OUR STORE: SHOP HERE

ILONA ANDREWS

#1 New York Times Bestselling Author

You are here: Home / Blog / A Happy Cardigan

A Happy Cardigan

Blog, Knitting etc POST A COMMENT by

Despite my best efforts, I finally managed to make a cardigan. I bought this really cute yarn last year.

This is Rainbows and Airwaves from Bad Sheep Yarn. It is a gorgeous yarn, so I wanted to make a fun cardigan with it. I usually make stuff for the kids, but I wanted something for myself and all the colors made me happy. I tried knitting it first, but for some reason the stockinette came out very yellow and underwhelming. Then I tried knitting a textured stitch, but I still didn’t like it.

One of the interesting things about Bad Sheep Yarn is that the skeins are remarkably consistent. They look just like that and one skein is very similar to the other. This is quality dying – love it – but it also causes the yarn to pool a bit. So this was unraveled twice.

I finally settled on a heavily textured crochet stitch alternating skeins with each row.

This is a row id hdc followed by another row of 2 hdc, a double crochet around the post in the previous row, 4 hdc. It helped a bit with the pooling. The sleeves are hdc just for fun. I finished it with knitted rib because at the time my hand hurt too much and the rotation of the crochet hook was not fun.

And here it is, ta-da!

It still pooled a little, because the yarn is just that consistent, but I kind of love it more this way.

It is basically done. It just needs pockets. I love it!

While we are on the subject, thank you so much for all of the yarn recommendations. I ordered samples and will report on success or failure.

Reader Interactions

Comments

  4. It is extremely lovable, I am smiling because it is so cute and sad because it isn’t mine 😍🥲😍🥲!

  5. Lovely outcome, kudos on the ability to redo when the item didn’t meet your expectations. Well there be buttons, can’t tell if there’s buttonholes but second viewing maybe no.
    Pretty colours, they made me smile.

  7. That is so cute! My coworker has a jacket made of granny squares, it’s really cute too. It’s shaped like a short yukata. Wish I had one.

  10. Beautiful!
    I hope you feel the happiness every time you wear it
    – and that the people around you feel happy just looking at you.

  13. Lovely!
    I wish I did any handwork quickly, but I am too dyslexic. I have to keep checking that I actually did what the pattern said to do – and ripping out whole rows of the wrong work. Sigh.

    That said, my hobby of yarn acquisition is working very well. (I just had to move the collection to a new house.) How’d I get all that yarn ?! I will never use a tenth of it, even if I never buy another skein.
    But it’s beautiful and soft and I did enjoy shopping for it…

  17. That’s very pretty, and it is cheerful. Somehow I don’t see the cats leaving that alone, though, or claws not getting snagged when you hold them. Of course, that would happen with sweaters and cardigans you buy anyway.

  26. Congrats on such a beautiful project! I’m appreciating your persistence.

    I love pockets. A friend once said there would be peace on earth when either everyone has pockets or no one does.

  32. love it. Do you every do portuguese knitting. I think that yarn might be lovely in the honeycomb pattern. HMMM more yarn in my future.

  36. I love it! It’s so bright and cheery, and will be perfect for Spring (all 2 weeks of it, since that’s all we get here in the Deep South 😜). Well done 👏🏻 Making things is so satisfying. I quilt and cross-stitch, and I think I’d lose my mind without the ability to unplug my brain and make things.

  38. It looks warm and soft-qualities of a good sweater. I find knitting and crocheting is like magic. Despite, many lovely teachers, I have failed to learn to knit. My grandmother had the magic and so do you!

    • If you crochet, and have never seen alternative knitting methods, lookup Portuguese and Continental style knitting.

      As a crocheter first, tensioning the yarn in my dominant hand for knitting just never felt correct.

      There are so many different ways to hold needles, yarn, and control tension. As someone who felt hopeless at knitting for years, YouTube instructors opened the “hook not necessarily required” yarn world for me.

  41. Ooooo / happy yarn turns into a happy cardigan! And we have a happy cozy you:-)

    Now you just need a warm beverage, a cookie, and a furry friend on your lap.

  46. Such a beautiful cardigan. LOVE the colors, I’d probably buy it immediately if I saw it in a store

  47. STUNNING! I am going to start working on a DK weight crochet cardigan for myself, because the fingering weight crochet T-shirt is taking forever. LOL.

