Sizes: 35" (38" - 41" - 44" - 48" - 53" - 57" - 61") finished garment chest measurement
Just as every woman needs at least one little black dress, we likewise need a basic little white cardigan. This hand knit crewneck cardigan is a step above "basic", though. The easy-to-knit edging both stabilizes the edges and dresses up what could be an otherwise plain cardigan. This little tailored wrap can easily go from school to church to a night out on the town.
It sits an inch or so below the natural waistline (or wherever you prefer), and detailed options are included for knitting WITH or WITHOUT knitted short-row bodice shaping and/or vertical bust darts for a more tailored form fit, if desired. Illustrated sample is modeled with 2" ease in the chest plus optional 1" short rows AND 1" vertical bust darts.
I love the front tabs. They are picked up, knitted, and folded to the wrongside for a smooth finished look.
This hand knit crewneck cardigan pattern can also serve as a creative jumping off point for your own unique design - from loose to contour fitted, from cropped to longer, from white Stockinette Stitch to colorful texture. The choice of plain ribbing at the bottom, neckline, and cuffs could turn this cutey into a truly basic cardigan. A longer length which comfortably covers the hips before returning to a shapely waistline could be created for a slightly different look as well.
Since it is simply impossible to design for every possible body shape and design option, measurements are included throughout the instructions to allow adjustments to be made for the perfect cardigan to fit your individual needs. Garments which fit at the shoulders look the most well-fitted. Choose the size which best reflects your shoulder width (included in the pattern) and the desired circumference below the breasts, then include knitted bust shaping for the additional circumference needed to mold over the breasts for a more tailored fit. The little white crewneck cardigan illustrated includes a bit of short rows AND vertical bust darts.
Any fingering-weight yarn which produces gauge will work, including any combination of finer yarns which together constitute a somewhat fingering-weight. I used 3/2 perle cotton (1260 yds per lb, or 18 wraps per inch). In white mercerized cotton, the bust shaping becomes a clearly visible design element. A medium or darker colored mercerized cotton, or simply most other yarns, would encourage the shaping to disappear more into the background.
Required Yardage: 1342 [1426, 1635, 1990, 2057, 2328, 2525, 2844] yds. If choose to insert, say, 3" of bust shaping, for example, 1414 [1498, 1712, 2073, 2147, 2426, 2630, 2956] yds would be needed. Detailed yardage options are included in the pattern packet.
Knitted gauge in Stockinette Stitch (knit 1 row, purl 1 row) is 7 stitches and 10 rows per inch on Size 3 US needles. This produces a stable gauge which will not sag, stretch, or otherwise distort. The resulting fabric feels so good against the skin.
Very detailed instructions for each of the 8 sizes are included in the 15 pages of directions which include the optional inclusion of 1", 2", or 3" short-row bust shaping and/or vertical bust darts for each individual size.
The illustrations below in yellow are a Left Front from a jacket which I knitted with an acrylic worsted-weight yarn on size 4 US needles to create a very stiff fabric, in order to clearly illustrate the sort of shaping which 3" of short rows produces. I stuffed the middle portion of the dart area, but the extra 3" goes all the way across the chest and thus can accommodate high-chest, mid-chest, and/or low-chest fullness.
For more information about knitted contour shaping, see my tutorial on Knitting Bust Darts.
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The illustrations below were knitted with an acrylic worsted-weight yarn on size 4 US needles to create a very stiff fabric, in order to clearly illustrate the sort of shaping which 1" and 3" vertical bust darts produces. The extra space created does not go all the way across the chest, as with short-row shaping (refer to the yellow illustrations above: 3-inch Short-Row Shaping.). Very detailed directions for 1", 2", and 3" vertical bust darts for each size are included in the 15 pages of instructions for the optional addition of short-row or vertical bust shaping. For more information about knitted contour shaping, see my tutorial on Knitting Bust Darts.
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