A step by step guide to knitting the smooth operator, Dane. 

Ever gotten half way 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. 

THE BASICS

If you're a total knitting newbie - WELCOME! 👋 Learning to knit can feel a bit like learning code. We've stripped away the complicated jargon and tried to keep things really simple so even the newest knitter can master the skill 🧶

Before we get started on the pattern it’s a good idea to learn the basic stitches you’ll need to complete your masterpiece. You can use the yarn that came in your kit to practice with. The video below covers every technique you'll need to learn (spoiler - there's only 5!). Learn how to cast on, do a knit stitch, a purl stitch and put them together to create a rib stitch, lastly, we learn casting off. Once you've got these mastered you'll find this pattern is a cinch! 

💭 For more detailed videos of each technique, head down a little further where we've got specific videos for each stitch type.

YOU'VE GOT THIS ⚡️💪

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! 

If you get stuck, reach out to us and we'll give you a (virtual) hand! 😎

TEST YOUR TENSION

Before you start your project, you should 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.

If done correctly, your 10x10cm knitted swatch should be 7 stitches wide and 9 rows high. To test this, jump on your needles, cast on around 12 stitches, then knit in stockinette stitch (row 1 knit, row 2 purl) for around 10 rows. Then get a measuring tape and measure out 10x10cm and count your stitches and rows to make sure you're knitting at the correct tension. 

WHAT YOU’LL NEED

Your kit comes with everything you need to knit your masterpiece. 

• 10mm circular needles 
• 15mm straight needles
• Chunky Merino yarn
• Darning needle 

THE TECHNIQUES YOU’LL MASTER

CASTING ON

Casting on is the first step in any project. It's the term we use for getting the wool onto our needles! We recommend using the two-needle technique as it's one of the simplest methods. Two-needle cast on uses your two needles (surprise!), starting with a slip knot on your left needle, each stitch is knitted to form a new loop and this loop is then added to your left needle. You repeat until you’ve made the desired number of stitches. 

💭 Casting on, like many things in knitting, can be done in a number of ways - our suggestion is a simple technique but you can pick any that’s right for you. 

KNIT STITCH 

This handy little stitch makes up the backbone of most knitting patterns. Each knit stitch looks like a little ‘v’.

PURL STITCH 

The second most common stitch, purl stitches look like little bumps (or purls!). You knit a knit stitch with your yarn tail at the back of your work and your needle going into the back of the stitch, the purl is the opposite, so your yarn tail is at the front of your work and your needle goes into the front of the stitch. 

RIB STITCH

A rib stitch is a textured pattern usually used on the cuffs and necks of jumpers. It’s made by alternating knit and purl stitches in the same row, then knitting the same stitch sequence in the next row. 

GARTER STITCH

Garter stitch is a basic stitch that's created by knitting every stitch in every row - super simple hey?! 😎

REDUCING STITCHES

We reduce the number of stitches on our needle by knitting or purling some stitches together. This simply means we put our right needle into the second stitch on your left needle and collect both the first and second stitch and knit them as you would a single stitch. 

CASTING OFF

To cast off, knit two stitches then slip the first stitch on your right needle back over the second stitch and off the needle. You’ll have one stitch left on your right needle. Knit another stitch so you’ve got two stitches on your right needle and then slip the first stitch off. Continue to the end of the row. When you’ve got the last stitch on your right needle, cut the yarn and thread this through the final stitch to secure. To see casting off in action watch our "Master The Basics" video above. 

OKAY, LET’S KNIT UP A STORM! 

THE DANE JUMPER

Dane's a smooth operator. He's a man of many talents and while he may look complex, he's an easy nut to crack. He's made from a garter stitch and a stockinette stitch, both very beginner friendly, and you can knit him in all one colour or get your colour block on! A classic knit style, he's not just for the boys. His uni-sex style means he's perfect for anybody. 

SIZING

You can knit the Dane in size S, M, L or XL. Each piece of the jumper is knitted flat, at the end we'll stitch each panel together and then sew the neckline. Your pattern is read like this: S (M, L, XL).

BACK

Okay guys, so we start with the back panel, it’s the simplest piece of the knit and will give you the confidence as you move onto other pieces.

We knit from the bottom up, stating at the rib and going up to the shoulders. 

First, we cast the required number of stitches. 

