Pole Note on sizing: This sweater is designed so that it will fit and suit your body even if the measurements are not “exact”. The only thing you need to pay attention to is your shoulder span and the sleeve circumference. The rest of the sweater is just a circle and will adapt to your body shape, no matter if you have big or small hips, broad shoulders, or even if you are pregnant and showing a big belly!
Finished Measurements (see also Schematic at the end of the pattern) Shoulder Span: 14½ (15¼, 16, 16½, 17, 17½, 18, 19) inches; 36 (38, 40, 41 ½, 42½, 44, 45, 47½) cm. Armhole depth: 7½ (8, 8¼, 8¾, 9¼, 9¾, 10½, 11) inches; 19 (20, 21, 22, 23, 24 ½, 26 ½, 27 ½) cm Circular piece width: 18½ (18½, 18½, 18½, 19, 19, 19½, 19½) inches; 46 (46, 46, 46, 47½, 47½, 49, 49) cm Upper sleeve circumference: 13½ (13¾, 14¼, 15½, 16½, 17¼, 18½, 20) inches; 34 (34½, 35½, 39, 41, 41½, 43, 46, 50) cm Total sleeve length: 19½ (20, 20, 20, 20½, 20½, 21, 21) inches; 49 (50, 50, 50, 51½, 51½, 52½, 52½) cm. Total sweater length from shoulders: 26 (26½, 26¾, 27¼, 28¼, 28¾, 30, 30½) inches; 65 (66, 67, 68, 70½, 72, 75, 76) cm.
by Joji Locatelli
Materials Yarn
Some time ago my boss gave me a cardigan which I adored. It was worked in a very thin yarn and it was machine knit so I never thought I could make up a pattern like it… It was so lovely that several of my good friends tried it on, and I noticed it was flattering with a lot of body shapes. And then later, I received some adorable Malabrigo yarn from a very dear friend. It is very hard to get this yarn where I live, so I treasured it and became obsessed thinking about what could I make with this gorgeous, gorgeous yarn. I couldn’t find any project that I thought was worthy of the yarn and then I saw my old sweater lying around… I decided I would give a try at designing something similar to it in this aran weight yarn. Several techniques were learned while designing this and some mods were made to the prototype. I will give you all the information you need to make this your favorite cardigan. I hope you enjoy it! Sizes To fit chest: 30/32 (34/36, 38/40, 42/44, 46/48, 50/52, 54/56, 58/60) inches.
Malabrigo Yarn Merino Worsted (210 yds /100g) - 5 (5, 6, 6, 7, 7, 7) skeins Note on Yarn Choice: You REALLY need to use a yarn that can be blocked to make this cardigan. The circular piece of the body is built using short rows to form wedges that won’t look good unless you really block them out. So I strongly recommend you use a yarn that hasn’t got any acrylic or other fiber that won’t stretch. It might be a good idea to go to your local yarn store and ask for suggestions too… Needles US 9 (5.5mm) straight or circular needles for the back piece. US 10 (6.0mm) straight or circular needles for the body and collar. US 8 (5mm) dpn or a long circular needle for the sleeves. Other Notions Waste yarn and crochet hook for provisional cast on. Tapestry needle. Stitch markers.
75/80 (85/90, 95/100, 105/110, 115/120, 125/130, 135/140, 145/150) cm © 2010 - Joji Locatelli – For personal use only. Please do not sell or distribute!
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Gauge (in Stockinette Stitch) - 14.5 stitches and 24 rows to 4 inches (10 cm) on US 9 (5.5mm) needles (Back piece). - 12 stitches and 20 rows to 4 inches (10 cm) on US 10 (6mm) needles after blocking (Body and Shawl collar). - 16 stitches and 26 rows to 4 inches (10 cm) on US 8 (5mm) needles in the round (Sleeves). It is very important that you get a loose fabric!
Directions The body of this cardigan is made in two pieces, and then you add the sleeves.
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First you knit the back, which is simply a rectangle.
