Colorwork Cardigan Knitting Patterns

As I go about my perusal of the Internet and social media, I collect knitting patterns of various types that catch my eye. Sometimes a single pattern will inspire me to write a whole post, while other times I wait and gather and see if a theme will emerge that I can write a longer post about that includes more patterns.

That’s how this colorwork cardigan knitting patterns collection came about. These projects all use color in different ways — from stripes to allover stranded knitting, intarsia color blocks and bands of colorwork — and hopefully they’ll inspire you to add more color to your projects.

The Camden Cardigan is a simple, boxy striped cardigan that has been on my personal knit list for a while. It’s worked in two colors of bulky yarn and comes in five sizes. Designed by Vladimir Teriokhin, it’s a free pattern on Lion Brand’s website.

Work stripes of colorwork with tuck stitches that give them a vintage flair in the Mohn Cardigan pattern from EKnitsShop on Etsy. Inspired by a 1950s cardigan, the pattern is knit flat and the sleeves are worked separately and sewn in. The pattern information on Etsy doesn’t give all the details but I looked it up on Ravelry and it comes in 12 sizes from 32 to 62 inches.

Melanie Berg’s Pandau cardigan is a longer cardigan that has colorwork in bands below the armholes. There are some standard stripes and some mosaic/slip stitch designs. This one uses bulky yarn in five colors, comes in seven sizes, and is available on Ravelry.

The intarsia color blocking on this super long cardigan from The Blue Mouse on Etsy looks like a lot of fun to stitch. It uses worsted weight yarn and comes in one size with a 56 inch chest measurement (142 centimeters) so depending on your size it can have lots of ease for wearing as a coat or less to wear as a cardigan.

Practice allover colorwork with the Beckham cardigan from Kyle Kunnecke. This pretty DK weight design is covered with repeating diamond patterns. It’s worked flat and the colorwork pattern is charted. You can find the pattern on Ravelry.

Get a super cozy cardigan with Cowichan style with the Patons True North cardigan. Worked flat in pieces in bulky yarn, this design features stripes and intarsia-knit trees and bears. It uses five colors and comes in six sizes, with chest measurements ranging from 38 to 63 inches (96.5 to 160 cm).

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Blankets are a great blank slate project that you can change up in a million different ways. From color to stitch pattern to size, the possibilities are almost endless.

Jared Flood, the designer behind Brooklyn Tweed, was inspired by a log cabin quilt his mother made in 1995 to re-create that design in knitting, which led to more blankets and ultimate Brooklyn Tweed’s Knit and Crochet Blankets, which includes 25 patterns from an array of designers using different skills and techniques to make cozy, pretty blankets.

The patterns are divided into three aesthetic themes: traditions, minimalism and colorplay. The patterns are rated on a scale of one to five, with one being the easiest, and there aren’t any pieces rated five. Two blankets are rated one, 14 are two, eight are three and one is four.

In addition, three of the 25 patterns are crocheted, but they either use single crochet or granny stitch, so they are pretty easy even if you don’t do a lot of crochet. You can see all the patterns on Ravelry.

Some of my favorites include Rattan by Rastus Hsu, a chunky blanket worked in knits and purls with simple crossing stitches to make a raised woven look; Homewood by Seth Richardson, covers in dramatic, loopy cables; Ainur Berkimbayeva’s Tessellate, one of the beginner projects that doesn’t really look beginner but is totally worked in knit and purl stitches; Warp + Weft by Aist? Butkevi?ien?, which is mostly knits and purls but makes a fun woven look fabric that blew my mind a little bit; and the same designer’s Canyonland, a multicolored blanket with wavy stripes.

The patterns tell you how to resize them for different dimensions and include information on pattern repeats where it is possible to make a totally custom size.

Many different techniques are included here such as cables, lace, shadow knitting, intarsia and other colorwork techniques, as well as modular knitting and lots of sewing pieces together. The patterns are all presented with charts, but there are line by line written instructions available on the Brooklyn Tweed website if you need them.

The book ends with a deep dive into log cabin knitting, telling the story of the quilt Jared’s mom made and how he made it in knitting, as well as the multitude of variations you can make if you want your own log cabin style design.

The back of the book includes a little written information about some of the special techniques needed, but there are no photos.

This is a lovely book full of inspiration for knitting and crochet blankets for any skill level. If you like to make blankets as gifts or aspire to have a handmade blanket in every room of the house, these designs would be a great place to start.

About the book: 192 pages, paperback, 25 patterns. Published 2024 by Abrams Books, suggested retail price $24.99.

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