8 Free Cardigan Dupes and Knitting Pattern Alternatives.

Let's be honest, most of us don't need another paid pattern. That's why today in this video I'm sharing eight free cardigan patterns that can work as dupes and alternatives to popular paid designs. I'll go over the construction and key specs for each one. If you love the look of trendy cardigans and are on a budget, this video is for you. Let's get started. My name is Gabriella and welcome to Pure Light Fiber and thanks so much for tuning in today for another episode of Mindful Knitting. So in today's episode we're going to be going over eight popular cardigan patterns and I'm going to be offering you alternatives or dupes for each one. So in one of my previous episodes of Mindful Knitting, the petite knit video, in fact, I had asked you guys what you want to see next and you overwhelmingly voted cardigans, so this is for you guys. Watch till the end because I also have a hack for Sari Nordlund's book club cardigan. What I've also done for this video is I didn't want to just have like all raglins or all drop shoulders, so I really tried to get a mix of different style and different construction cardigans. So I have, you know, raglin, drop shoulders, we got some saddle shoulders, wrap cardigans, set in sleeves. I just picked out some that really have different constructions to show you, you know, there's a range of free patterns out there and not all of them are going to be, you know, your simple raglin cardigan. So without further ado, let's dive into these patterns. As always, I have my notes down here so you'll see me looking down every now and then, but the first pattern that we're going to be going over is the kaya cardigan by Lynette. So Lynette, I'm filming this in January 2026, so she just had launched this pattern. So I'll go over the specs first. So it is a textured, beautiful textured cardigan knit up at a 19 stitch gauge at four and a half millimeter needles and she recommends a worsted weight yarn. It is really similar actually to if you've seen my previous Sari Nordlund video, which I'll link up here, you know that Sari Nordlund used to work for Novita and Novita actually offers a lot of her patterns that she designed while she was working at Novita for free. So this kaya cardigan for Lynette, a really good alternative for that could be the Amelie cardigan actually designed by Sari Nordlund for Novita and free for us. So what a steal. And this cardigan, the one from Novita is knit up at a 22 stitch gauge at four millimeter needles. And this is also a broken rib stitch, I would say, but if you look at the patterning, it doesn't have as many knit rows in between the broken rib. So both of these patterns are top down, looks like drop shoulder cardigans. The difference that I found is that Lynette's a little bit extra detail in the button band. The button band appears to be double knit in the kaya cardigan, whereas the button band in the Amelie, the free alternative, is just a standard ribbed button band. Next up we have the Felix cardigan. So the Felix cardigan is a beautiful cardigan pattern, a raglan cardigan pattern made by Amy Kristoffers. I actually knit this one a couple years ago and it's really flies off the needles. So it's a raglan construction and the way you work the raglan is that instead of doing, you know, the typical make one right and make one left, you actually do the yarn overs strategically placed to create this beautiful almost kind of little leaf-like motif. So let's go over the Felix cardigan first. Felix cardigan is knit at a 14 stitch gauge on six millimeter needles and you have to have an Aran weight. She recommends an Aran weight yarn. The alternative that I found for you is called the Amelie by Filcolano. So the Filcolano one has a 20 stitch gauge and is knit on four and a half millimeter needles. So, you know, the fabric isn't quite as thick. The alternative has the contrasting ribbing, so on the cuffs, the neck band or the button band and the bottom of the body. And it just looks really beautiful. It's actually knit with one strand of Filcolano pernilla and tilia held together. But I actually love this, the look of this cardigan as well. And if you look at the increases on the raglan, it's really the same type of increases, you know, with the yarn over for the raglans as Amy Kristoffers was using. Obviously, you know, it's not going to be exactly the same. That's why I wouldn't call it a dupe, maybe more of an alternative. Because also if you look at the sleeves, they're a little bit more poofy. Then they're not as not quite as tapered as the Felix cardigan. But this one is super beautiful. I think really feminine and really delicate, especially in the colors that they knit up the sample in. So beautiful free option if you're really into that little eyelet motif for the increases. Cardigan