Stitch a Cardigan with Mini Colorwork

April 24, 2023 by Sarah White Leave a Comment

I love a pattern with a good back story. Maxine the Mini is inspired by the designer, Jimenez Joseph’s Mini Cooper car, whose name happens to be Maxine. You can see her in the background of this picture, because I knew you’d want to. Different shapes and features of the car inspired the designs of the colorwork on the sleeves and patch pockets of this cardigan.

The pattern is worked in superfine yarn from the top down. The body is worked in a solid color, as are part of the sleeves. That part of the sleeve is finished with ribbing so it looks like the colorwork part of the sleeve is another shirt layered under the first. So cute.

The colorwork is also found on the patch pockets, which visually breaks up all that solid color stockinette. It’s also a great way to practice doing colorwork both flat and in the round.

The pattern has seven sizes ranging in chest measurement from 30 inches to 54 inches. It’s a crew neck design with set in sleeves and a button band with kind of a lot of buttons.

This is one of those sweaters that you can wear even when it’s warmer out because it uses such light weight yarn. In all you will need five or six colors (the main body color can be used in the colorwork portion to make it a little more harmonious, or go wild and use all different colors).

You can get this pattern from Ravelry.

It has admittedly been a long time since I’ve collected patterns for warm weather cardigans, but if you’re looking for more, check out this roundup of cardigans to knit for summer from a few years ago. Maybe I’ll update it this summer!

Looking for more knitting patterns for knitted cardigans? Check out these Knitting patterns we found on Etsy.

[Photo: Jimenez Joseph.]

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Christmas Sock Knitting Patterns

Why should the fireplace get all the fun? Instead of knitting stockings this year, why not whip up a pair of Christmas themed socks? These Christmas sock knitting patterns are lots of fun to make and you can wear them to holiday gatherings for years to come.

For our friends in the southern part of the world, there are the Christmas in July socks from the Kiwi Lodge – Kylie (Ravelry link). These shorty socks are covered in Christmas trees and have bright pink heels and toes for a tropical feel. There’s also an option to make a longer sock if you celebrate somewhere it’s colder.

Twin Stitches Designs (Ravelry) has a fun pattern with mix and match colorwork motifs you can use to build your own cozy Christmas socks. From the sample socks I see Christmas puddings, trucks hauling trees, Santa belts, ornaments and a couple of different borders. There may be more patterns included but the listing doesn’t say. Make a pair that matches or use different motifs on each foot for extra holiday cheer.

If you want to stick to Christmas puddings on your holiday socks, check out this cute pattern from Stone Knits. These lovely socks feature a band of puddings around the leg and a bit of holly by the toes.

These vintage holiday light socks from Grey Owl Knits by Sarah are classic looking and lots of fun at the same time. I love this color combination but of course you can make your lights and stripes whatever colors you like or have on hand. They’re worked using stranded knitting.

And if you’d like even more of a mix of patterns for your socks, try Barbara Ceglédi’s Christmas Chaos socks, a free pattern on Ravelry. The pattern includes 25 little motifs you can choose from, ranging from snowflakes and Christmas trees to elf hats, reindeer and hearts.

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