The Anna Cardigan
A step-by-step guide to knitting the luxe Anna Cardigan
Ever gotten halfway through a project and thought “Hang on, am I even doing this right?” We have 🙋♀️
That’s why we’ve created these step-by-step guides to walk you through the knitting process.
Even if you've never knitted before, we'll take you from zero to knitting hero in no time 🦸♀️
When it comes to knitting, practice makes perfect
Before we get started on the pattern we suggest you spend a bit of time learning the basic stitches you’ll need to complete your masterpiece.
The Anna Cardigan is a dream to knit up. She's made in a stockinette stitch pattern with a short waist rib. You'll want to be confident with the knit stitch and its friend the purl stitch before we start. We put the knit and purl stitches together to make the rib stitch and a stockinette stitch. You'll also want to get a hang of tying a slip knot and casting on your stitches which is the first step in any knitting project.
You can use the yarn that came in your kit to practice with. Once you've got these mastered you'll find the pattern a cinch!
🧶 A note on your yarn. Our Chunky Mohair yarn is super soft and luxe. She's also a lot thinner than our Chunky Merino so we knit with 2 strands instead of just one. This means you'll hold two strands together and knit with them as if they are a single piece. Knitting with two strands can be a little tricky if you're a beginner. As you practice just make sure you count your stitches every few rows to make sure you haven't accidentally added or dropped a stitch.
Total beginner? 👩🏫
For a more comprehensive lesson on the basics of knitting visit our Learn How To Knit page.
Onto the Cardigan!
⚡️What you'll need
Your kit comes with everything you'll need to make your masterpiece. In your kit you'll find;
- 12mm and 15mm needles
- 8 to 10 balls of Cardigang Chunky Mohair Wool
- Stitch markers
- A darning needle
- Made by me tag
You also want to have a pair of scissors handy.
📏 Sizing and measurements
You can make your Anna Cardi in 5 sizes.
| SIZE |
MEASUREMENTS (laying flat) |
| 6-8 | 62cm wide x 55.5cm high |
| 10-12 | 68cm wide x 62cm high |
| 14-16 | 71cm wide x 66.5cm high |
| 18-20 | 76.5cm wide x 71cm high |
| 22-24 | 82.5cm wide x 71cm high |
Your pattern is read like this; 6-8 (10-12, 14-16, 18-20, 22-24). Make sure you're following the correct instructions for your size.
🥣 Test your tension
Before you start your project, make sure your tension (how tightly or loosely your knitting is) is juuuust right. We do this by knitting a “tension swatch”. It's a bit like goldilocks, if the tension is too tight, your piece will be too small, and if it's too loose it may not hold its shape and might be too big.
Gauge: If done correctly, your 10x10cm knitted swatch should be 7 stitches wide and 9 rows high when knitted double strand in stockinette stitch on your 15mm needles.
To test this, jump on your needles - use the yarn and needles that came in your kit. Cast on around 14 stitches, then knit in stockinette stitch (knit all stitches in your first row, purl all stitches in the next - repeat) for around 14 rows. Then measure a 10x10cm square and count your stitches and rows within that space to make sure you're knitting at the correct tension.
If you've got more stitches or rows than the instructions say you should have, your knitting is a little too tight, and if you've got less your knitting is too loose. Adjust your tension by holding the yarn a little more tightly/loosely as you knit.
💡 We know knitting a tension swatch can seem like a bit of a drain, but it's really important because the difference of a few millimetres in your tension can lead to a finished piece this is quite different in size to what you intended.
🧶 Let's knit up a storm!
Time to get click-clacking and whip up your cosy cardigan.
Remember learning a new skill can be a little challenging at first, and you’re bound to find yourself making some mistakes along the way. But as with learning anything, your brain and your hands slowly start to get the hang of it, muscle memory is created, and soon the thing you found tricky/daunting/scary is like second nature! 💪
BODY
We start by knitting the full width of the cardigan, so the stitches you cast on will eventually make up the front right panel, the middle panel and the front left panel.
Step 1:
Cast on the required number of stitches using your 12mm needles. You're knitting double stranded so you'll be working with 2 strands of the mohair yarn instead of just one. The technique for every stitch type remains exactly the same as if you were knitting single strand.
💭 Your needles are connected by a tub and it's totally fine that your stitches run down onto the tubing. Just ensure you knit your stitches back and forth from your left to your right needle, and not in the round.
Hot tip: your piece will 'grow' as you knit so don't be alarmed if it looks like you're knitting a baby's cardigan to start with!
Step 2:
We’ll start by knitting the allocated rows of 1x1 rib stitch. To create a rib we knit 1 stitch, then purl the next, then knit the next, then purl the next and repeat.
💭 Make sure you’re moving your yarn tail from the back to the front of your work between each stitch (bring the yarn in through the middle of the needles) to ensure the rib is executed correctly.
Step 3:
Change to your 15mm needles to knit up the rest of this piece.
We will knit in stockinette stitch, which is created when we knit one row, then purl the next. Knit the specified number of rows (this will be different depending on the size you're making).
