The Elizabeth Cardigan CAL

Who is ready for part TWO of the Elizabeth Cardigan CAL!? I know many of you have been ready, and I won’t make you wait any longer! Grab your hooks and let’s get to work!

The Elizabeth Cardigan CAL – Part 2

There are FOUR parts to this cardigan CAL. In part ONE we created the FIRST front of the cardigan, working right to left. In part TWO we are creating the first armhole and what will be the BACK of the cardigan. Before moving on make sure that you have read (the updated) part one. (If you did the original way and you are happy with the dimensions and feel of the fabric, there is no need to start over.)

At the end of part one you have a rectangle either 30″, 33″, 36″, or 39″ tall (depending on your height and size needed) and as wide as your body measurement. If you’re off by an inch or so, that’s okay!

Note that I did add an additional 2″ to the original shoulder-to-waist chart. I’ve made four of these Elizabeth Cardigans now and all of them look better just a tad longer. I’m sensing a trend here so add 2″ if needed before moving on.

Now that we are square on where we stand, let’s get started on part 2!

Collar:

To make your armhole, you must first think of whether you are making a size up to 1XL or larger than 2XL. The difference here is that the added collar height in the larger sizes offers more coverage in the front and accounts for the breadth of the shoulders. To make this as easy as possible, I’ve separated the first bit of the armhole instructions into two parts: up to 1XL and 2XL and larger. Right now we are creating the collar:

Up to 1XL:

Ch-1, turn. Mb in as many Mbs as necessary to reach 7″.

2XL and larger:

Ch-1, turn, Mb in as many Mbs as necessary to reach 10″.

After you have created your collar height in inches, you will create your armhole space in inches. See the VIDEO explanation at the bottom of this post.

Find which size you normally wear in this chart, and measure your armhole out like so. If you want a looser sleeve, add half an inch or so – which is actually an entire inch in upper arm circumference.

Armhole:

How many Mini Beans will you skip? For each Mini Bean skipped, you’ll need to chain TWO to accommodate. Be careful not to count the ch-1 from the last Mini Bean of the collar! For example, if I needed to skip 13 Mini Beans to create an 8″ armhole, I would chain 26.

Now that you’ve made your collar and the armhole chains, you’ll do a Mini Bean in the following Mini Bean, then Mb in each Mb to end of row. (For example, if you skipped 13 Mini Beans, go into the 14th.)

Next row: Ch-1, turn, Mb in each Mb to the armhole, skip first ch, Mb in next. Skip next ch, Mb in next. Repeat to end of chain, skip last chain, Mb in each Mb to end of row.

Armhole MADE! Woot! Now we need to do the back.

Using a soft measuring tape, measure from the ball/top of one shoulder to the other like so.

Note that we are using only a percentage of this number. We do this because when we finish the cardigan, the weight of the sleeves will really open up the shoulders – and pull the collar down. While this cardigan is intended to be a slouchy cardigan, it is important to note that if you crochet too many rows here, your cardigan may be too slouchy. If you aren’t planning to add the sleeves, that’s okay too! It will look like this when you’re finished.

To complete the rest of part two, you’ll continue in rows until “back width” (in inches) is reached:

Each Row: Ch-1, turn, Mb in each Mb to end until measurement.

DO NOT FASTEN OFF

That is IT for part two! Questions? Feel free to ask!

Part two is the quickest, so if we find that everyone is sitting around just waiting on part three, we may push that up to an earlier release date. Let me know if that’s something you would like to have happen!

Part Release Dates:

Part 1 – here
Part 2 – here
Parts 3 & 4 – here

Watch for explanations and feel free to ask questions in the weekly LIVE videos on the Heart Hook Home Facebook page.

How to Crochet The Mini Bean Stitch (Elizabeth Stitch)
The Elizabeth Cardigan – Crochet Along (CAL) – Free Crochet Pattern
The Elizabeth Cardigan CAL – Part 1

Comments

Dianna Wright says
September 5, 2018 at 11:39 pm

Ashlea on part 2 what if your shoulders are wider then the 18.5, doo I minis 5 or something else? Thank you love you videos they heelp so much.

