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| Photo above © figandplum |
Autumn Leaves by Nikki Van De Car is a charming top-down baby cardigan featuring a beautiful leaf-lace yoke that spreads gracefully across the shoulders.
Designed in three baby sizes, Autumn Leaves combines an eye-catching decorative yoke with a practical cardigan construction. Despite the impressive appearance of the leaf pattern, the designer describes the knitting as intuitive once the repeating structure becomes familiar. Best of all, the original pattern is still available free from the designer.
✓ Free Pattern Availability
Good news: Autumn Leaves by Nikki Van De Car is still available as a free knitting pattern. The designer currently provides the pattern on her own pattern page, making that the preferred source for the current instructions.
Autumn Leaves Cardigan at a Glance
Pattern: Autumn Leaves
Designer: Nikki Van De Car
First Published: October 2008
Craft: Knitting
Category: Baby Cardigan
Sizes: 6–9, 9–12 and 12–15 months
Construction: Top-down, one-piece cardigan
Feature: Leaf-lace circular yoke
Yarn: DK or worsted weight, depending on size
Needles: US 5, US 7 or US 9, depending on size
Notions: 4 stitch markers, tapestry needle and 3 buttons
Current Availability: Free pattern
About the Autumn Leaves Baby Cardigan
The defining feature of Autumn Leaves is its decorative leaf-lace yoke.
The leaves spread around the upper cardigan and create much of the garment's visual interest before the knitting transitions into the simpler body and sleeves.
This balance makes the cardigan particularly appealing: there is enough lace to make the project special without covering the entire garment in a complicated stitch pattern.
Three Baby Sizes
Autumn Leaves includes three sizes:
- 6–9 months
- 9–12 months
- 12–15 months
An important detail is that the designer changes yarn weight, needle size and gauge between the sizes. Do not assume that all three sizes use exactly the same materials.
Yarn Requirements
Nikki Van De Car currently gives the following approximate yarn requirements:
- 6–9 months: approximately 200 yards
- 9–12 months: approximately 250 yards
- 12–15 months: approximately 300 yards
DK yarn is specified for the smaller size, while the designer allows DK or worsted for the middle size depending on the desired fabric. The largest size uses worsted-weight yarn.
Always check the current designer pattern before purchasing yarn because matching the appropriate gauge for your chosen size is essential.
Needle Sizes
Needle size also changes with the cardigan size:
- 6–9 months: US 5 / 3.75 mm
- 9–12 months: US 7 / 4.5 mm
- 12–15 months: US 9 / 5.5 mm
The original materials list calls for a circular needle. The cardigan is worked flat; the circular needle provides a convenient way to hold the increasing number of stitches across the yoke and body.
Gauge by Size
The published gauges are:
- US 5: 24.5 stitches × 32.5 rows = 4 inches / 10 cm
- US 7: 18 stitches × 29 rows = 4 inches / 10 cm
- US 9: 15.5 stitches × 23 rows = 4 inches / 10 cm
This size-specific gauge information is particularly important. Select your intended size first, then swatch with the appropriate yarn and needle combination.
The Leaf-Lace Yoke
The yoke is what gives Autumn Leaves its recognizable appearance.
Lace increases form the expanding leaf motifs as the cardigan grows outward from the neckline. The decorative shaping and garment shaping therefore work together rather than existing as separate features.
Once blocked, the open sections help define the leaves and allow the pattern to spread naturally across the baby's shoulders.
Top-Down Construction
Autumn Leaves is a top-down, one-piece cardigan.
Beginning at the neckline allows the decorative yoke to be established first. The garment then develops downward into the body and sleeves.
One-piece construction also reduces the amount of traditional garment assembly compared with sweaters knitted as separate front, back and sleeve pieces.
Seed Stitch Edging
Seed stitch provides a neat textured contrast to the open leaf lace.
Because seed stitch alternates knit and purl stitches, it creates a compact textured surface that helps frame the cardigan while allowing the lace yoke to remain the main decorative feature.
Buttons and Other Materials
In addition to yarn and needles, the designer lists:
- 3 buttons
- 4 stitch markers
- A tapestry needle
Stitch markers are especially useful around a patterned yoke because they help separate important sections and make it easier to identify an error before it travels through several rows.
Written Instructions and Chart
Autumn Leaves has both written pattern information and a chart available for the decorative section.
If you are new to lace charts, comparing the chart with the written directions can be a useful way to learn how the symbols correspond to actual stitches.
Amazing Knitting does not reproduce the designer's chart or row-by-row instructions. Use Nikki Van De Car's current pattern page for the exact stitch sequence and shaping.
Skills That Help
Useful skills for Autumn Leaves include:
- Casting on
- Knit and purl stitches
- Seed stitch
- Yarn overs
- Basic lace decreases
- Following written lace instructions
- Reading a knitting chart
- Using stitch markers
- Working buttonholes
- Working a top-down garment
- Binding off
- Blocking lace
Why Blocking Matters
Lace often looks much less impressive immediately after it comes off the needles.
Gentle blocking helps the leaf motifs open and allows the shape of the yoke to become clearer.
Always follow the washing and blocking recommendations appropriate for the yarn you choose, especially for a baby garment.
Choosing a Colour
The leaf motif makes Autumn Leaves a natural candidate for warm seasonal colours such as rust, mustard, moss, burgundy or soft brown.
But the design does not need to look autumnal. Cream, pale pink, blue, lavender or soft green can turn the same pattern into a cardigan suitable for any season.
A solid or gently heathered yarn will generally make the lace leaves easier to see than a highly contrasting variegated yarn.
Is Autumn Leaves Still Free?
Yes. Autumn Leaves by Nikki Van De Car is currently available as a free knitting pattern.
The designer maintains a current online version of the pattern, and Ravelry also continues to list Autumn Leaves as free.
Amazing Knitting provides this project guide and directs readers to the legitimate original source rather than reproducing the designer's copyrighted pattern instructions.
Get the Free Autumn Leaves Pattern
The best current source is Nikki Van De Car's own Autumn Leaves pattern page.
Get the Free Autumn Leaves Pattern →
More Free Baby Cardigans
If you enjoy leaf yokes and small top-down garments, continue exploring the Amazing Knitting archive for more free baby sweater patterns.
Explore Free Baby Cardigan Patterns →
You can also browse leaf-lace baby sweaters, top-down baby cardigans, and free baby knitting patterns.
Before You Start
Decide which of the three sizes you are making before buying yarn because the recommended yarn weight, needle size and gauge change between sizes.
Make a gauge swatch, prepare your stitch markers and read through the leaf-yoke section before casting on. If lace charts are unfamiliar, keep the written directions nearby while learning the pattern.
Pattern credit: Autumn Leaves was designed by Nikki Van De Car and published in connection with What To Knit When You're Expecting. The existing photograph on this Amazing Knitting page is credited to figandplum. Amazing Knitting does not reproduce the designer's copyrighted chart or row-by-row knitting instructions.