Adult Cardigan Size Chart
A cardigan is sized from the same chest measurement chart as a pullover — there's no separate body-measurement standard specific to open-front garments — but an open front introduces real construction decisions a closed pullover simply doesn't need to make, which is what this page actually covers.
Where the actual chest numbers live
Rather than duplicate a second copy of the same seven bands here, use the adult sweater size chart directly — XS through 3XL, chest 30 through 55 inches — for the real numbers, how to measure your own chest, and how to combine that measurement with the ease guide to reach a target finished measurement. Everything below this point is what changes once that same chest number belongs to an open-front garment instead of a closed one.
Why cardigans often use slightly more ease than a pullover
A cardigan layers over other clothing more often than a pullover does, and its open front means the finished garment doesn't need to stretch over the head the way a pullover's neckline does — both factors push many cardigan designs toward a touch more positive ease than an equivalent pullover, though this is a design tendency, not a fixed rule every cardigan pattern follows.
What the chest chart doesn't cover: the front opening
None of the numbers above touch the one thing a pullover chart never has to think about — the front opening itself. A button band's stitch count comes from the cardigan's actual front-edge length run through the row-gauge-to-stitch-gauge math on the picking up stitches page, not from chest circumference at all. Buttonhole spacing is its own separate decision, ideally checked against how the specific wearer actually closes a cardigan (buttoned to the top, or left open over a shirt) rather than spaced evenly by default and hoped to work out.
Why an open front sometimes needs reinforcing
A pullover's tube is closed and inherently stable; a cardigan's front is cut open, structurally, from the moment it's designed, and that missing closure can let the center sag or stretch over months of wear unless something counteracts it — a firmer band stitch, a doubled edge, or interfacing-style backing behind the buttonholes specifically. None of this shows up on a chest chart, which is exactly why it's worth planning before casting on rather than discovering after the first few wears.
FAQ
Does a cardigan need a different amount of positive ease than a pullover at the exact same chest measurement? Not strictly required, but many designs lean toward slightly more — check a specific pattern's stated ease rather than assuming an automatic offset from pullover conventions.
Is there a standard number of buttons or a standard spacing this chart recommends? No — button count and spacing are a design and fit decision specific to the wearer and the pattern, not something a chest-based sizing chart determines; space evenly as a starting point, then adjust based on where a closure actually needs to hold for the wearer's real proportions.
Do cardigan front bands use noticeably more yarn than a pullover's equivalent hem? A modest amount more, from the picked-up band itself, but not usually enough to change an overall yarn estimate significantly — run your actual gauge and front-edge length through the Yarn Quantity Estimator if precision matters for your specific design.