    I have also started learning to knit. I have the Knit stitch down, but purling is not working yet. Any hints you could pass along?

    • Puraling drove me nuts when I learned how to knit. I couldn’t get the loop on the needle that it needed to be on.

      I got determined and started using my thumb to create the pural stitch. It worked. Come to find out that’s the way Scottish knitters do for their purals.

    • I have a lot better luck knitting when I use the continental style of knitting. Not near as many moving pieces and I’m a klutz! Purling is super easy in this style. Youtube taught me. 🤗

  49. I used to knit but arthritis in my fingers got too bad. This cardigan is gorgeous. I can crochet but you are a pro. Love when a craft turns out so pretty. 😍

  51. That is one gorgeous cardigan. I like how the cream (white?) ribbing pops the color out. Enjoy!

    I think that stitch is the crochet version of the basket weave stitch I’ve seen in knitting books.

  53. ooohhh, beauty !
    I am working on a colourwork sweater using malabrigo Rios. I have been alternating skeins each round. Of course, I have 7 projects on the go, lol
    I look forward to seeing your next project.

  54. Money might not be able to buy happiness, but it can buy yarn, which is kind of the same thing … right?

  63. Yes, but it pooled into little rosettes! I love it! What a happy cardigan!
    Congratulations on a beautiful finished project.

  66. You do such beautiful work, and I think you’ve outdone yourself: this is just gorgeous. And I can see how wearing a pretty, colorful sweater would go far to brighten any day. You’ve inspired me…I need a new cardigan!

    I don’t knit, but luckily for me there are several little shops near me that sell handmade goods. I think a trip to one is in order! 😁

  72. Such a fun cardigan!

    This yarn has been popping up on my feed lately. Lovely to know that you like it. Have you ever knit with Blue Moon Socks that Rock? Since it’s gone away, I’ve been looking for something else I like as much as that and would love to know how it compares.

  75. Have I mentioned lately how much I love your Blog? I like reading about your yarn woes and projects as well. 🙂

  77. Did you just make that up? I have NEVER been successful doing that. I’m so jealous and I would totally make that sweater— if I had a pattern.

  82. That is beautiful. There was a competition called sheep to shawl at the PA Farm show in Feb {I wasn’t there but friends were} where they have teams that sheared a sheep, then spin the wool and then weave a shawl in 2.5 hours. I think that would be cool to watch.

  87. It’s lovely and I think the knitted ribbing gives it a very professional finish. It is happy and fun and I think the kids will be a wee bit envious

  90. I don’t knit or crochet and don’t understand some of the terminology used, but I love looking at the yarn in your posts (weird, I know!). You are so talented, that looks absolutely gorgeous.

    • To make it even more confusing, crochet terminology is not the same the world over … we seem to have American terms and everyone else terms … same/similar names but different stitches!

      So you really want to know which system a given designer designed under. 😉

  91. this is beautiful. in awe of all knitters and crocheted skills and patience always. these posts just reinforce that 🙂

  92. Oh I love it! That is so pretty! It looks totally huggable. And I hadn’t heard of that stitch. I need to look it up.

  94. Love it! Gorgeous work. I was so surprised to open the email and see the yarn photo. I made a scarf for my daughter with that colorway! Weird when worlds collide. I’m a yarn collector (including a ridiculous amount of Bad Sheep yarns) but trying to be a more consistent yarn USER as well in 2025. Appreciate the stitch suggestions.

  95. Beautiful! In the future when knitting with hand dyed yarn alternate skeins every row. It prevents pooling.

    • That’s exactly what Ilona did 🙂

      Quote from the article:

      “I finally settled on a heavily textured crochet stitch alternating skeins with each row.”

  98. Wow! That turned out perfect – not that I doubted your ability, but I have a fear of making clothing. I always worry that I will be totally off in one direction and end up with a crop top for a linebacker or worse.
    Can’t wait to see what happened with the scritchy blanket yarn. 😊

  99. That is gorgeous! I am so happy that you can express yourself in so many creative ways, it must give you such joy. I had to stop such endeavors as my carpal tunnel causes my fingers to go numb when I try to crochet now. But I can still scrapbook and I have my first grandchild on the way, so I will have plenty of pictures and scrapping to do. I sent prayers of praise for your crafting abilities, with both yarn and words. So, craft on Dear One, the BDH is waits with anticipation.