Crochet C2C Cardigan

Crochet C2C Cardigan

As many of you know, I'm kinda obsessed with making cardigans!  I wear cardigans every day in the cold and rainy winter here in Vancouver Canada, and enjoy designing new cardigan patterns so I don't get bored with what I wear.  I'm always thinking "what stitch or technique can I use to make a cardigan?  And how do I make it look good enough to wear?"  I have seen a lot of people comment that C2C is their "go to" pattern for blankets, which got me thinking why can't C2C be the go to pattern for cardigans as well?  After some trial and error and frogging, my Crochet C2C Cardigan was born!

If you have ever made a C2C blanket, you can make my C2C Cardigan!  The back panel is a straight C2C rectangle.  The 2 front panels are "unfinished" rectangles, with the "unfinished" part becoming the collar.  The sleeves are a slightly modified side lean stitch.  Now, you may never have done a side lean stitch before, and that's ok, because I hadn't either before doing it for this cardigan.  The difference between the C2C and side lean stitch is that the C2C is crocheted in diagonal rows, where the side lean stitch is crocheted in horizontal rows.  If you need help with either C2C or the Side Lean Stitch, Mikey has tutorials for you.  (Please note that for this pattern, I chain 5 and 2 vs the 6 and 3 noted in the tutorial for C2C, as I find the less chains translates into less gaps.  The Side Lean Stitch for the sleeves is also slightly modified for my pattern vs the video tutorial.)

I used 5 skeins of Loops and Threads Barcelona in Lilac for my cardigan, and I love it!  It is very warm and very cozy.  If you would prefer to use a different yarn, you can.  In fact, you can use ANY yarn, ANY weight of yarn, ANY hook, and you can make it for ANY size!  Oh, and matching your gauge to mine isn't important.  Yes, you read that correctly: gauge is not important!  Just crochet the way you normally crochet.  You don't have to worry about going up or down 3 or 4 hook sizes in order for this C2C Cardigan to work for you or your yarn choice.

The secret is your homework before you start.

Your homework is 7 measurements and a little math.

Measurement 1 Bust/Chest:  Wearing a comfortable top, measure around the fullest part of your bust/chest.  Write this number down.

Measurement 2 Desired Length:  Standing up, measure from the shoulder seam of your top, to your desired length of your cardigan.  Write this number down.

Measurement 3 Sleeve Length:  Measure from the sleeve seam of your top, to your wrist.  Subtract 1 inch from this measurement, and write this number down.

Measurement 4 Sleeve Placement:  Measure from your armpit to your desired cardigan length.  Subtract 2 inches from this measurement, and write this number down.

Measurement 5 Neck to Sleeve:  Measure from your sleeve seam of your top, to your neck.  Write this number down.

Measurement 7 Wrist Width:  Measure loosely around your wrist.  Add 2-4 inches (depending on how tight you want your sleeve wrist to be) and write this number down.  (I added 4 inches for me because I really don't like my sleeve wrists to be too tight.  This measurement is for a guideline to check as you do your decreasing in your sleeve width.  You want to reach this number as close to your wrist as possible.)

Now for the math part:

• Take your Measurement 1 number and divide it by 2.  If you don't get an even number, round up. (This number is Measurement 6)  Then add 2 inches and write the number down.  This number is the width of your back piece.
• Take your Measurement 6 number and divide it by 2.  If you don't get an even number, round up.  Then add 1 inch and write the number down.  This number is the width of your front panels.

That's it.  That's all the math you need to be able to make a C2C Cardigan for anyone!

Now for the fun part of choosing your yarn and crocheting.  Because the math allows you to make this cardigan for any size, I can't give you an exact amount of yarn that you'll need.  I used approximately 4 ½ skeins of Loops and Threads Barcelona.  Barcelona is a 5 weight yarn with 328 yards/7 oz/300 m/200g per skein, so I used approximately 1475 yards/31.5 oz/1350 m/900 g of yarn for a 46" bust, 29" length and 19" length sleeve (around a 2X size).   The amount of yarn you use will depend on the size you're making, the weight of yarn you're using, the size of hook you're using, and your tension.

