This crochet cardigan will make you look like you have butterfly wings! It’s simple construction is gathered in the back, which gives it the affect of butterfly wings. This free crochet pattern is made using the crystal stitch, which is similar to the granny square stitch. It’s a super easy crochet sweater pattern for beginners, that is a great pattern if it’s your first crochet garment.
Inspiration:
My main inspiration for this design was to create something simple and oversized that would be easy for any level of crocheter to make. I’ve been wanting a flowing cardigan with big sleeves for a long time, but could never find one that was in the colors I wanted or that looked good on me. When you can’t find it in the store, it’s time to make it yourself! As I crocheted the cardigan and sewed it together, my husband looked at it and said it looked like butterfly wings. I thought he was such a genius, and new right away that the Butterfly Cardigan was the perfect name for this crochet cardigan!
Love this pattern? Save it to your favorite Pinterest Board! (Save it from mine here!)
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Construction
This cardigan pattern is one of the simplest types of construction that you can have for a garment. It’s just two long rectangles sewn together partly, which creates a cardigan that you can wear. The panels each are made using the same crochet stitch pattern, the crystal stitch. Doing the same thing the whole time makes it a wonderful project to work on when you need a nice relaxing project with the same thing done the whole time. I love turning on the tv and working on this project when I don’t want anything too complicated. Once you’re done crocheting both of the panels, you then fold them in half, sew halfway up the back, and sew on the sides to make it wearable.
The Yarn
This project was one of the first designs I created using some Mary Maxim yarn that they sent to me. When I saw the Mary Maxim Alpaca Tweed yarn, I fell in love with the color and wanted to design with it right away! The yarn is a worsted weight alpaca and acrylic blend that creates a soft yarn that has a nice drape to it for garments. It comes in such beautiful colors too! If you don’t have access to this yarn, you can use a cotton worsted weight yarn for summer, or an acrylic or wool worsted weight for a warmer garment in the cold months. Lion Brand 24/7 cotton is my favorite cotton blend yarn right now, and Red Heart Super Saver is an affordable acrylic yarn to use. Some of my testers made it using Lion Brand Comfy Cotton yarn and it was beautiful!
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(The rest of the post may be sponsored or contain affiliate links. See my full affiliate disclosure here.)
Supplies:
- Yarn Weight 4 (Worsted) yarn
- Main Color:
- XS-M 524 yards
- L-2X 600 yards
- 3X-5X 650 yards
- Secondary Color:
- XS-M 524 yards
- L-2X 600 yards
- 3X-5X 650 yards
- Main Color:
- J/10 6 mm hook
- Yarn needle
- scissors
Stitches Used:
- St = Stitch (s)
- R = Row
- Ch = chain
- dc = double crochet, in this pattern they’re done in clusters that I call the crystal stitch (tutorial found here.)
- ( ) = stitch amounts for different size
- ** = do all that’s between two *
- [ ] = stitch count at end of round for each size
Gauge:
- 4”x 4” square (using double crochet crystal stitches, which the tutorial for them can be found here) = 4 crystal sts x 7 rows
Size XS-5X Bust Measurements:
- XS-M= 28-36″
- L-2X = 40″-48″
- 3X-5X = 50-60″
Pattern is made with 4″+ of positive ease that is added to each of these measurements
Pattern Notes:
- I recommend reading through the entire pattern before starting to make sure that you fully understand the pattern.
- Ch 2 at beginning of rows counts as a stitch.
- Pattern uses U.S. Stitch terminology
- Pattern is worked in two pieces that are then sewn together
- If you’d like to make your cardigan longer, just add more chains to begin in multiples of 3.
- The pattern is a loose fitting cardigan that comes in 3 sizes that each fit 3 different standard sizes.
-Sizes are listed in pattern from XS-5X with reference to the stitch amounts.
xs(s, m, l, xl,2x, 3x, 4x, 5x)
For example “dc 10 (10, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 17)” the first 10 being the XS, the the first number in parentheses being S and so forth.
- To learn how to do the crystal stitch pattern, you can view my photo and video tutorial here.
Crochet Cardigan Video Tutorial:
Panels (Make 2):
(Starting in Main Color)
R 1: Ch 98 (107, 122), starting in 3rd ch from hook, dc 96 (105, 120)
(If you’d like to make your kimono longer, just add more chains to begin in multiples of 3.)
R 2: Ch 2 (counts as a stitch throughout the pattern), turn, starting in first dc, dc 1, *ch 1, sk next 2 sts, dc 4 in next st,* repeat 31 (34, 40) more times, ch 1, sk next 2 sts, dc 2 in last dc from previous row [32, 35, 41 crystal stitches]
R 3-12 (3-15, 3-18): Ch 2, turn, dc 1 in first dc, ch 1, *sk to first ch 1 space, dc 4 in chain 1 space, ch 1* repeat 31 (34, 40) more times, last two dc of row are not worked on [32, 35, 41 crystal stitches]
If using two colors, switch to secondary color after row 12 (15, 18).
R 13-24 (16-27, 19-30): Ch 2, turn, dc 1 in first dc, ch 1, *sk to first ch 1 space, dc 4 in chain 1 space, ch 1* repeat 31 (34, 40) more times, last two dc of row are not worked on [32, 35, 41 crystal stitches]
Fasten off and leave a long tail for sewing.
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Assembly
1. Take two panels and line the first color edges together, which will be the inner color. Then seam them together to halfway up the panels.
2. This is what they’ll look like sewn together.
3. Next, you’ll fold the sewn panels in half, in order to create the sleeves.
4. To sew the sleeves, you’ll just be seaming up the length of about 7 (15, 18) crystal stitches. This will secure the sleeve together, while still keeping the sleeves nice and flowing. Repeat this same step on the other sleeve, fasten off, and weave in all of the ends.
Now you’re all done!
I hope you love your new Butterfly Cardigan! It’s such a fun piece to wear! If you share a photo of your cardigan on social media, be sure to tag me @eclairemakery and use the hashtag #eclairemakery, so I can share your photo on my account!
Happy stitching,
~Claire
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