- Heart Hook Home says
  September 8, 2018 at 3:00 pm
  
  Hi Dianna! You will take your back width measurement and multiply that by .75; that number will be the measurement you crochet until. So if your back width is 20" for example, you would do 20 x .75 = 15, you would crochet your back panel to 15". Hope that helps!
  
Janet says
March 27, 2018 at 1:40 pm

I'm still not sure I"m doing this right. I guess I"m dense but just to clarify - the rows we are crocheting for part one are the LENGTH or the WIDTH of the front panel? 19" wide seems kind of wide to me for just one panel - and where do the points for the front as shown in the picture come in?

- Janet says
  March 27, 2018 at 1:41 pm
  
  P.S. Could you post a picture of what the completed front panel should look like please.
  
  - Heart Hook Home says
    March 28, 2018 at 9:51 am
    
    There is a photo of a completed panel at the end of my post for part 1 of the CAL http://hearthookhome.com/the-elizabeth-cardigan-cal-part-1/
    
- Heart Hook Home says
  March 28, 2018 at 9:47 am
  
  Hi Janet! Since this piece is worked vertically, the rows completed will be the width of your panels...the points of those panels will naturally drape down once the main body of this cardigen is finished. Hope that helps!
  
Julie says
March 24, 2018 at 7:02 pm

I will be done with part 2 tonight! Can’t wait for part 3!! ❤️

Emiley says
March 23, 2018 at 9:42 pm

If you are making a vest version, would you still only crochet the percentage you worked out for the back width? Just curious since it won’t have the sleeves to pull the collar down.

- Heart Hook Home says
  March 26, 2018 at 10:24 am
  
  Hi Emiley! The back width would be made the same for the vest version.
  
Susie J in Texas says
March 23, 2018 at 8:27 am

Hi Ashlea! Your Elizabeth Cardigan CAL is so Awesome! Thank You for sharing your creativity with another Superb crochet pattern! Most Grateful to You for providing your Inspiration and keeping us Happily Crocheting! :-)

Julie Titus says
March 22, 2018 at 9:13 pm

So do yo make the collar, across the 19 “ or the 30”?

- Heart Hook Home says
  March 23, 2018 at 8:47 am
  
  You will continue your rows along the longer (30") side.
  
Donia says
March 22, 2018 at 9:10 pm

Odd question but... when you crochet into the chain for the arm hole it better to crochet into the back bump of chain or the top?

- Heart Hook Home says
  March 23, 2018 at 8:45 am
  
  It doesn't really matter as we will be crocheting into the opposite side of the chain when we make the sleeves.
  
sarah says
March 22, 2018 at 8:26 pm

part 2 went quickly...i will be watching for part 3. thank you ashlea for such a fun CAL...it's my first one!

Melissa says
March 22, 2018 at 8:05 pm

When we measure the back, are we going from the chain for the armhole and meassuring from there? Sorry for asking :/ I was just a little confused. Thank you for everything you do!

- Heart Hook Home says
  March 23, 2018 at 8:43 am
  
  Yes, if you measure the rows made from the armhole, that will be your back width.
  
Mary says
March 22, 2018 at 7:58 am

Totally confused by part 2, do i just crochet to 7 inches, than chain 1 and turn, and than do arm holes or what am i missibg??

- Heart Hook Home says
  March 22, 2018 at 12:25 pm
  
  Ok, let me give an example and see if that helps. So to start, I am going to crochet 7" in for my collar. Then I will take my armhole depth, which is 7.5", and measure from where I stopped crocheting the collar down the row, and count how many mini beans are in that 7.5". In my case that is 12 mini beans, so I will chain 24 (12 mb times 2 * do not count the chain to close your last mini bean*), skip 12 mini beans, and put a mini bean in the NEXT mini bean. Then continue the row in mini beans. I hope this helps and makes more sense!

The Elizabeth Cardigan CAL – Part 2