Ella Cardigan, and something about my summer

In our country, we say that summer is a small life. And this summer felt like a whole small life for me, indeed. We travelled to many places and slept in many houses, visiting our family and friends. I saw the warm sea in Italy for the first time in three years and went to Thom Yorke’s concert again. We also saw Sting and danced to all his hits like no one was watching! This summer felt very long, and it felt even more weird to come back to the silence of the autumn. I am finally home, burning candles in the evenings and drinking my tea with lemon slice. I am back to my beloved sofa, my crochet hook and my never-ending yarn stash. 

Designing was slow this summer. I worked on some of the old wips now and then, but did not have enough mental space to create something epic. However! I did have the creative energy to finally finish the Ella Cardigan – something that has been on my hook for a long time. And today I am proud and happy to present it to the world! 

Ella Cadigan crochet pattern is out now and is available on Ravelry HERE and Etsy HERE with an introductory 20% discount (already applied, no codes needed). Be sure to grab your copy before Monday, October 7th 2024, as after this day the pattern will be listed at a regular price. 

Ella Cardigan differs a lot from everything I have designed so far. It is the first truly oversized garment design of mine. 

It has a loose fit and wide sleeves, which is great for layering. While choosing the correct size, be sure to add a lot of positive ease to your actual bust measurements. The cardigan is designed to have approx. 20-25cm/7¾-9¾in of positive ease in the smaller sizes and then gradually less positive ease in the larger sizes. 

Being worked from top down, the cardigan has a special construction for the shoulders and sleeves, making it a comfortable fit for different body types. A small textured collar makes Ella Cardigan feel and look like a soft blazer. 

 And of course, big hidden pockets are an extra bonus! 

At the same time, top-down construction allows adjusting the cardigan’s shape as-you-go. You can easily change the width of the armholes and lower body, and of course the length of the sleeves and entire cardigan is up to your taste. You can make the pockets bigger or smaller or leave them out at all, making Ella Cardigan your own custom garment perfectly fitting your needs. 

Ella Cardigan crochet pattern comes in 10 sizes to fit the bust of 75-150cm/29½-59in. The pattern contains full written instructions in English language, with video tutorials explaining every pattern’s step. I believe, the video tutorials will answer all your questions. 

I usually wear clothes in size Small, but with Ella Cardigan I wanted a lot of positive ease, so made two samples in size Medium for myself (the model in the pictures is also size S wearing size M). 

I used Scheepjes Organicon (100% organic cotton) and Scheepjes Metropolis (wool blend) yarns for my samples and feel like the wool blend yarn is holding the cardigan’s shape better. With pure cotton yarns, it might be a good idea to obtain a slightly smaller gauge before starting to crochet an actual cardigan, as these yarns are a little heavier and tend to stretch for an even more casual look.

Check a full range of colors in your local Scheepjes store, or online at Caro’s Atelier (NL and Europe), Wool Warehouse (UK, international shipping), Taemombo (US and Canada). 

Just to remind, the Ella Cardigan pattern is now available on Ravelry HERE and Etsy HERE. 

Hope you enjoy, 

 

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