Mellow Waves: Short sleeve cropped crochet cardigan pattern

Mellow Waves is a relaxed fit, cropped crochet cardigan with short sleeves, designed for summer evenings, spring and autumn afternoons and those moments where you just need a little extra.

It uses a lace ripple pattern interchanged with a solid wave to create an elegant, yet casual jacket with plenty of drape and movement.

You can purchase the PDF crochet pattern from Ravelry, Etsy or Love Crafts.

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Skills Used

Below is a list of the skills used in this pattern.

• Knowledge of basic crochet stitches, techniques and terminology is assumed
• The pattern uses extended double crochet and chain stitches throughout
• You will working rows with simple increases and decreases
• Working into both sides of a chain (tutorial here)
• A small amount of sewing of seams will be required – I use mattress stitch
• Careful attention to stitch placement is required to ensure the peaks and troughs of the crochet waves stack correctly
• A stitch diagram for the wave pattern is included

Whilst the Scenic Route Cardigan mainly uses just two basic stitches and is a relatively simple crochet ripple pattern, the importance of stitch placement and the construction style make this pattern suitable for intermediate crocheters. Advanced beginners looking for a fun challenge may also enjoy working on it.

It’s quite a small piece for a garment, using relatively small amounts of yarn, so isn’t too time consuming!

The pattern is written in English using standard US crochet terminology.

Construction

The pattern is worked from top-down from the shoulders with minimal seaming. You start with the back and the fronts are worked into the back of the foundation chain.

The sleeves are worked at the same time as the shoulder section creating a dolman style shape. You can learn more about general sweater construction styles here.

You can learn more about how crochet cardigans are constructed in this post.

Measurements and finished size

The pattern is designed to be a relaxed fit with around 15cm of positive ease.It is cropped in length with short sleeves.

It is written in 9 sizes to fit bust 76cm-158cm.

The cross back chest measurement (half bust) is ranges from 45-90cm depending on size chosen.

The sizing and measurements are based on the craft yarn council womens standard sizes. You can learn more about standard sizing here.

The pattern includes detailed measurements to help you in selecting a suitable size, as well as schematic listing dimensions.

Materials

Crochet Hook

You will need a 4.5mm crochet hook, or size needed to obtain gauge. and a 4mm crochet or smaller hook for the trim round the front opening. In both cases, I used my clover amour hook.

Note that, for the body, I used a hook larger than that recommended for the yarn weight. This was intentional to create additional drape.

Yarn Requirements

You will need approximately 630(670, 760, 810, 890, 1040, 1080, 1090, 1160) metres of  4 ply / fingering weight yarn.

This is equivalent to approximately 160(170, 190, 200, 220, 255, 270, 270, 290)g yarn

The item pictured used Orchidean Luxury Yarns Mulberino 4 ply. 50% Mulberry Silk, 50% super wash merino, 100g = 400m/440yds

For the size small I used less than one 100g hank of each colour. The shades used were as follows:

• Yarn A: Raspberry Beret
• Yarn B: Moonage Daydream

 Details on how the proportions of the two colours are split is given in pattern as it varies with size chosen. In the smaller sizes, you will need less of Yarn B (the silver speckled colour here), but the proportion shifts with ascending sizes. With the larger sizes you will need more or the second colour than the first.

Yarn Substitution Options

You can use a variety of other yarns of a similar weight which match gauge for this pattern. The design will work in a range of fibres. If you prefer to use plant fibres, a bamboo blend in the yarn will help create similar movement.

Different fibres and yarns will produce a different finished result.

You may find this post useful when choosing yarn.

Other materials and Notions

• Yarn needle, scissors and a tape measure
• 4 stitch markers
• This project will benefit from blocking so I recommend a Blocking board and pins. 

Learn more about blocking here.

You can purchase the PDF pattern for the Mellow Waves cardigan from Ravelry, Etsy or Lovecrafts.

I hope you enjoy making and wearing this summer staple garment.

Happy Hooking!

Dx

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To get your free PDF pattern, click on the image above which will take you to the mystery pattern listing. Use the code given (only valid on the date given in UK time) in the image to download the free PDF pattern. For more details on the event, visit the Crochet Calling homepage.