Classic Crewneck Cardigan In New Colors + Sizes
Alone with a book or in a crowd on the subway, topping off some cut-off jeans or tidy with a twill pencil skirt, our Classic Crewneck Cardigan is for anytime, anyhow!
Its timelessness is all in the details. Knit in the round from the bottom up, a pretty jewel neckline and smart set-in sleeves lend a flattering fit. For edges, choose tidy 1×1 ribbing or more casual rolled hems. A folded placket for the button band makes a neat finish.
A Classic Crewneck Cardigan would not be so classic in a yarn that doesn’t stand the test of time. We chose two that do. One option is is our gorgeous Season Alpaca, knit up here in True Turquoise. One hundred percent super baby alpaca, it is incredibly soft and cozy with a lovely drape and a lasting beauty.
Choice number two our super lovely Cotton Pure, shown above in the color Warm Rock. A great choice for spring through fall, it is 100% organically grown cotton with a non-mercerized matte finish. Either way, our Classic Crewneck Cardigan Pattern is now freshly restyled with a shorter overall length and lots more sizes, more classic than ever for more bodies than ever!
Yarn lovers, if you adore the yarn used in this project, you’ll love exploring all of our other yarn collections! Discover over 45 thoughtfully designed yarns in nearly every natural fiber and in every spectacular color you can imagine. Only available here at Purl Soho’s online yarn store, where every skein is created with care and your creativity in mind!
Originally designed for Purl Soho by Adam Aronowitz.
Share your progress + connect with the community by tagging your pics with #PurlSoho, #PurlSohoBusyHands, #PurlSohoClassicCrewneckCardigan, #PurlSohoSeasonAlpaca, and #PurlSohoCottonPure. We can’t wait to see what you make!
Materials
- 7 (7, 8, 8) (9, 9, 10, 10) (11, 11, 12, 12) skeins of Purl Soho’s Season Alpaca, 100% super baby alpaca yarn. Each skein of this sport weight yarn is approximately 218 yards/100 grams; approximately 1395 (1460, 1590, 1640) (1780, 1845, 1980, 2060) (2225, 2370, 2445, 2510) yards required. We used the color True Turquoise.
Or…
- 5 (5, 5, 6) (6, 6, 7, 7) (7, 8, 8, 8) skeins of Purl Soho’s Cotton Pure, 100% organically grown cotton. Each skein is approximately 279 yards/100 grams; approximately 1210 (1260, 1375, 1415) (1535, 1595, 1705, 1780) (1920, 2045, 2110, 2180) yards required. We used the color Warm Rock.
You’ll also need…
- US 3 (3.25 mm), 24-inch circular needles
- US 5 (3.75 mm), 32-inch circular needles
- US 5, 16-inch circular needles
- A set of US 3 double pointed needles
- A set of US 5 double pointed needles
- Stitch markers
- Stitch holders or scrap yarn
- 8 (8, 8, 8) (8, 9, 9, 9) (9, 9, 9, 9) ½-inch buttons. We used Purl Soho’s Mussel Shell Buttons.
- A Classic Crewneck Cardigan Pattern
NOTE: Looking to knit your sleeves in double-time? Swap the double pointed needles for 32-inch or longer circular needles, and check out our Magic Loop: Two At A Time Tutorial!
Gauge
24 stitches and 36 rows = 4 inches in stockinette stitch, using larger needles
Sizes
NOTE For help picking a size, please check out our Understanding Ease + Selecting Size Tutorial!
34¾ (36¾, 38¾, 40¾) (42¾, 44¾, 46¾, 48¾) (52¾, 56¾, 60¾, 64¾)
To fit actual chest circumference 31–32 (33– 34, 35–36, 37–38) (39–40, 41–42, 43–44, 45–46) (49–50, 53–54, 57–58, 61–62), with approximately 3–4 inches of ease
- Finished Chest Circumference (buttoned): 34¾ (36¾, 38¾, 40¾) (42¾, 44¾, 46¾, 48¾) (52¾, 56¾, 60¾, 64¾) inches
- Finished Length From Shoulder To Bottom Edge: 21 (21, 22, 22) (23¼, 23¼, 24¼, 24½) (24½, 24¾, 24¾, 24¾) inches
- Finished Length From Underarm To Bottom Edge: 13¼ (13, 13¾, 13½) (14¼, 14, 14¾, 14¾) (14¼, 14¼, 13¾, 13½) inches
- Finished Length From Underarm To Cuff: 17½ (17½, 18, 18) (18, 18½, 18½, 18½) (19, 19, 19, 19) inches
Sample: The sweaters pictured here are size 38¾, worn with 4 inches of ease.
