(I’ll update with the completed FO at a later time. Sorry!)
Grannie Pocket Cardigan by Crochet with Carrie
Size: Small
Tools: US H 5 mm hook.
Yarn: Universal Cotton Supreme in colors Silken, Jade, and Seafoam
These are my personal opinions of the blog topic. I purchased the material with my own money and am not receiving any commission from the seller/maker nor am I affiliated with them.
Where do I even start this story?
Ahem, *cough*, hrmm. OK.
About a month ago my sister told me that she was going to make a crochet cardigan. Being the garment making nerd I am, I asked which one, and then promptly offered to make it with her. So, that’s how that started. I first glanced at Carrie’s blog post and was pleased to see that it had a fairly familiar organizational scheme when it came to the pattern itself.
Free knitting and crochet patterns are notoriously poorly written. IMHO: if it’s free, then try to rely on your own skill to figure it out. Not everyone is a professional technical writer or even use English as their first language, and you most certainly are not owed their every waking moment with petty questions you could figure out by asking your craft groups or even just a basic Google search. In other words: check your privilege before you go mouthing off to the designer about a “poorly” written pattern…that’s a whole other topic though.
Getting back to the point here —
How it went: OK.
Final Outcome: Pretty damn pleased.
Now, why do I feel like it was just “OK”? A few reasons. The main issue I have with the written pattern is that it is incomplete in some places.
In particular the modeled size is not apparent, single crochet across the front edge for the collar instructions are missing, and pocket construction is incorrect. So if you’re a super beginner to crochet, how crochet stacks, and how crochet garments grow, you might be better off looking elsewhere.
BUT tbh, that’s about the extent of my pet-peeves. Otherwise, this is a great beginner project!
– Carrie’s video tutorial is great! It covers all the pet-peeves listed above regarding missing/incomplete written instructions. I highly recommend watching or even just listening.
– The pattern itself is free (along with many others on her blog) and written systematically that makes it easy to follow.
– The cardigan is open front so it fits a large variety of body shapes and sizes.
– The construction is familiar territory, so if you’ve made 3 dimensional objects or garments before, this will be cake to you.
– Her website isn’t stacked with ads (I do run an ad blocker).
My favorite part is the herringbone double crochet stitch.
Though I’ve been in fiber arts a long time, crochet is still able to surprise me with the way people have figured out how to make different stylized rows of knots!
And now the juicy meaty bits: my modifications.
Why did I decide to make modifications to Carrie’s pattern even though I just said it was fine the way it is written? Because I hate seaming. Seaming and weaving in ends to finish a project in both crochet and knitting are my least favorite activities.
My Modifications:
– Working from the bottom up as instructed, but worked the entire piece instead of the back and two front panels separately. I worked rows for my size – 20 rows, at which I then began to work the parts separately for the arm holes.
– Turn, then chain 1 instead of chain 2 and turn at the end of the rows on the body.
– Sleeves constructed in the round. The herringbone double crochet is a stitch pattern that needs the front and the back of the row to make the stitch pattern show correctly. So what I did for the sleeves was to ch2, work the pattern, then slip into the top of the first herringbone double crochet, then turn and ch2, etc. This created a nice continuous underarm that would otherwise have to be seamed. meh.
My overall Review rate:
As a Free Pattern: 4/5
Pattern Accuracy (does the pattern actually make the advertised object): 5/5
Supplemental Resources Provided by the Designer: 5/5