Once you've cast on the right number of stitches you move onto the rib. We knit the rib on the 10mm circular needles following the instructions in your pattern.

Once we've finished the allocated amount of rows, we switch to your 15mm needles.

💡 To switch to a different size needle we just hold the new needle in our right hand and knit onto it.

Next we knit the allocated rows of stockinette stitch. 

When you've finished the last row of the stockinette stitch allocation we're going to change to colour 2 and knit in garter stitch. 

Once you've knitted the allocated rows in garter stitch we're ready to cast off your stitches and finish the back panel. 

FRONT

Now onto the front. It’s basically a repeat of the back until we get up to the neckline.

Now the neck is where it can get a little tricky because we split the shoulders from the neck and we cast off a bunch of stitches in the middle for the neckline hole. 

To knit the neckline you'll knit the first shoulder (while the other stitches just hangout on your needle - you'll come back to them later). To do this, follow the instructions in the pattern turning your work at the end of each row. 

Once you've completed the first shoulder you'll cast off those stitches. Then cut your yarn about 10cm from the last stitch and secure that last cast off stitch by threading your yarn tail through that stitch and pull to secure it.

To rejoin you simply tie the yarn to the bottom of the first stitch with a knot to secure, then you start knitting and complete that shoulder per the instructions. See picture below. 

💡Just remember you knit all the rows to complete one shoulder before you move onto the next. It will seem a little weird on the first shoulder because you’ve got all the extra stitches sitting on your needle but that’s totally correct.

ARMS

Okay, onto the arms!

Now for these we start from the top of the arm and work down. We knit this piece flat just like the front and back.

To get a tapered sleeve we'll decrease the width of the sleeve at different points in the pattern. We do this by knitting two stitches together. 

You'll start with colour 2 and your 15mm needles. Knit the allocated number of rows of garter stitch and then swap to colour 1 and knit in stockinette stitch. 

Once that’s done you'll swap to your 10mm needles and start your rib stitch. When you cast off make sure it’s not too tight otherwise you’ll have a really tight wrist hole.

Now repeat for the second sleeve! 

SEWING IT TOGETHER

Now it’s time to get to work with the darning needle to sew your masterpiece together. We lay our pieces flat and sew them together one by one.

Step 1: Lay your front and back pieces on a flat surface, the right sides facing you. 

Step 2: Sew the shoulder panels together using the invisible seam technique, and leaving the hole for your head.

Step 3: Time to attach the sleeves to the body. Make sure the middle of your sleeve is lined up with the shoulder seam. This will ensure the seam of your sleeve is right under your armpit, not half way around your arm! Once you've made sure it's all lined up, sew the sleeves to the shoulders. 

Step 4: Fold your jumper in half so it looks like the shape of a T. With the wrong sides facing each other, we're going to sew it together using a Mattress Stitch, from the cuff all the way up the arm to the arm pit, then down the side seam to the bottom of your jumper. And then repeat this on the other side. 

💡 We suggest trying to match the colour yarn you use to the jumper to keep it as invisible as possible. It's normal for the wool to get a bit shabby as you go, so we recommend using a few pieces and tying them together underneath as you go!

THE NECK

Okay guys almost done!!! The last part is the neck. We knit the neck ‘in the round’. This means we use the circular needles and instead of knitting back and forth on a row.

The neck is kitted with colour 2 in 1x1 rib stitch - you’ll be pretty good at this now!

So first things first. We pick up stitches evenly around the neckline using our 10mm circular needles. There are a few different ways to do this but we’ve included a video of our fav technique below. Once you’ve got all your stitches on your needles you join the loop together and start the rib stitch. It’s a good idea to loop a hair tie or spare piece of yarn over your needle when you start so you can keep track of each loop.

Knit in the round until you’ve completed the allocated loops of rib stitch then cast off.

💡 Now this part is critical! Cast of extra loosely!! You need a loose cast off in order to be able to fit your head through the hole. Rib stitch has a stretch to it, but if you cast off too tightly you'll have a hole that's too small for your head to fit through. Been there, done that and DON'T recommend 😝

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 in.

FINITO! You are done! 💪🔥🥳

Time to rock that baby out and about 😎

We'd LOVE to see how you go! Share your masterpiece with us by tagging @cardigang_knits on socials or by sending us an email at hello@cardigang.com.au 

Until next time! 😘🧶💕

Morgan & Cat xx