A step-by-step guide to knitting the cosy-chic Hazel 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.
READY TO ELEVATE YOUR KNIT GAME? MEET THE HAZEL ALPACA CARDIGAN – YOUR TICKET TO CRAFTING THE COMFIEST, MOST STYLISH CARDIGAN AROUND. Hazel is a great project if you've knitted one or two cosy masterpieces before (or if it's your first knitting project and you're feeling adventurous!). If you're a total beginner 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 a rib stitch and stockinette stitch. You'll also want to get the hang of tying a slip knot and casting on - AKA getting the stitches onto your needle!
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!
KNITTING DOUBLE STRAND
We knit our cardigan double strand. This means you have two strands on the go at once. To do this, we suggest you work with two balls at once.
🚨 Now, a little word of caution when knitting with two strands. It's much easier to put your needle through your stitch in the wrong place, and if you do this you'll end up with more stitches on your needle than you've cast on 🤯 We recommend counting your stitches every few rows as you knit to make sure you haven't added any rogue stitches. If you have, and it's picked up quickly, you can knit two stitches together on the next row to return to your correct number of stitches for the piece.
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;
- 15mm circular needles
- 5 to 6 balls of Cardigang Alpaca yarn in color 1
- 5 balls of Cardigang Alpaca yarn in color 2
- Stitch marker
- A darning needle
- Made by me tag
You also want to have a pair of scissors handy.
📏 Sizing and measurements
You can make your Hazel Cardigan in 2 sizes. She's an oversized fit with a dropped shoulder. Measurements are taken when laying flat.
| SIZE | AUS | MEASUREMENTS |
| 1 | 6-12 (we recommend this size for babes under 165cm tall) |
Length (from shoulder down): 120cm Sleeve (from shoulder seam to cuff): 40cm |
| 2 | 14-18 | Length (from shoulder down): 134cm Sleeve (from shoulder seam to cuff): 40cm |
Your pattern is read like this; 1 (2). 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 8.5 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 10-12 stitches, then knit in stockinette stitch (knit all stitches in your first row, purl all stitches in the next - repeat) for 13-14 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.
Time to get click-clacking and whip up your cosy masterpiece.
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
STEP 1
We start knitting the body of our cardigan in one piece from the bottom. That means we'll start with a rib stitch before we move into a stockinette stitch.
Cast on the required number of stitches using your 15mm needles and color 1.
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
Let's move on to the rib. Knit the rib following the instructions in your pattern.
Remember to create a rib we knit 1 stitch, then purl the next. 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
Next, we're going to start knitting in stockinette stitch.
Tick off the circles to help you keep track of your progress.
STEP 4
STEP 5 to 9
Continue knitting in stockinette stitch and changing color as the pattern instructs.
🚨 Note that only size 2 completes step 8.
STEP 10 & 11
We're going to split the work now, so we knit up the back and the front two panels separately which creates a gap for the arm holes.
Knit the first 20 (22) stitches. Then flip your work and purl these stitches again.
The other stitches will just hang out on your needle until we're ready to come back to them.
STEP 12 & 13
Continue knitting in stockinette stitch.
STEP 14
Cast off the stitches for your first section. When you have just one stitch left on your right needle, cut your yarn from the ball (leaving about 20cm) and thread it back through your last stitch to secure it
🔥 Nice work! Did somebody say wine time?! 🍷
Step 15 to 19
Rejoin your yarn to your work by tying a knot at the base of the stitch closest to the end of your needle. Make sure the 'v's are facing you so you start knitting on a knit row and continue your stockinette stitch pattern.
Continue knitting up the back piece of your cardigan.
Step 20 to 23
One more time! Rejoin your yarn and finish the last piece of your cardigan's body.
SEW YOUR SHOULDERS TOGETHER
Before we move into the sleeves we're going to sew the shoulders up. Grab your darning needle to sew the shoulder seams together using the invisible seam technique.
SLEEVES
Step 1
We knit our sleeves from the top down. Using color 2 (1) we'll pick up the allocated number of stitches from around the arm hole. The below video demonstrated this technique on a neckline but the process for the arm holes is the same.
Step 2 to 4
We're knitting in the round again which means we knit every row. Knitting in the round is where we use our circular needles and knit continuously in loops, rather than back and forth in rows (like we did for the body). Now don't worry! It's not anywhere near as hard as it sounds. When knitting in the round, you're always knitting on the "front" side of your work so you don't need to turn the piece to knit on the "back" side. Plus, you don't need to sew your piece together at the end!
Step 5
To get the shape in our sleeve, we're going to decrease some stitches before we knit the cuff. You'll knit two stitches together all the way along the row.
🎬 Watch How to knit two together
Step 6
Next, we'll knit the cuff in 1x1 rib stitch.
Cast off your stitches.
Hot tip: Cast off your stitches loosely so your hand can fit easily through the end of your 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.
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.
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 certainly 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 - this can take a few days. 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.
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