Knitting a sweater or cardigan is a milestone for every knitter. It can feel intimidating and confusing when you’re trying to follow some of those instructions – especially when you see the words ‘at the same time‘ in a pattern. Even just finding a pattern can feel like a huge process. That’s why I’ve created a collection of cardigan knitting patterns for beginners – designs that are simple for knitters who are tackling their first garment project.
Most are worked from the top-down but there are some worked bottom-up for a little bit of variety. And, while many are seamless knits, there are a few seamed garments in here as well. One of these easy cardigan knitting patterns is a great place to start building your garment knitting skills.
- Harvest from Tin Can Knits
- Effortless Cardigan from Lion Brand Yarns
- Iced by Carol Feller for Knitty
- Cropped Raglan Cardigan from Lion Brand Yarns
- Nimbus from the Berroco Design team
- The Downtown Cardigan by Stephanie Lau
- The Sunset Cardigan by Neringa Ruke
- Fullerton Cardigan by Kephren Pritchett for KnitScene
- New Concetta Cardigan by Elizabeth Smith
- Hipster Stripe Cardigan by Triona Murphy for Knit Picks
- Simplicity Cardigan by Nicole Wang
- Jane Cardigan by Andrea Yetman for Biscotte Yarns
If you’re ready to start knitting your first cardigan, check out the twelve patterns below. I’ve also included some links to recommended yarn if you want to get started as soon as possible and you’re not sure how to find the right yarn.
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Harvest
Harvest by Tin Can Knits is part of the beginner knitter series so it’s a perfect first cardigan. It’s worked seamlessly from the top down with raglan shoulder shaping. It’s a free pattern that’s sized for multiple sizes from baby to adult and they have lots of helpful information on their website.
Get the pattern: Harvest
Recommended yarn: Cascade 220
Effortless Cardigan
The Effortless Cardigan from Lion Brand Yarns is worked top down with a raglan shoulder shaping. After dividing for the sleeves, you’ll work the body and then finish the sleeves before picking up stitches to work the rib band around the front of the sweater. It’s also worked flat and features patch pockets.
Get the pattern: Effortless Cardigan
Recommended yarn: Knit Picks Mighty Stitch
Iced
Iced by Carol Feller is an oversized, casual cardigan that uses the top-down raglan shoulder shaping. It also includes a v-neck and buttons – but no buttonholes. Instead, you’ll crochet chain a few loops that are attached to the edge of the sweater instead. After working the body of the sweater, you’ll pick up stitches to work the Garter stitch shawl collar that uses some very simple short rows to create the shawl collar shape.
Get the pattern: Iced
Recommended yarn: DMC Natura XL
Cropped Raglan Sweater
The Cropped Raglan Sweater from Lion Brand Yarns is a cute cropped shape with short sleeves. Cast on the ribbing and start working flat to shape the fronts, back, and sleeves. After separating the sleeves, finish the body, the the sleeves before picking up stitches and working the rib band down the front. Very cute cropped sweater – knit it in a cotton blend for a great summer or spring cardigan.
Get the pattern: Cropped Raglan Sweater
Recommended yarn: Knit Picks Comfy Worsted
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Nimbus
Nimbus, from the Berroco design team, uses a bottom-up, seamed cardigan construction. Each of the pieces (the back, right and left fronts, and sleeves) are worked separately – but they are all very simple with bold Garter stitch edges and basic Stockinette stitch. This one is for the adventurous beginner because the pattern has a ‘reverse all shaping’ instruction for the right front. But this is a great and simple way to practice that – because it can show up in many knitting patterns.
Get the pattern: Nimbus
Recommended yarn: Knit Picks Tuff Puff
The Downtown Cardigan
The Downtown Cardigan by Stephanie Lau is a chunky, oversized cardigan worked in Garter stitch. It’s a drop shoulder cardigan that’s worked flat – the back, both fronts, and the sleeves are worked separately (just large Garter stitch rectangles with a K2P2 rib at the bottom. After seaming all the pieces together, you have a few options for finishing the front.
