Aparima Cardigan

Another beautiful design from Kiniki Knits — the Queenstown-based designer whose patterns we're proud to stock at The Wool Shop. The Aparima is a bold, comfortable cardi-jacket featuring textured panels of slip stitches and charted mosaic patterns that make it a genuine showcase piece. It will appeal to knitters who love working with beautiful, coloured yarns and want a garment that lets them combine shades according to their own inspiration — one main colour and three accent colours, each combination producing a result that's entirely your own.

The design carries a subtle retro character — a nod to the bold, patterned knits that were popular from the mid-20th century — without feeling dated. It's named for a seaside town at the bottom of the world (almost), where the design began taking shape.

Mosaic knitting is a slip-stitch method of creating multi-coloured designs using only one yarn per row, making it considerably more approachable than stranded colourwork. It suits flat-knitted garments particularly well, and the Aparima takes full advantage of this: the body is worked flat from the bottom up, divided at the armholes into fronts and back, seamed at the shoulders, with sleeves picked up around the armholes and worked in the round. The front and neck band is finished with a ribbed border. The cardigan is designed to hang open rather than fasten — a relaxed, wearable silhouette that works across a wide range of sizes.

Pattern Details

• Designer: Kiniki Knits (Queenstown, NZ)
• Garment: Women's Cardi-Jacket (open front)
• Technique: Mosaic knitting (slip stitch colourwork, one yarn per row)
• Construction: Worked flat, bottom up; sleeves worked in the round
• Yarn Weight: Worsted (recommended for 5 mm / US 8 needles)
• Colours Required: 1 Main Colour (MC) + 3 Accent Colours (AC1, AC2, AC3)
• Gauge: 18 sts × 24–25 rows per 10 cm in stockinette on 5 mm needles
• Sizing: 9 sizes — 71–157 cm to fit bust

Needles

• 4.5 mm (US 7) circular, 100–120 cm cable — bottom ribbed band & front/neck band
• 5.0 mm (US 8) circular, 100–120 cm cable — body
• 4.5 mm (US 7) DPNs or circular (magic loop) — sleeve cuffs
• 5.0 mm (US 8) DPNs or circular (magic loop) — sleeves

Size & Yardage Guide

Please note: this listing is for the knitting pattern only. Yarn and needles are not included.