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Ward off the morning chill in a drafty old house with an open-front cardigan of feather-light Loft. Elizabeth Doherty is known for assembling classic, tailored garments from unexpected shapes; here she has created a modern drop-shoulder cardigan with a relaxed air. Woodfords is a delicious puzzle in seamless construction, sure to appeal to knitters who love inventive shapes and new approaches. Decorative lateral braids highlight directional shifts in the knitting and also add structure to an elastic fabric of broken and seeded rib. Short rows cleverly concealed in the textured fabric produce a comfortable fit at the shoulders and sleeve caps.

CONSTRUCTION
The cardigan is worked from the top down. Short rows are used throughout the design to shape the fabric. All short-row wraps are left in place, blending invisibly into the textured stitch patterns used in the garment. The design begins with a cast-on for the entire width of the upper back. The piece is shaped with short rows, then worked to the underarms and placed on hold. Stitches for the shoulders are then picked up along the cast-on edge. A horizontal braid—both decorative and structural—is worked at the interface of the two parts. The shoulder line is shaped with short rows, then the stitches for the left front are placed on hold. The stitches for the neckband are cast on provisionally at the center back of the neck and joined to the neck stitches of the right front. The right front is worked to the underarms, then the stitches are placed on hold while the left front is worked in the same manner, beginning from the Provisional Cast On for the neckband. The right and left fronts are then joined to the back and worked in one piece from there on. When the body is complete, the sleeves are picked up from the armholes, angled downwards with a few short rows, then worked in the round to the cuff. The cuffs are finished with a clean I-cord bind-off that echoes the horizontal braids used in the bodice.

MATERIALS
1610 (1725, 1935, 2135, 2420, 2460, 2920) yards of fingering weight yarn
6 (7, 8, 8, 9, 10, 11) skeins of Brooklyn Tweed Loft (100% American Targhee-Columbia wool; 275 yards/50g)
Photographed in color Fossil
Photographed in color Pumice

GAUGE
23 stitches & 38 rows = 4” in Broken Rib with Size A needle, after blocking
21½ stitches & 40 rows = 4” in Seeded Rib with Size D needle, after blocking

NEEDLES
Size A (for Main Fabric):
One each 16”, 24”, and 40” circular needles and one set of double-pointed needles (DPNs) in size needed to obtain gauge listed
Suggested Size: 3¾ mm (US 5)

Size B (for Joinery Bind Off):
One 40” circular needle two sizes smaller than Size A
Suggested Size: 3¼ mm (US 3)

Size C (for Skirt):
One 40” circular needle one size larger than Size A
Suggested Size: 4 mm (US 6)

Size D (for Skirt):
One 40” circular needle two sizes larger than Size A
Suggested Size: 4½ mm (US 7)

32” circular needle can be used instead of DPNs if using the Magic Loop method for working small circumferences in the round (i.e., Sleeves)

FINISHED DIMENSIONS
34½ (37¼, 41½, 45½, 49¾, 52½, 56¾)“ circumference at chest (with fronts overlapping to approximate back width)
Loft Fossil sample is size 37¼” shown with 2¼” positive ease
Loft Pumice sample is size 41½” shown with 8” positive ease on Oriana and 4½“ positive ease on Heyona

Need help picking a size? See our resource page on Selecting a Sweater Size

SKILL LEVEL
4 of 5

Notes on fitting the cardigan, and adjusting for row gauge differences can be found here.

Need help? If you have questions about Woodfords—or just want to share your progress—please visit the Woodfords discussion thread in the Blue Bee Studio group.