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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Many times when I write these posts I will say something like “you can use any yarn you want” or “this would be a great stash-busting project.” That’s just how my mind works. And my stash, too, since I probably have sweater quantity of two or three yarns at most, but tons of singles and odd balls and leftovers.

Blankets are generally a really good way to use up those bits, but in this case, I think you’re going to want to plan it out a bit better.

Looking at photos of the Color Study Blanket from Purl Soho, it looks like it’s made with two yarns held together, and that block in the center is worked with one of each color from the adjoining sides to make a mixed up color.

But that’s not actually how it’s done. This is three separate colors (four, really, with the neutrals in the corners) chosen form a yarn with an expansive palette so they play off each other. The project calls for a worsted weight superwash wool, which is a great choice for a blanket that’s both warm and washable.

This pattern was originally designed by Laura Ferguson and was updated by Hiromi Glover. It is worked in one piece in garter stitch intarsia, which is a great way to learn the intarsia technique if you don’t already know it. It comes in crib or throw sizes.

Despite the introduction to this post, I am going to go ahead and say that, yes, of course you could do this blanket with scraps or odd balls or even just choose five colors that don’t blend together so easily. But I really do love the look of the color play, and I think it would be worth your time to find colors that play well together to get a similar effect.

This pattern is available for free from Purl Soho.

[Photo: Purl Soho]

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