block the cardigan to measurements. Pin the button bands straight and ensure cables relax. Use steam or wet block according to yarn manufacturer’s instructions.

Support & credits

Pattern written for purljam (https://purljam.verde.uk). For help email team@verde.uk or find us on socials: #purljam.

Created by purlJam with the help of magic AI dust. Shop Verde for patterns and yarn.

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