Happy Days Cardigan

The Happy Days cardigan is a fun, practical cropped crochet cardigan, designed with a nod to the nostalgia of the 1950’s hey days.

I always struggled with cardigans which stop at the hip and make me look boxy, so I intentionally designed this shape for those who have a waist they want to emphasise. It works great with dresses and high waisted jeans in particular.

The PDF pattern is available to purchase on Ravelry, Etsy or Love Crafts Crochet.

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On this pattern page, which gives all the info you’ll need to decide if this crochet pattern is for you, you’ll see images of two samples of the Happy Days Crochet Cardigan. One in pink with orange cuffs, hem and button band and one in a blue tweed with cream cuffs and matching buttons.

These two sweaters give you an idea of the variety of looks you can get with the crochet pattern. The details of the different yarns used are given in the materials section below.

The instructions in the pattern use the colourway for the pink and orange sample, along with the estimated yarn quantities of each colour. However, you can get creative and use whatever different colour combinations give you all the crochet joy!

Skills Used

The pattern uses the extended single crochet (which is described in the pattern) with a simple moss stitch pattern and has minimal sewing (shoulder seams only).  It’s suitable for beginners with some experience and a sense of adventure, and intermediate crocheters.

The written pattern includes a step-by-step photo tutorial to assist with the construction of the body of the cardigan. It also includes a schematic diagram.

The sleeves are worked directly from the armholes making it a relatively seamless and simple design.

As mentioned, you will need to sew the shoulder seams, for which I recommend you use the mattress stitch, my favourite way of seaming crochet.

The cuffs and hem are created using the back loop ribbing using the top-down method of attaching ribbing to crochet (there’s no seaming involved) which is simple, fuss free and flexible!

Like all my patterns, this uses US crochet terms (with UK equivalents given in the abbreviations list)

Materials

Crochet Hook

You’ll need a 6mm crochet hook or size needed to obtain gauge with a suitable drape.

I used a 5.5mm hook for the blue sample used in the construction images after using a 6mm hook for the pink and orange sample.

In both cases, I used my clover amour hooks.

Yarn requirements

Depending on size chosen, you will need 750(800, 880, 1000, 1060, 1190, 1310, 1400, 1530)m of heavy worsted / aran weight or light chunky yarn which matches gauge with a suitable drape.

The colour split between the main colour and the contrast colour is around 80/20. The pattern includes details of yarn amounts by size.

The pink and orange sample item pictured used Knit Craft In the Zone (an acrylic filled yarn). Whilst this was formally classified as bulky, it was closer to a heavy worsted weight or aran yarn in my experience. This yarn has been discontinued since this pattern was originally published.

This blue version uses a currently available yarn; 

Wendy Aran with Wool Tweed in colourway River (5703), 77% acrylic, 20% wool, 3% viscose, 400g ball = 800m/880yds. 

YarnSubstitution Options

A similar heavy worsted or aran weight, or light bulky / chunky yarn which meets gauge with a desirable drape could be used as a substitute. Different fibres and yarns will produce a different finished result.

The blue yarn used is similar to Stylecraft Special Aran with Wool Nepp in Dutch Blue (5513), 80% acrylic, 20% wool, 400g = 816m/892yds, which would make good substitution.

You may find this post useful when choosing yarn.

Other Materials & Notions

• Yarn needle, scissors and a tape measure
• 3 buttons, approx 20mm diameter
• Six stitch markers / scraps of contrasting yarn for the buttons (this is based on 3 buttons, you’ll use two markers for each button, so will need more if you want to add more buttons). You will also use two markers when you add the hem
• You may wish to block this project, in which case I recommend a Blocking board and pins. Learn more about blocking here.

Sizing

The cardigan is designed to be a classic fit around the shoulders and body with the back hem causing it to cinch inwards at the back waist

The pattern is designed for adults and is written in 9 women’s sizes from XS to 5XL. This covers bust sizes 76cm – 158cm with the cardigan offering a finished chest circumference of 86-170cm.

Measurements of each size are provided in the pattern to help you choose which size best suits.

This crochet cardigan is designed to be a classic fit around the shoulders with a more relaxed chest and sleeves. The body of the top is cinched in at the waist via the hem.

The item you see pictured is a size S worn by me, UK size 8-10 (US 4-6), 5ft 1in.

You can purchase an add-free pdf version of this pattern from Love Crafts Crochet, Ravelry, or Etsy.

If this kind of cardigan is up your street, you might also like to try some of the following similarly constructed crochet cardigans:

• Everyday hugs cosy cardigan
• The underdog cardi
• Got your six cardigan (in two lengths)

And I’ll leave you with one last thought… “These days are ouuuuuuurs… these happy days are yours and my happy days… “

Happy Hooking

Dx

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