The Key to Raglan Cardigans that Fit

I’m not sure that I’ve ever knit a raglan cardigan, though I do love raglan pullovers. Designer Jessica McDonald knit a couple of them and then was distressed to discover that they quickly became misshapen while wearing, to the point that they wouldn’t stay on her shoulders properly and eventually became unwearable.

Being a clever knitter, she wanted to figure out what the problem was and how she could counteract it to knit the raglan-seamed cardigan of her dreams. The long version of the story is documented in a post on her blog.

The problem is in how raglan cardigans are built. When knitting from the top down, all the weight of the sweater rests on a handful of stitches: usually just one or two each for the fronts, a stitch for each raglan seam, and a handful of stitches that go across the back of the neck.

Because of the weight of the sweater pulling on that small framework, it can easily stretch when you wear it, leading to shoulders that, well, don’t stay on your shoulders.

Part of the solution is in the design of the sweater itself, but if you’re knitting a raglan cardigan from someone else’s design, the main thing you can do to make your sweater wear better is to make your cast on tighter than usual so that it won’t stretch as much.

You can also look for designs that are worked in pieces, because having physical sewn in seams gives your project more structure. Cardigans with buttons that you wear buttoned up should act more like raglan pullovers, too, so that might also help.

If you’re looking for some fun cardigan patterns, check out this roundup of summer cardigans I did a few years ago (I’m working on a cozy cardigan roundup, too, so be on the lookout!).

[Photo: Jessica McDonald Designs.]

A few years ago I wrote a post that was full of patterns for knit mushrooms, but I don’t think I ever did a post that was knitting patterns with mushrooms on them, so today’s the day.

I love the Fungi Beanie from Jacki Bean, which calls for worsted weight yarn and uses duplicate stitch to add the mushrooms and other details. I think the colors she used for the design are tonal/multicolor so it doesn’t use as many colors as it looks like, but you can use whatever red, green, brown and white yarn you have in your stash for those details.

How about some mushroom socks? The Magic Toadstool sock form Stone Knits includes a ring of mushrooms around the leg, contrasting heel and toe and a little more colorwork at the toe for extra cuteness. As shown it uses four colors and comes in three sizes.

Or there’s the Fairy Ring Socks from Katie Green, which have mushrooms of two sizes on the legs, plus a bit of wavy grass. They have a contrasting cuff, heel and toe and some colorwork flecks in the body of the sock as well. This one is available in eight sizes to fit everyone from a baby to an XL adult.

This trippy cowl from Hunt Hand Knits looks like a lot of fun to knit. The Fungus Among Us Cowl is shown using four colors of DK weight yarn, though you can do it with as few as two if you’d rather.

Stitch some mushroom mittens with this cute pattern from Holly C Watson. This design uses three colors, and it’s shown with a self-striping yarn on the mushroom caps, which makes the colors change without you having to do any work. The pattern is charted but it’s a pretty easy repeat. The mittens are one size.

If you don’t feel like knitting mushrooms but still want to give your project a touch of the forest, the Toadstools Cardigan from Julie Taylor may be what you’re looking for. It’s stitched as a plain cardigan worked in DK weight yarn and sized for newborns up to 4 years old. The mushrooms are added with embroidery and the pattern includes the design, which you can trace onto water soluble stabilizer to stitch the mushrooms onto your sweater. Or anything else you want. You can find this pattern on Ravelry.

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