Pattern
The Classic Crewneck Cardigan Pattern is available for purchase as a PDF download only.
LEARN ABOUT SEASON ALPACA + ALL OUR BEAUTIFUL YARNS
Season Alpaca always brings deep beauty to your hand-knits. Made of 100% super baby alpaca, the most special grade of Peruvian alpaca there is, this sport-weight yarn is incredibly soft, and with its long fibers and many fine plies, it also creates smooth stockinette and lovely stitch definition. Prepare to knit with your new favorite alpaca yarn!
More Free Knitting Patterns
- Be sure to explore our collection of (mostly free!) Season Alpaca knitting patterns and cast on!
More Sport-Weight Yarns
- Shop our entire collection of sport-weight yarns
- If you want to use a different yarn, be sure to take the time to get the correct gauge. Need help? Check our All About Gauge Tutorial!
More Yarns With Similar Fibers
- Shop alpaca yarn
Looking for more inspiration? Explore all of our free knitting patterns and knitting tutorials, buy one of our many knitting kits and yarn bundles, and shop for beautiful yarn. We have over 35 gorgeous natural fiber yarns in 100’s of magnificent colors, designed to bring integrity, beauty, and joy to your next knitting project and only available at Purl Soho!
I am not understanding how to attach the sleeves to the body of the sweater. I get that the needles of the body and a sleeve are held side by side and the stitches are knitted together. I have 10 stitches on hold on the body for each under arm not 62. Are the sleeve stitches held in front of the body? Shaping the yoke speaks of markers but I don’t have any markers in the body of the sweater. What am I missing here? Please help! Thank you.
Hi Laura,
Thanks for reaching out! I recommend checking out our wonderful tutorial Joining Sleeves to Body, it will walk you through the whole process so that you can see how it should look step by step! If you are still having issues please feel free to email us directly at [email protected], we can assist you further from there!
I hope this helps, happy knitting!
Gianna
Regarding “shape yoke” section – the join body & sleeves section instructions are to place 2 markers, then the shape yoke section says there are 4 markers. Please advise where the other 2 markers are to be placed. Thank you, Mary H
Hi Mary,
Thanks for reaching out. It seems like you may be working from an older version of this pattern! There was indeed an error in the amount of stitch markers, as you point out, and we’ve since updated the pattern. To access the latest version, you can re-download the pattern from your account, or you can view the corrected line on our Errata page. For reference, I’ll also include the correction here!
The first line of the JOIN BODY + SLEEVES section on page 4 should read:
Joining Row (right side): Return to Body with right side facing you and using Body’s working yarn at beginning of Right Front stitches, slip 1 purlwise wyif, k5, slip 1, [knit to next set of on-hold Underarm stitches; holding Body’s Underarm stitches parallel to Sleeve’s Underarm stitches, pm on right-hand needle, k62 (64, 66, 66)…
Hope this clears things up!
All the best,
Lili
Thank you!! Will definitely get latest version of pattern.
I did try to download pattern again and the one that downloads still shows errors. It has been suggested that the corrected pattern will be v2x. I do not see where that reference is and mine actually shows v6x and the corrections are not in the newly downloaded pattern.
I really want to make the sweater, however I have no confidence that the pattern is correct. Can you please direct me to where I would get a pattern that has all the corrections?
Hi Mary,
That is certainly odd that you’re only getting v6x, since the latest version should be v7x! I’ll send you v7x by email, so look out for that soon.
All the best,
Lili
Thank you so much, Lili!!
I am confused about knitting the sleeves. After knitting the first sleeve, am I supposed to put it on a holder? or have an extra set of double pointed needles? It doesn’t say in the pattern anything about saving the just knit sleeve before knitting the second. Any help is appreciated, thanks!
Hi Joye,
Thanks for writing in. This cardigan is knit from the bottom up, which means that you’ll knit each sleeve individually and then join both sleeves to the body in order to work the yoke. It’s up to you whether to put the sleeve stitches on scrap yarn, a stitch holder, or an extra set of DPNs! I always prefer putting mine on scrap yarn, personally. I hope this helps clarify things!
All the best,
Lili
I didn’t get very far. Looking at the cast-on instructions for the ribbed edge. It reads cast on to smaller circular needles. Does the mean smaller as in the #3 24 inch or the #5 16 inch?
Hi Susan,
Thanks for reaching out. You’ll need to cast on with the size US 3 needles! As a rule of thumb, the words “smaller” and “larger” are generally used to indicate needle size, whereas the words “shorter” and “longer” are used to indicate their length.
I hope this bit of background information is helpful!
