I wanted to knit something to keep me toasty in the office whenever I wear something sleeveless. I like the look of the ribbed collar on the Patons Knit Envelope cardigan, so I thought I’ll modify a collared shawl from it. It would look like a cardigan from the front except I do not have to do any seaming up.
The Knit Envelope cardigan is designed for Patons as a free knitting pattern. You can download the free PDF pattern at Lovecrafts.com.
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Modifications for a collared shawl
The cardigan is made up of 2 pieces. The front piece that incorporates the collar and the back piece. Both are knitted separately and then sewn together. The front piece is knitted from side to side, while the back piece is knitted from bottom up. I am going to knit only the front piece.
I will also be making changes to the dimensions. I will cast on for the large size, that is 87 stitches but keep the length to the small size. I wanted my collared shawl to be wider but not as long as I am not that tall.
I wanted to make sure the collar edge is neat. So, I will be knitting a selvedge edge. This is achieved by slipping the first stitch of every row.
Materials & Equipment
I used 2 balls of Value Ball Majesta yarn I bought at Spotlight Singapore. The yarn is made up of 55% nylon and 45% acrylic. The stated knitting tension is 20 stitches x 18 rows for a 10 cm square. They are 150g each and 330m per ball. I like the soft squishy feel. It is also quite durable and did not pile even after repeated knitting and frogging.
I used a 5mm circular knitting needle with a cable long enough to accommodate 106 stitches. Using straight knitting needles are perfectly fine too. This gives me a gauge of 5 stitch x 6 rows = 1 inch in Irish moss stitch.
2 stitch markers to mark out the beginning and ending of the increases and decreases for the 1×1 ribbed collar.
Knit the 1×1 ribbing
Cast on 87 stitches. I used the long tail cast on.
The pattern calls for 1×1 ribbing for 3 inches. With my gauge, this translates to 18 rows by repeating the 2 rows below:
Row 1: (RS) S1, [P1, K1], repeat the instructions in the bracket to the last stitch, K1.
Row 2: (WS) S1, [K1, P1], repeat the instructions in the bracket to the last stitch, P1.
Incorporate the Irish moss stitch
Irish moss stitch is a 4-row repeat of alternating knit and purl stitches on all rows. The first 2 rows are basically 1×1 ribbing. The next 2 rows are the alternate 1×1 ribbing. I hope this make sense. I like this Irish moss stitch. The texture appears and feel looser than a seed stitch. It is a reversible pattern, that is, both sides look the same.
The original pattern continues the 1×1 ribbing for the first 15 stitches, and then starts the Irish moss stitch after the stitch marker. This is for 2 inches. This translates to 12 rows based on my gauge.
To begin, knit the following 6 rows:
Row 1: (RS) S1, [P1, K1] 7 times, (15 stitches), place a stitch marker, [K1, P1], repeat the bracket to the end.
Row 2: (WS) S1, [P1, K1], repeat the bracket to the marker, shift the marker, [P1, K1] 7 times, P1.
Row 3: (RS) S1, [P1, K1], repeat to marker, shift marker, [P1, K1], repeat the bracket to the end.
Row 4: (WS) S1, [K1, P1], repeat to marker, shift marker, [P1, K1], repeat to the end.
Row 5: (RS) S1, [P1, K1], repeat to marker, shift marker, [K1, P1], repeat the bracket to the end.
Row 6: (WS) S1, [P1, K1], repeat to marker, shift marker, [P1, K1], repeat to the end.
For the next 6 rows, repeat Row 3 to 6, ending with a Row 4.
Knit the Collar Increases
Shape the collar by increasing stitches (M1) between the 1×1 ribbing and Irish moss stitch. The increase stitch is done by picking up horizontal loop between 2 stitches and knitting into the back of the loop. I use 2 stitch markers to keep track of the increases.
Row 1: (RS) Rib to marker, add second marker, M1, shift the first marker, knit the Irish moss stitch pattern to the end. Continue to slip the first stitch to maintain the selvedge edge.
Row 2 to 4: work according to pattern, taking the increased stitches into the ribbing.
Row 5: (RS) Rib to first marker, shift marker, rib to second marker, M1, shift marker, knit the Irish moss stitch pattern to the end.
Row 6 to 8: work according to pattern, taking the increase stitches into the ribbing.
Repeat Row 5 to Row 8 18 more times. You should end up with 20 stitches between the markers and 107 stitches in total.
The collar increases took about 80 rows.
Knit the Collar
The piece should now measure 18 inches. Continue in the pattern for another 84 rows or 14 inches. I place a third stitch marker to mark out the row I started so that I can count the 84 rows easily.
Knit the Collar Decreases
Shape the collar by decreasing stitches (D1) between the 1×1 ribbing and Irish moss stitch.
The decrease stitch is done by knitting 2 together when the last stitch before the marker is a knit stitch. If the last stitch is a purl stitch, do a slip knitwise, slip purlwise, and knit both stitches through back loop. The reason for not using K2tog throughout is because it creates a loose slanting stitch between the ribbed collar and the Irish moss stitch pattern on one side of the work which is very obvious to me. By using 2 different decrease techniques I maintain a consistent look on both sides.
Row 1: (RS) Rib to 2 stitches before second marker, D1, shift the marker, knit the Irish moss stitch pattern to the end. Continue to slip the first stitch to maintain the selvedge edge.
Row 2 to 4: work according to pattern maintaining the ribbing.
Repeat these 4 rows 19 more times or until 15 stitches of ribbing remains.
Continue in Irish Moss Stitch
Continue in the ribbing and Irish moss stitch for 12 rows or 2 inches.
Finish in 1×1 ribbing
Continue for 3 inches with the following 2 rows:
Row 1: (RS) S1, [P1, K1], repeat the instructions in the bracket to the last stitch, K1.
Row 2: (WS) S1, [K1, P1], repeat the instructions in the bracket to the last stitch, P1.
Cast off
Cast off. I used the stretchy cast off (No. 2) featured on my list of cast off techniques.
If you also made this, let me know.
Happy knitting!
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