Knitting a cardigan/ jacket without a pattern

Have you looked on Ravelry?

There are plenty of free knitting patterns on Lovecraft site, I get all mine there.

Yes, there's loads of patterns online. Have something that's about the right size (any old cardigan) to hand, then you can compare sizes, often, as you knit. I regularly just knit freehand but, then, I've done it for a very long time.

There are loads of tutorials on YouTube.
I'd love to see the finished garment. Have a go, good luck.

If you don't know what you're doing, I wouldn't advise working without a pattern.

It can be done, but you need a thorough understanding of how knitting works. Elizabeth Zimmerman has written a number of books with 'recipes', as opposed to patterns. You might find one of those useful. Also, the Vogue Ultimate Knitting Book has instructions on things like types of sleeves, necklines and so on, so that you can add them to a pattern of your own.

Otherwise, I would also go to Ravelry . There are tens of thousands of patterns on there, as well as photos of garments made in different yarns from the same patterns to give you an idea of how they will turn out.

I do, but there's a fair bit of maths involved and you absolutely need to knit a gauge swatch. Unless you've already knitted a good few garments I wouldn't recommend it.

If you simply want to upsize the pattern, it can be easier to knit the pattern as is but using a gauge which will translate the size up, normally by using a bigger needle. But you absolutely need to swatch and work out the percentage increase and bear in mind how it will affect the shaping of armholes, positioning of pockets etc. If you're only adding length to body and sleeves the addition of rows is simple enough.

As others have said, loads on Ravelery, I'm sure finding one that works on there would be easier.

Try a website called drops all its patterns are free

In my experience, Drops patterns are also very badly written, though.

I don't know that it's the cost of a pattern that's putting the OP off. Actually I don't really know what the problem is, other than finding the right pattern.

I made this one, which worked very well. Is that the sort of thing you want? Just make it a size or two bigger, so you can wear it over your clothes.

Oh I like that Doodledog. May I ask what yarn brand you used?

I used a colourmart one. Their yarns are not the same as commercial ones, as they get ‘mill ends’ (ie the last bits of enormous quantities of yarn that usually goes to make clothing) and sell it on. They use NM numbers rather than terms like aran or double knitting, which can be confusing until you get your head around it, but I’m happy to help if you see something you like.

If you aren’t familiar with them, go and check them out at Colourmart.com. You get a 20% discount on your first purchase too. They change the stock all the time, but I used an aran weight cashmere for mine. I’ll have a look tomorrow and find the exact one, but it’s unlikely that it will be in stock now. There will be others though.

Thanks for that Doodledog, I've bookmarked the site for a good look around later.

Give me a shout if you need help translating the numbers into something more recognisable?

They use terms like DK and Fingering as guidelines, but their yarns tend to be finer than usual. There is a bit of an art to knitting with them - a lot of people get them to twist two yarns together, for instance - but when you get used to it it is addictive. I use their stuff all the time these days.