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Then, you knit the circular piece. You begin at the the neck, knitting counter clockwise and picking up stitches to the back piece, which will form the rest of the back, the fronts, and collar.
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The entire circular piece is knit at the same length, which will result in a drapey collar and neckline.
Circular Piece (Back, Fronts, Collar) You will have to join this piece to the back, from its center towards the left (as shown in Figure 1), so place a split ring stitch marker on the top of the back to mark this point.
Back Cast on 53 (56, 59, 61, 62, 64, 66, 69) stitches onto US 9 (5.5mm) needles. Work back and forth in stockinette stitch until this piece measures 7 ½ (8, 8 ¼, 8 ¾, 9 ¼, 9 ¾, 10 ½, 11) inches; 19 (20, 21, 22, 23, 24 ½, 26 ½, 27 ½) cm. Bind off all stitches.
Some notes before you begin: You will join the last stitch of every right side row to one stitch from the back, but not to every stitch of the back. After knitting 6 rows (after joining 3 st to the back) you have to skip a stitch from the back, and then continue joining to the next following stitch. To join the stitches from the circular piece, work them in the following way: work to 1 st before the end of row, slip last st to right needle. Lift the strand of one stitch from the back and place it on the left needle. Now place the stitch you moved to the right needle back on the left needle and SSK these stitches.
© 2010 - Joji Locatelli – For personal use only. Please do not sell or distribute!
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Using a crochet hook and US 10 (6mm) needles, provisionally cast on 56 (56, 56, 56, 57, 57, 58, 58) stitches (See Glossary at the end of pattern). 1st, Row (RS): Knit to 1 stitch from the end, join the last st of this row to one stitch from the back (the first stitch to the left from the marker) as described in the notes before. Turn work. 2nd and all WS rows: Slip 1, p to the end of round. Continue working in the established pattern (remember to skip a stitch from the back after joining to 3) until you have worked 12 rows.
Wedge: 13th row: K36, wrap next stitch and turn (w&t – See Glossary at the end of the pattern). 14th and all foll WS rows: purl to the end of row. 15th row: K 35, w&t. 17th row: K 34, w&t. Continue working the short rows this way until there are 7 wrapped stitches. Next RS row: K to the end of row, lifting the wraps and knitting them together with the corresponding stitch. This row will count as row 1 of your next pattern repeat, so join it to the back according to pattern.
Place a marker at the beginning of this section and work until it measures 7½ (8, 8¼, 8¾, 9¼, 9¾, 10½, 11) inches; 19 (20, 21, 22, 23, 24½, 26½, 27½) cm from marker (the same length as the back piece). Now start joining the circular piece to the bottom edge of the back piece the same way, as directed on rows 1 to 26. Join all the way across the bottom of the back until you reach the next corner. Work again in stockinette stitch without joining to form the other sleeve opening. It should also measure the same length as the back piece.
Continue working in pattern, repeating rows 1 to 26. You will have a wedge every 12th row.
Join work to the top right corner of the back and work joining the piece until you reach the center, right where you have your cast on edge.
As you begin to work the wedges, you will notice that they look “bumpy”, like this:
Do not bind off these stitches. Unravel the crochet chain you used for your cast on and place these live stitches on a needle. Graft them together with the stitches you had on hold to finish your circular piece. You can also do a 3-needle bind off if you are more comfortable with this technique.
Sleeves
Do not worry! It will look great when blocked! When you reach the corner of the back piece, continue in stockinette stitch and work a wedge every 12 rows without joining stitches. This section will form the sleeve opening.
Starting at the lower edge of the sleeve opening and using US 8 (5mm) needles, pick up and knit 53 (55, 58, 62, 66, 70, 74, 81) stitches around it and start working in stockinette stitch in the round. You can use double pointed needles, magic loop or whatever method you prefer for working small circumferences. Place a marker at the beginning of the round.
© 2010 - Joji Locatelli – For personal use only. Please do not sell or distribute!