💭 To switch to a different size needle we just hold the new needle (in this case the 10mm needle) in our right hand and the current needle with your work on it in your left hand. Then knit the stitches from your left needle onto the new needle in your right hand.
Step 4-6:
Next, we're going to split our work and knit up the front panels and the back panel separately. We'll start with the front right panel.
💭 While we knit up this first panel the rest of your stitches will continue to hang out on your needles. We'll come back to them once we've completed this first part.
Knit the specified number of stitches, then flip your work and purl these same stitches. Repeat for the specific number of rows.
Step 7:
Cast off your stitches for this first panel!
When you've got just one stitch left for this panel on your right needle, simply cut your yarn from the ball (leaving about 20cm) and thread it back through your last stitch to secure it.
Did somebody say wine time?! 🍷
Step 8-11:
Okay, time to knit up the back panel now. We'll reattach our yarn by tying a knot at the base of the stitch closest to the end of your left needle. Make sure those little 'v's are facing you.
The process for knitting up this section is the same as the previous one. Knit the allocated number of stitches, then flip your work and purl those same stitches.
Repeat for the allocated number of rows and then cast off.
You're flying through this! 🚀
Step 12-15:
You guessed it, the final panel of the body is knitted in the same way as the last 2.
Just. Keep. Knitting.
SEWING IT TOGETHER - SHOULDERS
Grab your darning needle, we're going to sew our shoulders together now.
Line up your cast-off edges from the front and back piece making sure the outer edges are lined up correctly - otherwise, your cardi will be off centre!
Then sew the cast-off edges together working from the edge of the piece and sewing inwards.
We use a technique called the invisible seam technique which gives us a nice neat join. In the video below, we cover two variations of the technique - you can pick which you prefer!
SLEEVES
We knit our sleeves in the round and from the top down. When we get to steps 3 and 4 we will decrease some stitches and then knit our cuffs in rib stitch. You'll need two sleeves so follow the instructions twice! ✌️
Step 1:
We're getting close, I can see the finish line 🎢🙌
Using your 15mm needles you're going to pick up stitches from around the edge of the raw armhole. Make sure your stitches are spaced evenly and count them to make sure you've got an even number. Then mark the beginning of your loop with a stitch marker.
Because we're knitting in the round we no longer have a 'front' and 'back' to our work, which means to create a stockinette stitch we don't need to alternate knit and purl stitches. So for these babies, you'll just do a knit stitch for every row/loop. Woo hoo!!
Step 2:
Knit the allocated number of rows and remember to use your stitch marker to mark the beginning of each row.
Step 3:
To get the shape in our sleeve, we're going to decrease some stitches before we knit the cuff. We do this over 1 row by knitting two stitches together at points along the row as instructed.
📹 Watch How To Knit Two Stitches Together
Step 4:
Switch to your 12mm needles and we will finish the sleeve with a 1x1 rib stitch.
Cast off your stitches loosely so your hand hole isn't too tight.
That's your first sleeve done. Time for a happy dance 🕺 Now repeat for the second sleeve.
FINISHING
The last thing we do for every piece is weave in the ends. That’s basically just tidying up the piece so all loose ends are trimmed down and tucked into the inside of your work. You use your darning need and weave those ends into the seams so they are nicely hidden away.
BLOCKING (OPTIONAL)
The final step in finishing a knitted piece is to block it. This step is optional and not all beginner knitters will block their work (we didn't! 🤣) but it can improve the overall shape and finish of your piece.
Blocking your knitting is a process where you wet your piece to set the finished size and even out the stitches.
You can choose to block your work before you seam it together, or after. If you block before seaming together you might get a better result with your seaming because the stitches will be more lined up.
Step 1
Soak your knit in cool water. You only need to let your piece sit in the water for a few minutes and make sure the full piece is completely wet.
Step 2
Remove your knit from the water and dry it off by rolling it in a towel. You want to get us much of the moisture out of the knit as possible at this point but be gentle! You don't want to stretch the knit.
Step 3
Transfer your damp knit to a flat surface to block it on. If you've got a blocking mat - great! otherwise a towel will work. The surface needs to be somewhere where your knit can lie flat and can stay there until it fully dries so that the shape sets properly. Make sure it's not a surface that can be easily damaged by having something wet sitting on it!
Step 4
Arrange your piece so the right side is facing up and the shape is as you'd like it. If you've got a measuring tape you can measure and adjust the piece so it's the correct size.
Step 5
Allow the knit to air dry. You can also use a hair dryer to speed up the process, just use a light heat and don't concentrate the air in one spot.
D.O.N.E! You've finished your cardigan, well done! Epic work 🤩 If this was your first-ever knitting project or one of many, we hope you had a blast click-clacking and making your masterpiece 💥❤️
In a bind and need a little more help?
Email us at stitchup@cardigang.com.au and we'll be able to help! Whether you're just starting out, or you've got a specific question or problem (dropped a stitch, no stress!), we're here to get you out of a bind.
