Knit a Simple Cropped Cardigan with Poufy Sleeves

I think it’s the colors, but this cardigan knitting pattern reminds me a little bit of a school uniform, only clearly a lot more fun.

The Samara from Berroco was designed by Åsa Buchta and uses bulky yarn. It’s mostly a simple, cropped cardigan, but with balloon sleeves and a touch of colorwork on those sleeves and the patch pockets. Even better, those bands of colorwork are also worked in a simple textured stitch pattern, which makes them stand out even more.

This cardigan is worked in pieces and seamed, and the pockets are also knit separately and sewn on. Pieces are worked flat from the bottom up.

It calls for Berroco Ultra Wool Chunky, which is a superwash wool yarn, making the cardigan as easy to care for as it is to wear. But use any chunky yarn of your choice, of course!

There are nine sizes available, ranging from a bust measurement (with the cardigan buttoned) of 36.75 to 71 inches. The length ranges from 22 to 24.25 inches, but you can always make it longer if you like, bearing in mind that you will need more yarn if you do. You might also want to adjust the placement of the pockets if you change the length. As written it needs six buttons, but, again, if you want to make it longer you might want to add another button or two.

The patter is available free from Berroco.

Looking for more great cardigan knitting patterns? I have a collection of summer cardigan knitting patterns for folks on the side of the world who are heading into that season. And for those of us who are heading into the colder part of the year, I have a collection of cozy cardigan knitting patterns you’ll want to keep handy for cool weather. There’s a cardigan to knit for every time of year!

[Photo: Berroco]

Generally I like knitting patterns where I feel like you can use whatever yarn you have (because my stash is big enough and I want to use it, thanks) and make a successful project. This is one of those times when a special yarn makes the process that much easier.

The Floral Bouquet Shawl from Xandy Peters uses a specific extended color pooling yarn from Feisty Fibers, which allows you to place the bobble flowers with increasing frequency as you knit the project.

It starts with a solid color yarn, then the two color yarn is added in, and you make a bobble whenever you encounter the color pops. This would be hard to replicate with other yarn that doesn’t have the extended color pooling built in.

The background of the shawl is ribbed, making the project reversible.

The shawl uses fingering/sock yarn and comes out to be an asymmetrical triangle that’s 54 inches/137 cm long and 36 inches/ 90 cm deep and 60 inches/150 cm across the top edge.

Xandy says the pattern is for intermediate to advanced knitters. Knowing how to work traditional bobbles would probably help, but there’s a great video tutorial for how to work the floral bobbles so you can practice on other yarn or even incorporate the bobbles into other projects.

The bobbles are five-petaled flowers but they also kind of look like starfish to me, which could be fun on a child’s cardigan or other pattern. They’d also be fun on the leg of a sock or around the brim of a hat for extra whimsy.

The pattern includes photo and video tutorials, and written and charted instructions. It also includes tips on what to look for if you choose to use different yarn for the project, and instructions on how to dye your own yarn to use in the project.

If you want to give it a try, you can find the pattern on Ravelry.

[Photo: Xandy Peters]

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