A long time ago, I got colorful cottons from a sale. They’ve been properly marinated now, and the blue yarn summoned me. It wanted to be a cardigan of an unusual style. I cast on, remembered to film the crochet process, and thoroughly loved the result. Today, I will share a written tutorial with you!
This cardigan is worked from the shoulder down, and cuff up. We’ll start from the sleeves.
Measure the circumference of your lower arm, and crochet a foundation chain to match that measurement. Chain five for turning, and triple crochet into the seventh stitch from the hook. Chain one, skip a stitch, and triple crochet into the next one. Repeat through row. Chain five for turning. Triple crochet and chain into each stitch. Repeat until you’re just shy of the elbow. Start increases.
To start an increase row, chain one for turning, and triple crochet at the base of the starting chain. Continue normally through the row. To end an increase row, chain one, and triple crochet into the last stitch.
Repeat increases every four rows until you reach the armpit. Start to shape the sleeve.
Slip stitch into the edge to move to the fourth triple crochet from the edge. Chain four to turn, and triple crochet into the next stitch. Work through the row until you’re five triples away from the edge. Without chaining one, triple crochet into the last stitch. Chain four to turn, and triple crochet into the first lonely stitch.
Repeat increases until the sleeve cap is tall enough. I repeated mine eight times.
Crochet the other sleeve the same way.
Then, move onto to crochet the back piece, starting from the shoulders. Measure the width of your shoulders. Crochet a foundation chain to match that measurement. Chain five to turn, and triple crochet into the seventh stitch from the hook. Chain one, skip a stitch, and triple crochet into the next one. Repeat through row. Chain five for turning. Triple crochet and chain into each stitch. Repeat until you reach the armpit.
Shape the underarm. For this, we need to add a foundation chain on both edges of the back piece on the same row. To start the row, chain seven and five for turning. Triple crochet and chain four times into the chain. Take the other end of your yarn, or yarn from a new ball, and secure that to the other edge of the back piece. Crochet a foundation chain to house four triples. Cut the yarn and cast off the chain.
Work through the row, and end with four triple crochet and chain into the added foundation chain.
Continue to crochet until the back piece is long enough. I recommend a waist length for this style.
Return to the shoulders to work front pieces. Both wide front pieces are worked separately. To start, divide your stitches into three segments. I left ten triples for each shoulder, and the rest for neckline. Secure your yarn onto the stitch next to the neckline, the last stitch of the shoulder. Crochet a foundation chain. I chained 70 to house 35 triple crochets. Chain five to turn, and triple crochet into the seventh stitch from the hook. Chain one, skip a stitch, and triple crochet into the next one. Repeat through row until you reach the shoulder’s stitches. Continue to chain and triple into each stitch.
Continue to crochet until you reach the pit. On this side, create an added foundation chain. Secure a loose end of yarn onto the side of the front piece and crochet a foundation chain to house four triples again. Cut the yarn, and cast off the chain. To end the row, use the added foundation to triple crochet and chain four times. Crochet until you reach the hem, and return to the shoulder.
Secure your yarn onto the last stitch of the other shoulder. Crochet a foundation chain to match the first front piece. Cut the yarn and cast off the chain.
Secure your yarn to the shoulder side of the back piece. Work through the shoulder stitches, and into the foundation chain, chain and triple crochet as many times as on the first front piece. Continue to crochet until you reach the armpit. On this piece, you can simply end the row with a foundation chain to add four triples, and continue to work to the hem.
Sew the side seams and the sleeve seams by hand. Set the sleeves.
I would recommend crocheting a border. It gives any garment a finished look. Single crochet through the front edges, and into the hem, collar, and cuffs, crochet a picot edge.
Start with single crochet. Into the first gap, double crochet. Into the triple crochet, triple crochet. Into the gap, double crochet, and into the next triple, triple crochet. Repeat through row.
To close the cardigan, crochet flowers and sew them onto buttons leaving a long stem. You can use your preferred flower pattern here, I’ll share the simple ones I made.
Chain five, and join to make a circle. Into the circle, chain four and single crochet six times. Close with a slip stitch. Into each arch, single crochet, double crochet, triple crochet twice, double crochet and single crochet. Close with a slip stitch, and weave in ends. Sew the flower onto a button, make as many as you’d like, and use these detachable buttons to close the cardigan in various ways.
I hope you’ll enjoy the Cardigan Squared. If you make one, do share your creation and tag me so I’ll get to see! And don’t forget to check out the video tutorial on my YouTube!
Until next time.
Love,
Heather