The Funday Sunday Cardi
Learning new skills with a crochet cardigan.
Happy New Year! The decorations are down, leftovers pretty much finished (we still have an obscene amount of chocolate left), and everything is pretty much back to normal, if we even know what that is anymore. Time for a fresh start. Do you have any resolutions? I gave up resolutions a long time ago because I just don’t stick to them. But the new year does always spark something in me, to learn something new, or to eat healthier after the carb binge over the Christmas break. I’ve just sent the kids off on their first day back at school and I’m feeling all smug after my cup of Moroccan mint tea, a bowl of bran flakes and a handful of raspberries. Hopefully I can last a few days before the craving for thick white toast, butter and jam creeps in.
Anyway, I digress. I do love to learn something new and this year I’d like to expand my crochet knowledge, so I started by making a cardigan over the holiday. I have always wanted to make crocheted clothes but have been a little daunted. It’s not because I don’t think I can do it, it’s because I worry I won’t like it or it doesn’t suit me and it would feel like a waste of money and time. But I am not going to worry about that (much) this time. Even if it doesn’t look great I will have learned a whole bunch of new skills. Hopefully, one day, I can design my own cardigan. But let’s get this one finished first.
(NB: This post contains a couple of affiliate links)
Funday Sunday crochet cardigan pattern. Photo by Iron Lamb.
So, this is called the ‘Funday Sunday Cardi’ by Iron Lamb. I have been following her awesome designs for a while and have been wanting to make one for ages. I chose this cardigan because it looked quite simple, with no buttons, even though it’s an intermediate.
I really wanted to make the bright green version but unfortunately I think that colour had been discontinued, so I went for dark green instead in Caron Simply Soft.
Making the swatch
If you’ve made clothes or anything that needed to be a specific size, then you will know you have to start with a swatch. A swatch is a test piece you make to check that you have the right tension. Make a square that is a certain amount of stitches wide by a certain amount of rows. You then check the size of it to make sure it’s the same as the pattern states. If it isn’t then you will either need to change your tension or change your hook size. My swatch was one centimetre too small so I went up from a 5mm to a 5.5mm hook.
My 2 swatches to check I had the correct gauge.
Making the main panels
Now, I have always been a size 10 pretty much (if we ignore my early 20’s, don’t ask)! But looking at the measurements in the pattern, according to my bust size I am a size 14. Well I know I’ve eaten a considerable amount of chocolate over Christmas, but 2 dress sizes? (I goggled it, it’s correct. The size that is, not my chocolate consumption). I kind of figured if it did come out a bit big for me it wouldn’t matter too much for a cardigan.
This cardigan is worked from the bottom up so the first bit you make is the ribbing at the bottom. It called for two stitches I had never done before (front and back post treble crochet), but I looked them up and they were simple enough. I absolutely love how the ribbing came out and how simple it was to do. This pattern comes in 2 lengths options and I went with the longer version. The main body of the pattern is worked in repetitive rows which is good for crocheting while binge watching tv in a chocolate coma. I just made sure I kept checking my stitch count.
While we are talking about stitch counting I have a top tip for you. Firstly, download an app called ‘crochet and knit counter’. It’s a great little app that lets you count stitches, stitch repeats or rows for multiple of projects. I use it to count stitches if there are over 100 in one row (for some reason my brains gets confused around 78,79 & 80). I count ten stitches then I tap the screen so it displays ‘1’. Then count another 10 and tap so it says ‘2’ and so on. Every tap/number on the app equates to 10. It’s a lot easier this way. Or maybe I should just learn to count to 100 someday.
Making the main body & adding the ribbing
The next part was pretty plain sailing and I got the back and front panels done. Then it was time to attach the ribbing around the front edges and the neck. This is worked into the raw side edges of the main part. I’ve never really liked doing this as I never know where to put the hook. I worked out I needed 90 stitches across 54 rows (which is 1.6 stitches per row). Then, I wasn’t really sure what to do with that info so I decided to put a stitch marker half way along the edge, and if I got there after 45 stitches then I knew I was on the right track. I think I did it ok, although there were some gaps. Along the neck you work into actual stitches but it required 28 and I had 33, so I just missed a few stitches. Down the left hand side of the cardigan I put stitch markers for every 10 stitches I needed to make sure I had better idea if I was doing it right.
I got a bit pernickety there didn’t I? Now that the cardigan is finished the gaps are not noticeable at all.
I measured the length of the panel then divided that by 9 to give me the space I needed to fit 10 stitches into (90 stitches in total).
Creating the sleeves
The sleeves are added into the holes created when sewing up the main panels which was also pretty simple to do. Then it was just a few ends to sew in and it was done! I’m so happy with the final result. I wasn’t too sure when I first put it on but after a day wearing it, it’s almost moulded to my body and looks fab. If I make another one I might attempt to make the sleeves longer. It took me about 2-3 weeks to make it, mostly in the evenings after the kids were in bed, so I think that it’s a pretty quick make. The pattern was extremely easy to follow. I think if you’ve got experience in crochet but not done clothes before it’s a great one to start off with. You can purchase the pattern on Etsy or Ravelry.
My finished crochet cardigan.
Now I’m going to make one for my mum but I only have a week till her Birthday! Will make a crochet cardigan?