Get the pattern: The Downtown Cardigan
Recommended yarn: Lion Brand Color Made Easy
The Sunset Cardigan
The Sunset Cardigan by Neringa Ruke is another oversized Garter stitch cardigan. It features balloon sleeves and tunic-length (making it great to wear over leggings on a chilly day. The body is worked flat in one piece before the sides are seamed. Then the front band can be added and the sleeves are added after the body is complete as well.
Get the pattern: The Sunset Cardigan
Recommended yarn: Rowan Big Wool
Fullerton
The Fullerton Cardigan, designed by Kephren Pritchett for KnitScene, is worked flat from the bottom up. When you reach the underarms, the fronts and back are worked separately. After they are finished, a 3-needle bind off is used to join the back and sides at the shoulders. The sleeves are picked up from the armholes and worked in the round from shoulder to cuff. To finish, the button band is worked and buttons are added.
Get the pattern: Fullerton
Recommended yarn: Brown Sheep Lamb’s Pride Worsted
New Concetta Cardigan
The New Concetta Cardigan by Elizabeth Smith is a top-down raglan sleeve cardigan. It’s worked in one piece before the sleeves are divided from the body. The body is then worked to the hem and the sleeve stitches are worked in the round from the shoulder to the cuff (and featuring a slight bell-shape). To finish the cardigan, stitches are picked up and a K2P2 rib is worked, with one buttonhole to feature one large, special button closure at the neck.
Get the pattern: New Concetta Cardigan
Recommended yarn: Brown Sheep Lamb’s Pride Worsted
Hipster Stripe Cardigan
The Hipster Stripe Cardigan by Triona Murphy for Knit Picks uses their Swish Worsted. It features bold, skinny stripes and a deep neckline with elbow-length sleeves so it’s perfect for a great spring or summer top. It’s worked from the top down and the only finishing is picking up the front bands (no seaming involved).
Get the pattern: Hipster Stripe Cardigan
Recommended yarn: Swish Worsted
Simplicity Cardigan
The Simplicity Cardigan by Nicole Wang is a long, knee-length, cardigan worked in Garter stitch. It’s worked top-down, knit flat – back-and-forth in rows, and completely seamless with raglan shoulder shaping. This is definitely an easy knit for even the newest knitters. The most difficult part will be placing markers and keeping track of increases for the sleeves, fronts, and back.
Get the pattern: Simplicity Cardigan
Recommended yarn: Lion Brand Vanna’s Choice
Jane Cardigan
The Jane Cardigan, designed by Andrea Yetman for Biscotte Yarns, is worked top-down and uses a yoke construction method for the Garter stitch yoke. When the yoke is completed, sleeves and body are divided and the body is worked to the hem where a faux cable rib is worked. Sleeve stitches are then picked up and worked to the cuff before adding a button band to the front of the cardigan.
Get the pattern: Jane Cardigan
Recommended yarn: Malabrigo Chunky
Cardigan Knitting Questions
Here are a few common questions related to knitting cardigans.
Is it difficult to knit a cardigan?
It is not difficult to knit a cardigan. Once you know the basic mechanics of knitting – casting on, knitting, purling, and binding off, you can learn to knit a cardigan. Start with one that uses simple shaping and large yarn and needles for a quick project.
Can you knit a cardigan with straight needles?
Cardigans can be knit with straight needles – especially if you are knitting all the pieces separately and seaming them together like the Downtown Cardigan by Stephanie Lau listed above.
When you’re ready to start knitting your first cardigan, grab one of the easy cardigan knitting patterns for beginners linked above, get your yarn and needles, and cast on for your first cardigan!
For more helpful resources and articles, check out the links below.
Recommended Resources
- Amy Herzog’s Ultimate Sweater Book (available on Amazon)
- Seamless Knit Sweaters in Two Weeks by Marie Greene (available on Amazon)
- Finish-Free Knits by Kristen TenDyke (available on Amazon)
Related Knitting Articles
- 12 Poncho Knitting Patterns for Beginners
- 8 Simple Sweater Patterns for Beginner Knitters
- 12 Beginner Shawl Knitting Patterns