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On the 12th (10th, 10th, 12th, 9th, 8th, 8th, 8th) round, knit to 2 st before marker, SSK, slip marker, k2tog (2 stitches decreased). Decrease this way every 12th (10th, 10th, 12th, 9th, 8th, 8th, 8th) round a total of 7 (8, 8, 7, 9, 11, 12, 15) times. 39 (39, 42, 48, 48, 48, 48, 51 st remain). Continue working straight until sleeve measures 15 (15 ½, 15 ½, 15 ½, 16, 16, 16 ½, 16 ½) inches; 38 (39, 39, 39, 41, 41, 42, 42) cm, or 4 ½ inches (11 cm) less than your desired sleeve length. Gathered Cuff Some stitches are “tucked” to create this look, as if the sleeves were too long. For this, I first pick the purl bump of the corresponding stitch 8 rows below and place it on the left needle. Then I knit it together with the next stitch. (Tuck stitch).
44 (46 ½, 48 ½, 50 ½, 52 ½, 54 ½, 57, 60) inches 110 (116, 121, 126, 131, 136, 142, 150) cm You might find it useful to place a marker after each section ends, so that it is easier to sew when you finish. To make this, look up in the instructions how long each piece should be for your size and mark the end of each one with a marker. Then match these markers with the corresponding corners to make each piece fit properly.
Glossary Provisional cast on: I use the crochet provisional cast on. There is a great tutorial by Lucy Neatby on Youtube. I find it extremely clear and I love to use this technique because I end up with all my provisional stitches on the needle.
1st round: [Tuck Stitch 5 (5, 5, 6, 6, 6, 6, 7) times, k8 (8, 9, 10, 10, 10, 10, 10] repeat 3 times.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R3J-sUx_whE
2nd to 8th rounds: Knit
And also, a great tutorial by The Purl Bee on short rows can be found here:
9th round: [K7 (7, 7, 8, 8, 8, 8, 8), tuck stitch 5 (5, 5, 6, 6, 6, 6, 7) times, K1 (1, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2)] repeat 3 times.
Wrap and Turn
http://www.purlbee.com/short-row-tutorial/
10th to 16th rounds: Knit Work rounds 1-16 once more.
List of Abbreviations
Bind off all stitches.
approx BO CO cont dec foll(s) k meas p patt rem RS sl sl m ssk
Finishing Your sweater is almost finished. You just have to sew in ends and block it heavily! It is important to block all pieces of the sweater. The nice thing about this design is that you will get a garment with a lot of drape. But the most important piece you need to block is the circular piece to stretch the wedges out. To block my sample, I soaked the garment in soapy water for about 30 minutes, then rinsed and took off the excess water. Then I placed it over some towels on the floor and stretched it until I saw my "circle" with the back and sleeves in the center. Try to stretch this circle as much as you can, always keeping its shape. After it was dry, I also pressed it with a warm iron and a wet cloth.
st (sts) tog WS
approximately bind off cast on continue decrease follows, following knit measures purl pattern remain(ing) right side Slip slip marker slip 2 st as if to knit, 1 at a time, then k them tog through the back loops stitch (stitches) together wrong side
An alternative… It is possible to knit the back piece and the circular piece separately and join them together using mattress stitch when you are done. You just have to be extra careful when preparing your pieces to sew, because you don’t want to get more fabric in one side than another… To build the sweater this way, the only data you are missing is how long to make the circular piece. This piece will have to have the same length on the short edge than the whole perimeter of your back piece, so for the different sizes, this length would be:
© 2010 - Joji Locatelli – For personal use only. Please do not sell or distribute!
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About this pattern: Pole was first published on December 2010, and the directions included a way to attach the circular piece to the back that didn’t leave a nice smooth line. After working some more with this type of construction, I found a better way and decided to update the pattern. This new version was released on November 2011. Thank you very much for your support! I really hope you enjoy knitting this! For comments or questions regarding this pattern, please contact me at
[email protected]. You can also find me in ravelry as jojilocat.
© 2010 - Joji Locatelli – For personal use only. Please do not sell or distribute!
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