Winter Wonder Cardigan in Imperial Yarn Willamette - PC79 - Downloadable PDF

Winter Wonder Cardigan in Imperial Yarn Willamette (PC79) – A Detailed Pattern Summary

The Winter Wonder Cardigan (PC79) is a beautifully crafted colorwork cardigan designed by Deborah Newton and published by Imperial Yarn. Rated as an experienced/advanced knitting project, this garment is a showcase piece for knitters who are confident with stranded colorwork, shaping, and working with multiple contrast colors simultaneously. The pattern is available as a downloadable PDF, making it immediately accessible for knitters eager to cast on.

What Is Being Made

This pattern produces a buttoned cardigan worked in a richly textured colorwork chart pattern. The finished garment is a classic, structured winter cardigan with a buttoned front closure, designed to be both warm and visually striking. It is offered in four sizes — Small, Medium, Large, and X-Large — with the following finished measurements:

• Bust (buttoned): 35¾ (41, 47, 52¼) inches / 91 (104, 119.5, 132.5) cm
• Length: 24 (25, 26, 27) inches / 61 (63.5, 66, 68.5) cm
• Shown in the pattern in size Small

The cardigan features six 1⅛" (28 mm) buttons for the front closure, giving it a polished, finished appearance suitable for both casual and dressed-up winter wear.

Colorwork Design and Versions

One of the most exciting aspects of this pattern is that it is presented in two distinct color versions, each using a main color (MC) and two contrast colors (CC1 and CC2), allowing knitters to choose a palette that suits their personal style.

• Version 1: #04 Charcoal (MC), #02 Pearl Gray (CC1), #105 Dandelion (CC2) — a dramatic, moody colorway with a warm pop of yellow
• Version 2: #01 Natural (MC), #108 Tumbleweed (CC1), #105 Dandelion (CC2) — a softer, warmer palette with earthy, natural tones

Both versions use the same Dandelion (#105) as the second contrast color, tying the two colorways together with a cheerful, wintry accent. The colorwork is worked from a chart, which is typical of stranded knitting traditions and requires the knitter to carry multiple yarns across the back of the work simultaneously.

Yarn and Materials

The pattern is specifically designed for Imperial Yarn Willamette, a 100% wool yarn that comes in 56g / 2oz skeins with approximately 105 yards / 96m per skein. This is classified as a DK weight yarn, which produces a fabric that is lightweight enough for comfortable wear while still providing excellent warmth — ideal for a winter cardigan.

The yardage requirements vary by size:

• MC: 9 (10, 12, 14) hanks
• CC1: 2 (3, 3, 4) hanks
• CC2: 2 (3, 3, 4) hanks

The all-wool composition of Imperial Yarn Willamette makes it particularly well-suited to stranded colorwork, as wool fibers grip one another and help the floats (the strands of yarn carried across the back of the work) stay in place, resulting in a neat and even fabric.

Needles and Notions

This pattern requires three needle sizes, each serving a specific purpose in achieving the correct gauge and fabric structure:

• US size 7 (4.5 mm) — 24-inch (60 cm) circular needle, used for finishing details such as the button band or edging
• US size 8 (5 mm) — straight needles, used for the main stockinette