Hela Wool yoke sweater cardigan - Free Knitting pattern Download

Héla is a free Icelandic cardigan knitting pattern from Ístex, designed by Védís Jónsdóttir. The leaflet calls it a “short cardigan w/zip”: Álafoss Lopi, a round yoke and an open-ended zip. It comes in two colourings: indigo blue with white and light indigo, as in the photo, or ash heather with black heather.

About the Héla cardigan pattern

• Sizes 34 (36) 38 (40) 42: chest 84 (89) 94 (98) 103 cm all the way round.
• Yarn: Álafoss Lopi, 100 g balls. Main colour 4 (4) 5 (5) 6, second colour 1 (1) 2 (2) 2, plus 1 ball of light indigo for the blue version.
• Needles: 6 mm circulars and double-pointed needles, 4½ mm circular for the neckband. Tension 13 stitches to 10 cm.
• Uses an open-ended zip, 50–55 cm (not included); the pattern says to measure the finished cardigan first.

Body and sleeves are knitted in the round from a moss-stitch edge, then joined for the yoke: 36 chart rounds, with separate charts for two and three colours. Every size except 42 leaves out marked rounds. Each round begins and ends with a purl stitch at the centre front; you machine-stitch twice along these, cut between them and sew in the zip. The neckband is folded inside to hide the top of the zip.

Knit it from a kit

Both colourings come as kits: the blue kit (6 indigo blue, 2 white, 1 light indigo) and the grey kit (6 ash heather, 2 black heather). Each has the pattern and the yarn for the largest size in one order.