Knit a Long Cardigan for a 2–4 Year Old Girl
Red garter blocks and white lace diamonds, the design that's trending right now, made into a long cardigan for a little girl, with measurements for every piece.
This long cardigan uses the design that's trending right now: little red garter-stitch blocks, with white lace diamonds opening up between them. It's for a 2–4 year old girl, and I've used a few special touches: a tubular-style cast on, a garter-and-rib button band, and a stretchy neckline bind off. We'll go step by step with measurements.
Measurements
- Length from the shoulder: 15 inches
- Front and back: 12 inches wide each. My little one is a bit chubby, and you need that much ease anyway
- Sleeve: 12 inches. Make it a little longer if you like
- Cuff: a bit over 6 inches, folded back
What you'll need
- Ganga "Pound of Happiness" wool (slightly thick) in red and white
- Size 9 (3.75 mm) needles for the body, and size 10 (3.25 mm) for the borders
- 5 buttons
The pattern (multiple of 10 + 7)
- Block rows (6 rows)
Slip 1, then alternate 5 stitches in red and 5 in white across the row, with red at both ends. On the wrong side, knit the red stitches (so the red blocks are garter stitch) and purl the white ones. Carry the unused colour along the back so there are no long strands for little fingers to catch.
- Lace rows (white only)
After the blocks, knit a row and purl a row. Then, on right-side rows, work a yarn over and a decrease on each side of every white block, so eyelets travel inward and outward in V shapes: 5 plain stitches between them, then 3, then 1. Where two eyelet lines meet, work 3 stitches together (slip 1, knit 2 together, pass the slipped stitch over) with a yarn over on each side. Purl every wrong-side row.
- Next blocks
The next set of red blocks sits over the white diamonds, halfway along, so the blocks are staggered like a diamond grid.
The whole design repeats every 32 rows (two sets of blocks and lace). It's worth taking a screenshot of the video where I show how the pattern sits, because it makes the row setup much easier to follow.
Step 1: The sleeves (make two)
- Cast on
30 stitches with the tubular-style cast on (I have a separate tutorial for it), using size 10 needles.
- Border
2 rows of knit 1, slip 1 with the yarn in front, then 6 rows of 1x1 rib, then knit a row from the wrong side for a ridge.
- Increase
Increase 7 stitches evenly (knit 4, knit twice into the 5th…) to reach 37, then knit back.
- Pattern
Switch to size 9 needles and work the pattern, increasing 1 stitch at each end at the start of each block section and each lace section.
- Length
My sleeve measured 10 inches after 60 rows.
- Cap
Because the wool is thick, bind off 2, then 1, then 1 at each side (instead of the usual 3, 2, 1), then bind off all the stitches together.
Step 2: The body (in one piece)
- Cast on
131 stitches (the button bands come later) and work the same border.
- Pattern
Set it up with 3 edge stitches at each end: 3 edge, 5 red, 5 white… 5 red, 3 edge. Keep the edge stitches in plain knit.
- Length
Work 56 rows: three full 16-row repeats plus 8 rows.
- Divide
Split into 31 (front), 69 (back) and 31 (front).
Step 3: Armholes, neck and shoulders
- Armholes: On each piece, bind off 2, then 1, then 1 at the armhole edges, keeping the pattern going. Where there isn't room for a full lace repeat at the edge, just knit those stitches.
- Front neck: After one more lace section on the fronts, bind off 4, 2, 2, 1 and 1 at the neck edge. The red blocks go on across the remaining stitches; where there's only half a block's worth, knit it in red too.
- Back: Knit the back to the same length as the fronts.
- Shoulders: With 17 stitches on each shoulder, join front and back with a three-needle bind off.
Step 4: Button bands and neckline
- Pick up
Along each front, pick up 3 stitches and cast on 1, and repeat, so the band doesn't pull tight (about 60 stitches). An odd number keeps both ends matching.
- Band
Knit 3 rows (2 garter ridges), then 2 rows of 1x1 rib.
- Buttonholes (right front for a girl)
In the next row, make a yarn over and knit the next 2 stitches together at every 6th purl stitch. That gives 4 buttonholes on the band.
- Finish the band
Work 2 more rows of rib, then bind off purlwise so the edge stands out.
- Neckline
Pick up about 27 stitches down each front neck (cast on an extra stitch where there are gaps), plus the back neck stitches, decreasing 2–3 across the back. Knit 4 rows (2 ridges), work 4 rows of 1x1 rib, make the 5th buttonhole in line with the band, and work 4 more rows of rib. Bind off with the stretchy two-row neckline bind off, so it pulls easily over the head.
Step 5: Finishing
Sew the sleeve seam up to the start of the cap shaping. Then set the sleeve into the armhole, matching the 2-1-1 steps on the sleeve to those on the body, and sew all round. Sew on the buttons.
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