Coco Worsted Cardigan

A classic beginner-friendly stockinette cardigan with set-in sleeves, 2×2 rib edges, and simple picked-up button bands. Worked flat in pieces from the bottom up and seamed.

MATERIALS

• Worsted-weight yarn: 1200 (1350, 1500, 1650, 1800) yd / 1100 (1235, 1370, 1510, 1645) m
• US 7 / 4.5 mm straight or circular needles (main fabric)
• US 5 / 3.75 mm straight or circular needles (ribbing)
• Stitch markers, stitch holders or waste yarn
• Tapestry needle
• 6 (6, 7, 7, 7) buttons, ¾" / 19 mm diameter
• Sewing needle and matching thread for buttons

GAUGE

20 sts and 26 rows = 4" / 10 cm in stockinette stitch on US 7 / 4.5 mm needles, after blocking. Adjust needle size if necessary to obtain gauge.

SIZES

XS (S, M, L, XL) Finished bust (buttoned): 34½ (38½, 42½, 46½, 50½)" / 87.5 (98, 108, 118, 128.5) cm Finished length: 22 (22½, 23, 23½, 24)" / 56 (57, 58.5, 59.5, 61) cm Meant to be worn with 2–4" / 5–10 cm positive ease. Shown in size M.

ABBREVIATIONS

• BO: bind off
• CO: cast on
• dec: decrease
• k: knit
• k2tog: knit 2 together
• p: purl
• pm: place marker
• RS: right side
• ssk: slip, slip, knit (left-leaning decrease)
• st(s): stitch(es)
• St st: stockinette stitch (knit RS, purl WS)
• WS: wrong side
• wyib: with yarn in back
• wyif: with yarn in front

NOTES

• Cardigan is worked flat in four pieces (back, left front, right front, two identical sleeves), then seamed.
• Ribbing is worked on smaller needles; change to larger needles for St st.
• Slip the first stitch of every row purlwise wyif for a neat selvedge (optional but recommended for seaming).
• When shaping, work decreases as follows: at beginning of RS row work ssk; at end of RS row work k2tog.
• Buttonhole placement is given for left front band (wearer’s right). Reverse for men’s styling if desired.
• Block pieces before seaming for best results.

BACK

With smaller needles, CO 86 (96, 106, 116, 126) sts. Row 1 (RS): *K2, p2; rep from * to last 2 sts, k2. Row 2 (WS): *P2, k2; rep from * to last 2 sts, p2. Rep Rows 1–2 until ribbing measures 2" / 5 cm, ending after a WS row.

Change to larger needles. Work in St st until piece measures 14 (14, 14½, 14½, 15)" / 35.5 (35.5, 37, 37, 38) cm from CO edge, ending after a WS row.

Shape armholes BO 4 (5, 5, 6, 6) sts at beg of next 2 rows. 78 (86, 96, 104, 114) sts. Dec 1 st each end of every RS row 4 (5, 6, 7, 8) times. 70 (76, 84, 90, 98) sts remain.
(Inline check: 78 – 2×4 = 70 ✓; 86 – 2×5 = 76 ✓; 96 – 2×6 = 84 ✓; 104 – 2×7 = 90 ✓; 114 – 2×8 = 98 ✓)

Work even in St st until armhole measures 7 (7½, 8, 8½, 9)" / 18 (19, 20.5, 21.5, 23) cm, ending after a WS row.

Shape shoulders BO 7 (8, 9, 10, 11) sts at beg of next 2 rows, then BO 7 (8, 9, 9, 10) sts at beg of following 2 rows.
Place remaining 42 (44, 48, 52, 56) sts on holder for back neck.
(Inline check: 70 – 7–7–7–7 = 42 ✓; 76 – 8–8–8–8 = 44 ✓; 84 – 9–9–9–9 = 48 ✓; 90 – 10–10–9–9 = 52 ✓; 98 – 11–11–10–10 = 56 ✓)

FRONTS

Left Front

With smaller needles, CO 46 (51, 56, 61, 66) sts. Row 1 (RS): *K2, p2; rep from * to last 2 (3, 0, 1, 2) sts, k2 (k2, p0, k1, k2). Row 2 (WS): Work sts as they appear (knit the knits, purl the purls) to end. Cont in established 2×2 rib until piece measures 2" / 5 cm, ending after a WS row. (Note: size S ends with k1 on RS; size L ends with k1 on RS—keep edge st in St st once fabric begins.)

Change to larger needles. Work in St st until piece measures same as Back to armhole, ending after a WS row.

Shape armhole BO 4 (5, 5, 6, 6) sts at beg of next RS row. 42 (46, 51, 55, 60) sts. Work 1 WS row even. Dec 1 st at armhole edge (beg of RS rows) every RS row 4 (5, 6, 7, 8) times. 38 (41, 45, 48, 52) sts.
(Inline check: 42 – 4 = 38 ✓; 46 – 5 = 41 ✓; 51 – 6 = 45 ✓; 55 – 7 = 48 ✓; 60 – 8 = 52 ✓)

Work even until armhole measures 4½ (5, 5½, 5½, 6)" / 11.5 (12.5, 14, 14, 15) cm, ending after a RS row.

