Knitting

Free Patterns, Tutorials and Project Ideas

Knit Ariana Grande’s Giant Sweater

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Singer Ariana Grande recently posted a TikTok in which she is singing, but if you’re a knitter you probably didn’t even notice the song because you were so distracted by the giant pink knit sweater she was wearing.

Of course knitters everywhere wanted to know how they could make their own massive cocoon of a sweater, and thankfully Lion Brand has the hookup.

Their Ariana Cardigan uses jumbo yarn so it will knit up in a flash, and it’s actually a really easy sweater knitting project, too. It’s worked in seven pieces — the back, two fronts, two sleeves and two halves of the hood — all in super simple knit 1, purl 1 ribbing.

The pattern only comes in one size, which measures around 45 inches in the chest and is 18.5 inches long. You can easily make yours longer with more yarn, and because the pieces don’t have any shaping other than before the cuff on the sleeves, you can make your panels whatever width you like to make it as oversized (or not) as you like.

The combination of simple pieces, an easy stitch pattern and really big yarn means you can knit up this project in no time and be hibernating like a star before the weekend is out. You can grab the free pattern or buy the whole kit from Lion Brand.

Lion Brand used its Wool-Ease Wow yarn for this project, which is a jumbo (weight 7) yarn available in 13 colors if you don’t want to go with the pink of Ariana’s. The wool and acrylic blend makes it super cozy.

Looking for more celeb-style knits? You can knit a sweater like the one Tom Daley made at the Olympics, or like the patchwork cardigan made popular by Harry Styles, or even a sweater inspired by the Broadway show Mrs. Doubtfire. Or how about some Bernie Sanders mitten inspired patterns (including a cowl that I designed)?

[Photo: Lion Brand.]

Have you read?

Learn a Flower Bobble Technique to Knit a Fun Shawl

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]