Back Panel

1.  Ch 5, dc in 3rd ch from hook, dc in next 2 ch, turn

2.  Ch 5, dc in 3rd ch from hook, dc in next 2 ch, sl st in ch 2 sp, ch 2, 3 dc in same sp, turn

At the end of each row, you turn your work.  While increasing to length and width measurement, you will ch 5 at the beginning of each row, dc in 3rd ch from hook, dc in next 2 ch, and then (sl st in ch 2 sp, ch 2, 3 dc in the same sp) in every ch 2 sp of the row.  When you reach your length or width measurement (whichever is smaller), you stop increasing on that side.  Instead of ch 5 at the beginning of the row, you will sl st in the 1st and 2nd dc, and in the ch 2 sp where you start your brackets.  When you reach your bigger measurement, you stop increasing on that side as well.  You continue in the pattern until you have completed your final row with 1 3dc square and fasten off.

Front Panels (Make 2)

Follow the back panel instructions until you reach your desired width and stop increasing on one side.  Continue increasing other side until you reach your desired length, and stop increasing on that side as well.  When you reach your Measurement 5 number on this second side, you fasten off, leaving the rest of the rectangle unworked.  This unworked part becomes your collar.

Attach your front panels to your back panel, sc across Measurement 5 of each of the front panels.  Measure from the bottom of your length to your measurement 4 and place a stitch marker.  Sc the front panels to your back panel from the bottom to your stitch marker.

Sleeves 

The sleeves are crocheted onto the body of your cardigan.  With the shoulder and side seams on the inside of your work, you will be starting your sleeves at the underarm part.  You will be crocheting with a modified side lean stitch for the sleeves.  Doing the side lean stitch for the sleeves allows for decreases in rows so that the sleeves are more fitted vs having a one size sleeve from shoulder to wrist.  The decrease row for the sleeve is row 6.  I did 10 decrease rows over 30 rows total to get my sleeve shaped from my shoulder to my wrist.  You want to make sure your decreasing is gradual...I find doing a decrease every 2 or 3 rows works.  As you are doing your sleeves, you'll want to write down what you did for each row so that you can duplicate it on your other sleeve.  Rows 1 - 3 are setting the side lean pattern, and row 6 is the decrease row.  This pattern is how I did my sleeves...yours may be different depending on your size.

1.  With a multiple of 4, sc around the sleeve opening, sl st jn.
2. Ch 1 [(sc, ch 2, 3 dc) in next sc, sk next 3 sc] rep [ ] around, sc in last sc, sl st jn, TURN.
3. Sl st in next 2 dc, sl st in ch 2 sp, ch 2 (sl st, ch 2, 3dc) in each ch 2 sp around, sl st in 3rd dc from previous row, TURN.
4. Rep 3
5. Rep 3
6. (decrease row) sl st in next 2 dc, sl st in ch 2 sp, sl st in next ch 2 sp, ch 2, 3 dc in same ch 2 sp, (sl st, ch 2, 3dc) in remaining ch 2 sp around, sl st in 3rd dc from previous row, turn.
7. Rep 3
8. Rep 6
9. Rep 3
10. Rep 3
11. Rep 6
12. Rep 3
13. Rep 3
14. Rep 6
15. Rep 3
16. Rep 3
17. Rep 6
18. Rep 3
19. Rep 6
20. Rep 3
21. Rep 6
22. Rep 3
23. Rep 6
24. Rep 3
25. Rep 6
26. Rep 3
27. Rep 3
28. Rep 6
29. Rep 3
30. Rep 3, fasten off.

Collar

Attach yarn to 1st ch 2 sp of the right collar.

1. Ch 1, sc in same ch 2 sp (ch 3, sc in next ch 2 sp) rep ( ) across right collar to shoulder seam, ch 3 [dc in each dc, 2 dc in each ch 2 sp] across to left collar, ch 3, rep ( ) across left collar, turn.
2. Ch 2, dc in each sc and dc, 2 dc in each ch 3 sp around, turn.
3. Ch 2, dc2tog, fpdc in rest of dc across to last 2 st, dc2tog, turn.
4. Ch 2, dc2tog, bpdc in rest of dc across to last 2 st, dc2tog, turn.
5. Rep 3
6. Rep 4
7. Rep 3, fasten off

Trim

Attach yarn to bottom right of cardigan.

1. Ch 1, sc in each dc, 2 sc in each ch 2 sp, 3 sc in collar corners, across to bottom left, turn
2. Ch 1, sc in each sc, 3 sc in 2nd sc of collar corners, across to bottom right, turn.
3. Ch 1, sc in each sc, 3 sc in 2nd sc of collar corners, across to bottom left, fasten off.

Wear it and enjoy the many compliments you'll get!

I hope you enjoy this as much as I did making it.  Until you see me next time here on The Crochet Crowd, you can find me on Ravelry as The Crochet Ninja.