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Do you enjoy designing and making your own crochet patterns/items? Have you been wondering how to design a cardigan or where to start? In this post, I’m going to go over basic construction, sizing, and how to write up patterns for multiples sizes without actually having to make multiple sizes.
First, I’m going to tell you: I am not by any means a professional/expert crochet cardigan designer. The information below is what has worked for me and a starting point/guide that may help you in your endeavors in designing your own cardigan!
I have received many questions of how to design a cardigan. Mainly – where to start and sizing. Get ready, because I’m going to give you every bit of information I know.
I’ve only designed two cardigans thus far but they turned out looking like cardigans so I think I have just a bit of wisdom to share with you!
Basic Construction
Sleeves can be made in the round once you have your back and front panels seamed together or you can make them separately as rectangles, sew up the side, and then sew them onto the cardigan. I’ve done them both ways – I did find it easier to crochet in the round once the cardigan panels were seamed together, that way I could periodically try it on.
I encourage you to look through your wardrobe or go to the mall and look at the construction of cardigans. You will quickly see that they are (for the most part) basic shapes that you can replicate by crocheting.
Another thing to think about is, although the basic consruction/shapes are the same, there are different ways to make a cardigan. You can make it from the top down and vice versa. You can also make it from side to side, which I did for my Poppy cardigan that you can see here.
For my Heartland Cardigan, I made the back panel first and continued to crochet on the back panels for the front panels for less sewing. You can see the Heartland Cardigan here.
So you basically need to make rectangles or some sort of 4 sided shapes then seam them together.
Sizing
Writing Pattern for Multiple Sizes
Factors to Think About when Designing a Cardigan
- How long do I want it?
- What type of fit? Loose? Oversized?
- What kind of stitch/texture do I want? Flowy? Lacy? Sturdy?
- How do I want the front panels to look? Tapered? Flowy?
- What type of edging do I want on the cardigan?
- Length of sleeves
- Do I want a solid color or color scheme?
How to Calculate Yardage for Finished Garment
Now that you have some basics on how to design a cardigan, I hope you take the plunge and give it a try! I would love to see what you come up with. Tag me on Instagram @mariasbluecrayon
Pam Arellano
Thank you. I am grateful for your advice