All the best,
Lili
Thanks Lili. I’ll remember that!
Hi!
I just finished this sweater. I have been knitting for over 60 years and I must say that I felt that this pattern for a cardigan was unnecessarily complicated. I understand that there were very few seams, which is good, but the shaping of the neck, back sleeves and fronts seemed like pure drudgery. I’m sorry, but I do like the older decreased patterns, so many short rows and 10 pages of directions made it way less fun. I have made several cardigans and never have seen a pattern like this. I am happy with the end result but felt it took way too long to make and could have been way simpler. Sorry to be negative, but I needed to write my critique of this. I love your shop, yarns and videos. I could not have knitted this without the videos!! Thanks for listening!
Hi Joye,
We’re so sorry to hear you had such a disappointing experience with this pattern! There are so many ways to get the same results in knitting and while designing we often have to consider how best to create something that’s both easy to read and efficient while working. Clearly we missed the mark here, which is why it’s so important to know from people like you who have gone through this pattern first hand to see how we can do better in the future. As unfortunate as it is to hear, we really appreciate your feedback and will pass it along to the design team.
Thanks again for sharing your thoughts and we hope the next pattern you try is much more enjoyable throughout the entire process!
All the best,
Zha Zha
Thank you for your comment. I am a self taught knitter, have been knitting for almost 5 years and a solid intermediate one. I do not like frustration in patterns, so after reading your comment it is a pass for me.
Hi Wendy,
Thank you for writing in. While we understand that this pattern might not spark your interest, we are happy to provide help and pattern support if you do change your mind and come across a sticking point in your project! You can always reach us via email at [email protected], and we also offer 1-on-1 Zoom chats for project help, too. Above all, we want to make sure you are in a happy knitting place, and we are happy to help do what we can to get you there!
All the best,
Margaret
I got back to knitting within the past 5 years, and have knitted a few sweaters and cardigans during the pandemic so I am probably now at a reasonable intermediary level. I made this cardigan in Coton pure (made the rolled edge version) and the cut is exquisite with lots of very elegant details. I did not think the pattern was difficult, and I am now knitting it in Brume with the ribbed edge (although used the larger needles also for the ribbing so the cut would be straighter at the bottom). I love the look so far with this different yarn, and even though the mohair in Brume requires a bit more attention when knitting than coton, I still find the pattern easy to follow.
Hi! Making the roll neck version in Cotton Pure and I am at Neckline: Both Versions. If I bind off 6 at beginning of row, I will be short 6 stitches on that side rather than having equal numbers on both front pieces. Folding and 3 needle bind off reduces right front by 6 to make both sides equal. Why would I bind off those 6 at beginning of row and expect them to be equal? I am just so confused. Am I missing something?
Appreciate the help!
Hi Julie,
This is a great question, and I’d be glad to clarify this section of the pattern! I believe that what’s tripping you up are the counts after the 3-Needle Bind Off; when you work that bind-off, you’ll be reducing the stitch count on the Right Front by 12 stitches total (because you’ll fold the last 6 stitches against the previously worked 6 stitches and then bind them off). So, if you were knitting the smallest size, your stitch count at the end of the previous section should be 44 stitches for the Right Front and 38 stitches for the Left Front. Moving into the Neckline: Both Versions BIND OFF PLACKET Bind Off Row (wrong side), you’ll start by binding off the first 6 stitches (which will reduce the Left Front stitch count from 38 to 32), then work across the back purling until you reach the last 6 stitches (these are the last 6 stitches of the Right Front). Now, you’ll turn your work so that the right side is facing you and fold the button placket so that the final 6 stitches are held parallel to the previously worked 6 stitches, with their wrong-sides facing one another. Now, you’ll work the 3-Needle Bind Off and join the 6 stitches from the back needle to the 6 stitches of the front needle, ultimately reducing the stitch count by 12 stitches (which will take you from 44 stitches to 32 stitches on the Right Front). I hope this helps clear things up, but feel free to reach out to us at [email protected] if you need additional assistance!
Happy Knitting!
Kelsey
I’m confused about the two yarn overs in the Button Hole Row at the top of page two. I’m assuming the yarn over is to make the buttonhole but why would you need to knit two of them?
Thanks ahead for the clarification.
Hi Susan,
Thanks for reaching out! Later in the construction of the Classic Crewneck Cardigan, you will be folding over the placket, so these two yarn-over holes will line up and be one buttonhole once the sweater is finished.
I hope this helps! Please let us know if you have any questions.
All the best,
Carly
Thanks for the clarification Carly. I completely understand.