number eight by My Favorite Things Knitwear. This is a beautiful, you know, dropped shoulder, little oversized cardigan that she made. The stitch gauge for this cardigan is 15 stitches, knit on five and a half millimeter needles. And she holds a couple Isseyer yarns together to produce a bulky weight yarn. So if you look at that, you know, oversized, drop shoulder, top down. And I actually found two drop shoulder patterns. One of them I'll just mention quickly. So one was called the Emblem Cardigan by Sudneskarn. However, you know, this one with the look of the cardigan, it looked more like the cardigan number eight. However, it was knit on nine millimeter needles. And I don't know about you guys, but I don't own nine millimeter needles. It's a little bit too too big for me. So I figured, you know, well, not really. I'll just pop up a picture here so you can see over here so you can see. But I found another one that was from Phil Colano, which stitch gauge wise and also, you know, size of needle wise, I thought it was a better fit. So this Phil Colano alternative is called Himmel, which means sky in German, or I guess Danish as well probably. It's knit up at a 16 stitch gauge with five millimeter needles. And really the difference here is, as I mentioned, the button band. So the button band at My Favorite Things Knitwear is a double knit button band, whereas the Phil Colano Himmel alternative is just, you know, standard ribbed button band it appears. It has a beautiful cable motif only on the back, however. I still wanted to mention this alternative just because I actually think this is a plus, you know. If you're not into cables and if you're still wanting to knit this alternative, obviously you can omit the cables. But for a free pattern that looked, you know, as a beautiful construction top down with drop shoulders, I thought having the cables in the back was really a value add. And obviously, as I mentioned, you can just easily omit the cables and just knit standard stockinette. But I think this is a beautiful alternative if you're, you know, looking for a beautiful top down and drop shoulder cardigan that is free. After cardigan number eight comes cardigan number nine. And though obviously this is also by My Favorite Things Knitwear, in the sample photos she has a beautiful red cardigan on. So this cardigan is kind of an oversized fit as well. It comes with a saddle shoulder construction, a double knit button band, and the sleeves are tapered towards the end. And the cuffs are actually formed with the short rows. Cardigan number nine is worked at a 16 stitch gauge on five millimeter needles. It does have a one by one rib. So apart from the double knit button band, you have the one by one rib at the collar as well as at the cuffs. And it's knit up with Hellholtz Ulzbindri Handwerksgarn, which is an Aran weight yarn combined with a silk mohair. So the alternative that I found is actually also a saddle shoulder construction. And this is from Drops Design. It's called the Toffee Apple Jacket. Has the same stitch gauge count. So 16 stitch gauge is worked on five and a half millimeter needles. And the difference here is the ribbing. It doesn't have the one by one. It has a two by two ribbing. And it's worked up with Drops Kid Silk. So also mohair. It's held together with Drops Sky. It also has a double folded neck. So you double fold the neck band down. And it has kind of a little bit of a slit in the edges. But obviously, you know, if you're going for the exact same look as the My Favorite Things Knitwear Cardigan, you would, you know, just instead of the two by two, you have the one by one ribbing. You wouldn't knit the collar super long. You just keep it kind of short, like My Favorite Things has in the sample photos. And yeah, you wouldn't wouldn't add the split on the edge either. But yeah, I thought this Drops Cardigan was a beautiful version as well. And you know, a lot of people have told me and I've heard a lot that, you know, drops can be somewhat tricky to follow at times. And I mean, I've knit a bunch of Drops designs as well. But I could see their pattern writing style maybe not being as clear as, you know, My Favorite Things or Petite Knit or somebody like that. But I think, you know, for all intents and purposes, these are great free patterns that we also should be taking advantage of. And you know, Drops has so many great, great designs out there. And, you know, one thing maybe Drops could improve on in the future, could be the way they take their pictures, because they do seem even the new models that come out from Drops, it just the pictures just seem a tad a little bit dated, you know, they don't have those beautiful photo shoots, like, you know, My Favorite Things, Knitwear, Ozetta or Petite Knit does. So I think they could really up their game there. And