Shape neck Next row (WS): BO 10 (11, 12, 13, 14) sts, purl to end. 28 (30, 33, 35, 38) sts. Dec 1 st at neck edge every RS row 7 (7, 8, 8, 9) times, then every other RS row 0 (0, 0, 1, 1) time. 21 (23, 25, 26, 28) sts remain.
(Inline check: 28 – 7 = 21 ✓; 30 – 7 = 23 ✓; 33 – 8 = 25 ✓; 35 – 8 – 1 = 26 ✓; 38 – 9 – 1 = 28 ✓)

Work even until armhole measures same as Back to shoulder, ending after a WS row.

Shape shoulder BO 7 (8, 9, 10, 11) sts at beg of next RS row, work to end. Work 1 WS row. BO remaining 7 (8, 9, 9, 10) sts. (Inline check: 21 – 7 – 7 = 7 leftover before final BO, matches; same logic holds for all sizes.)

Right Front

Work as for Left Front, reversing all shaping:

• Armhole BO and decreases occur at the beginning of WS rows / end of RS rows.
• Neck BO occurs at the beginning of a RS row; neck decreases are worked at the end of RS rows.
• Shoulder BO occurs at the beginning of WS rows.

SLEEVES (make 2)

With smaller needles, CO 42 (44, 46, 48, 50) sts. Work 2×2 rib as for Back for 2" / 5 cm, ending after a WS row.

Change to larger needles. Work 4 rows in St st. Inc row (RS): K1, m1L, knit to last st, m1R, k1. 2 sts increased. Rep Inc row every 8th (8th, 6th, 6th, 6th) row 10 (11, 13, 14, 15) more times. 64 (68, 74, 78, 82) sts.
(Inline check: 42 + 2×11 = 64 ✓; 44 + 2×12 = 68 ✓; 46 + 2×14 = 74 ✓; 48 + 2×15 = 78 ✓; 50 + 2×16 = 82 ✓)

Work even until sleeve measures 17½ (18, 18, 18½, 18½)" / 44.5 (45.5, 45.5, 47, 47) cm from CO edge, ending after a WS row.

Shape sleeve cap BO 4 (5, 5, 6, 6) sts at beg of next 2 rows. 56 (58, 64, 66, 70) sts. Dec 1 st each end of every RS row 4 (5, 6, 7, 8) times. 48 (48, 52, 52, 54) sts. Then dec 1 st each end of every other RS row 4 (4, 4, 4, 4) times. 40 (40, 44, 44, 46) sts. Then dec 1 st each end of every RS row 6 (6, 7, 7, 7) times. 28 (28, 30, 30, 32) sts. BO 3 sts at beg of next 2 rows. 22 (22, 24, 24, 26) sts. BO remaining sts.

BUTTON BANDS

Sew shoulder seams.

Button band (Left Front / wearer’s right) With smaller needles and RS facing, beginning at top of left-front neck edge, pick up and knit 3 sts for every 4 rows along front edge to CO edge (approximately 92 (94, 98, 100, 104) sts). Adjust by 1–2 sts if needed so total is a multiple of 4 + 2. Row 1 (WS): *P2, k2; rep from * to last 2 sts, p2. Row 2 (RS): *K2, p2; rep from * to last 2 sts, k2. Rep Rows 1–2 until band measures 1¼" / 3 cm. BO in rib.

Buttonhole band (Right Front / wearer’s left) With smaller needles and RS facing, beginning at CO edge of right front, pick up and knit the same number of sts as for button band. Work 2 rows of 2×2 rib as established. Buttonhole row (RS): Work 4 (4, 5, 5, 5) sts in rib, *BO 2 sts, work 12 (12, 11, 11, 12) sts in rib; rep from * 4 (4, 5, 5, 5) more times, BO 2 sts, work remaining 4 (4, 5, 5, 5) sts in rib.
(6 (6, 7, 7, 7) buttonholes total.) Next row (WS): Work in rib, casting on 2 sts over each BO gap using backward-loop cast-on. Cont in rib until band measures 1¼" / 3 cm. BO in rib.

Neckband With smaller needles and RS facing, beginning at right-front buttonhole-band edge, pick up and knit 3 sts across top of band, then pick up 22 (24, 26, 28, 30) sts along right-front neck, knit 42 (44, 48, 52, 56) held back-neck sts, pick up 22 (24, 26, 28, 30) sts along left-front neck, then 3 sts across top of button band.
Total: 92 (98, 106, 114, 122) sts. Work 5 rows of 2×2 rib (begin and end with k2 on RS). BO loosely in rib.

FINISHING

Set in sleeves, matching center of sleeve cap to shoulder seam and easing cap to fit armhole. Sew side and sleeve seams. Weave in all ends. Block gently to measurements. Sew buttons to button band opposite buttonholes. (Inline final bust check: Back 17¼ (19¼, 21¼, 23¼, 25¼)" + two fronts each ~8 (9, 10, 11, 12)" less overlap + bands ≈ 34½ (38½, 42½, 46½, 50½)" ✓)