I just joined the body and sleeves and started the yoke. The first right side row in the (Shape yoke section, Row 1) starts by stating “Work to 3 stitches before next marker”. Shouldn’t it start with “ Slip 1 purlwise with yarn in front (wyif), k5, slip 1” to continue with the placket extension?
Thank you for clarifying
Caroline
Hi Caroline,
That’s a great question! If you take a look at the upper-left-hand corner of that page, you’ll see a note that says “Remember to continue to work slip stitch edge as established and the Buttonhole Row when necessary!” This means that you will continue to work those slipped stitches you mentioned throughout this section. Putting this information into a note, rather than writing it out in each line just helps streamline the pattern writing!
I hope this helps clarify things!
All the best,
Lili
Hi Lili,
Thank you for your prompt reply. I had assumed I needed to continue with the placket, although it is nice to get the explanation so the pattern makes sense! It is a fun knit, and I like the finishing touch of the placket and the way the sleeves connect to the body.
Thank you!
Caroline
You’re very welcome, Caroline! Glad I could confirm your thoughts!
All the best,
Lili
Do you have a link for creating the extension packet? This is my first cardigan and I want to make sure I do it correctly and I just can’t picture it. I have tried to google videos and can’t find one for a cardigan front. Thank you~Colleen
Hi Colleen,
Thanks for reaching out! While we do not have a tutorial on placket extensions in particular, we do have a tutorial for the cable cast-on, which is what you will use to extend the edge by 6 stitches. You can find that right here. Once you add these 6 stitches to the row, you will treat them as normal stitches in the row (the row will just be 6 stitches longer)!
All the best,
Lili
Hi. How do you finish the buttonholes? Do you stitch the two layers together ou not…
Thanks for your answer.
Hi Armande,
Thanks for reaching out. Yes, you will sew the edge of the placket to the body at the very end of the pattern! You do not need to finish the edges of the buttonholes themselves though. Hope this helps!
All the best,
Lili
wondering if anyone find the pattern is much bigger? I used the smallest size and started with casting on 214 stitches. After about 16 rows in, i took out the needle to confirm the size… it’s about 42” ( suppose to be around 34”). I tried to switch to US 4 instead of US… but it didn’t change much… not sure where I did wrong….
Hi Haidi,
I’m sorry to hear that your sweater is turning out larger than you expected! It sounds like your gauge is too large, which is causing the measurements to be large as well. I would recommend swatching with smaller needles (size 3 would be the next size to try) and measuring your gauge again. You’ll want to make sure it matches the pattern gauge, which is 24 stitches and 36 rows = 4 inches in stockinette stitch.
If this is daunting, I’d recommend checking out a tutorial called All About Gauge, which covers some incredibly helpful information. I even learned some interesting, new tidbits myself while looking over it, and you may, too!
All the best,
Lili
Hi! Loving the pattern so far but noticed a few mistakes…
On page 5 under the SHAPE YOKE section, I noticed the size range seems to be inconsistent. Some paragraphs show 11 sizes and others show 12 (which is correct).
Ex: “Repeat Rows 3 and 4 four (5, 6, 6) (8, 8, 9, 9) (10, 11, 12, 12) more times, then repeat….etc” … it appears one size is missing which throws off the counts. This is an issue in several places in the patterns as well. Luckily I was able to figure it out, but thought I’d point it out.
I bought the pattern through Ravelry so maybe it isn’t the most recent version??
Hi Ruth,
Thanks for writing in! The repeat count for the first size is “four.” It’s spelled out in this case in order to distinguish it from the 4 in “Rows 3 and 4.” Otherwise it might be interpreted as “Rows 3 and 44”!
I hope this helps clarify things, but please let me know if you have any other questions.
All the best,
Lili
After joining sleeves should I have 2 markers or 4markers, one at the beginning & end of the sleeve ? If so am I decreasing k3tog at the first marker , then ssk after the second sleeve marker? Repeating at the next set sleeve markers. Thank you, Tere
Hi Tere,
Could you let me know exactly which section of the pattern you are at? This way I can take a deeper look and provide you with a correct answer. You can find the section names in bold at the top of each.
All the best,
Gavriella
Thank you Gavriella for the quick response. I figured out my problem. Always read your [ ]’s 😆 Tere
I am so happy to hear you have got it figured out. Please don’t hesitate to let us know if you have any other questions along the way!
Is this or can this be knit in the round then steeked to add the button band?
Hi Debbie,
Thanks for writing in! This pattern is knit flat, so you would not need to steek it to create the opening. Modifying this pattern to be knit in the round with a steek would take a lot of work, so I would not recommend attempting it. Instead, you can take a pattern that’s already designed in the round and then steek it at the end!
All the best,
Lili