because they do have some really great, really great patterns. Next up, we have this Set In Sleeve construction. So I found the Maggie Cardigan to be a beautiful example of a Set In Sleeve construction. When I see the Maggie Cardigan, I just feel, you know, elegant, feminine, super classic, I can really picture somebody wearing this to work at a bank, or, you know, just a really elegant cardigan. So let's go over the specs quick. So this cardigan is knit up at a 23 stitch gauge on three and a half millimeter needles. It's a top down construction. And the recommended yarn is, you know, a cashmere yarn. She also offers some other suggestions, if you want to go the cashmere route, you can also hold it together with standard merino, you know, from Knitting for Olive or the Sunday by Sudneskarn, held together with a mohair. One other thing about the Maggie Cardigan, the sample pictures that she has, she has a shorter sleeve. However, in the Ravelry project notes, there's a lot of people that have knit the full length. And this next alternative or dupe that I found also has long sleeves. Cardigan is called ARG Cardigan by Sigrid Marie Blom. It's knit up at a 24 stitch gauge. So we have one stitch off, knit also on 3.5 millimeter needles, top down. And the extra bonus with this free pattern is that it does offer some waist shaping. So as far as I know, the Maggie Cardigan doesn't have any waist shaping included, you know, you just knit straight down, where I think, you know, the waist shaping is a super nice detail, especially for a free pattern, again, that they offer that in the instructions on how to create a nice tapered shape for that feminine silhouette. And the ARG Cardigan is knit up at a sport with a sport weight yarn. The next cardigan type I have for you is the Wrap Cardigan. So when I was looking up on Ravelry, one name that kept popping up for wraps is the Levitate Wrap by My Favorite Things Knitwear. So this is already the third My Favorite Things Knitwear cardigan pattern that I have on the list. But this Levitate Wrap really, you know, it was one of the most popular, if not the most popular wrap design on Ravelry. So let's look at the stats. At a 15 stitch gauge on six millimeter needles, it's a top down construction. And for the button band, as well as the ties, she has the double knit, she double knits those. As far as the yarn weight goes, she holds two Isayer yarns together, so Trio 1 and Isayer Soft to achieve an Aran weight yarn gauge. And this is beautiful, you know, she describes this pattern as a loungewear, kind of oversized. A good alternative I found is actually a Sari Nordland design for Novita again, and it's called the Live Wrap Cardigan. And this one is not knit up at such a hefty gauge, it has 18 stitches as opposed to the 15 stitches with the Levitate Wrap, and it's knit on four millimeter needles instead of the six millimeter needles. I have to mention here as well, this is a bottom up construction and not a top down. Also is with an Aran weight yarn, so the yarn that they recommend comes at 200 meters for 100 grams. And if you look at the Live Wrap Cardigan, it looks like the ties, as well as the neckband, is knit in a garter stitch. And also the ties are not quite at the bottom, but they're kind of like at the waist. Which, you know, for me personally, this is a much, I much prefer this free alternative or this free dupe as opposed to the Levitate Wrap. Not to knock off the Levitate Wrap or anything, but just to give you some context on why I say that is, I've knit the Darling Cardigan by Purnir Larson, the designer behind Knitting for Olive, and the ties were also at the bottom. So, you know, you would knit and then at the bottom instead of the hem, just like the Levitate Wrap, you would have the ties down there. And for my body type, at least, that did not fit at all. It just didn't do anything for me. I would much prefer to have the ties a little bit higher up and then have some more fabric under the ties to give, you know, give a little bit more coverage. Also don't like anything being like too, too cropped. So this Live Wrap Cardigan is definitely a favorite of mine. I hope you agree that it's a beautiful, beautiful design. So this number seven is a lace motif that I picked out for you. So all over lace motif and both of these constructions. So the paid version, as well as the alternative are worked from the top down with raglan in places. So the paid version that I want to share with you is called the Olive Cardigan by Purnir Larson or Knitting for Olive, the owner of Knitting for Olive. And her design is knit up at a 16 stitch gauge, worked on six millimeter needles, as I mentioned, top down raglan. And it's knit actually with one strand of merino held together with two strands of Knitting for Olive soft silk mohair. And the free alternative I found for you is actually a pattern by Slipknot Scarf. If you look at the Olive Cardigan, it has this beautiful kind of little leaf motif, in my opinion. And the Sudneskarn design is really similar. So the Sudneskarn pattern is called the Snowbell Cardigan. It's knit up also at 16 stitch gauge, so the same gauge on five and a half millimeter needles. As I mentioned, it's also a raglan, beautiful raglan, worked from the top down. And as well, you know, Sudneskarn being a yarn company, they're doing kind of the same thing Knitting for Olive is doing, also being a yarn company, and recommending, you know, holding tin silk mohair, which is Sudneskarn mohair yarn, triple. So both of these patterns, if you use the recommended yarn, would be a little bit expensive. But as I said, with the Purnir Larson design, just if you want to knit this, just use any gauge and you're all set to go. But I thought these were pretty, this Snowbell Cardigan was a pretty great alternative. It looks beautiful. So last on my list here, we have a beautiful design by Ozetta. So this last one is going to be, so Ozetta's version is a half fisherman's rib, and the free alternative that I'll get into next is actually a fisherman's rib cardigan. So let's go over the Ozetta pattern. So the one that I found here is the Oversized Seasons Cardigan. So Ozetta has another pattern just called the Seasons Cardigan that comes at a tighter gauge. So it's worked on smaller needles, tighter gauge, but this Oversized Seasons Cardigan just fit more with the alternative. That's why I chose to go over this one with you. So the Ozetta version has a 15 stitch gauge, worked on five millimeter needles. As I mentioned, it's a half fisherman's rib pattern, and the recommended yarn is the Kamarosa Snefnuk, which is kind of a worsted weight, chained, blown yarn. And the alternative that I found for you guys is called the Favorite Cardigan by Sudneskarn. But just keep that in mind, it's fisherman's rib is the dupe, and the paid pattern is half fisherman's rib. So not quite the same. But anyways, the Favorite Cardigan by Sudneskarn is worked up at a 12 stitch gauge on five millimeter needles, and the recommended yarn is, again, as we've seen with the Snowbell Cardigan by Sudneskarn, they're really trying to push their yarn here. So they're recommending two strands of Tintilf Mohair held together with one strand of Sudneskarn. But again, if you're just meat engaged, then you can really use whatever yarn that you want. Those are the eight cardigans that I wanted to go over. Let me know, did you like any of these? Did these, any of these inspire you? Will they make it to your queue? Yeah, let me know, did you like this pattern roundup? So now I'm going to go over the bonus hack slash tip that I promised for you guys at the beginning of this video. So you probably all know the Book Club Cardigan by Sari Nordlund. It's a beautiful all over cabled cardigan that, you know, worked from the top down. I feel like anybody who's anybody on YouTube and Instagram has made one and is raging about it. And it is a beautiful, really beautiful cardigan. However, I did find a really good dupe for this one, and it is by Rauma. So if you've seen my 100 free Sari Nordlund's pattern video that I'll link up here for you guys, you already know this tip, but just in case for my viewers who did not hear about this yet, there's a Rauma booklet that I have. So it's Rauma Fivel 425 Dame. And in that booklet, there is a pattern called the Janne Flette Jacke, which is exactly the same as the Book Club Cardigan. At least the placement of the cables and the overall look, look exactly the same as the Book Club Cardigan. Just, you know, if you're buying the Rauma booklet, you have an additional 10 patterns in there. Whereas if you're just buying the Book Club Cardigan, you pay close to $10 and you only get one pattern. Whereas if you buy the Rauma booklet, which I was able to get mine for 12 euros. So I believe that's around $14 with today's currency exchange. So, you know, $2 or $4 difference and you're getting nine extra patterns. I think that's a great value add. That's a wrap from me for the eight free cardigan dupes. I hope you got a little bit inspired by some of these patterns and let me know down in the comments if you're going to be casting any of these on shortly. I know I will, definitely. So as always, all links will be down below directly to Ravelry for the paid patterns as well as the free patterns so that you can just easily click and save to your queue or cast on right away. So if you like this video, consider giving it a thumbs up and subscribing to my channel for more knitting content. I love bringing you budget finds and knitting patterns for free on my quest to reduce knitting costs this year. So thanks so much for tuning in and see you around. Happy knitting!