Loch Ness Cardigan

Loch Ness Cardigan
Storm is rising, leaves float through the air, rare sunbeams are warming the earth - autumn is arriving and with it, the perfect wooly #crochet cardigan for you.

When I was a small child I very often drew a cute creature with very short legs and a big round head: a mixture between a dinosaur and a sea monster. Mostly I went for violet with pink dots but sometimes I coloured the creature in a bold teal. The creature was very jumpy and shy and lived in a secluded pond. Seldom it wandered into the city to buy guitar sheets. I have no idea how it played with its very big feet guitar. But I do not know everything.
So here we are! Ever wanted to look like sea monster? Your answer is yes? Then you should crochet this cardigan ….and probably take drugs or bash your head against a hard surface many times, but after this, you will look like a sea monster – believe me :-D

Construction
The jacket is made in five pieces: Two front parts, the back and two sleeves. Sadly, you must sew everything together (or blackmail someone into doing it for you). Shoulder and side seams are sewn together and the sleeves which are worked in rows, must also be closed by a seam.
All parts are crocheted from the bottom up. The cuffs of body and sleeves are worked sideways, by alternating rows of slip stitches and single crochet. And to proceed you will work lengthwise over the cuff. To achieve a good fit at the shoulders you will decrease continually over the whole height of the armhole. The buttonband is made after everything is finished.
Because of the bold colour and thick wool, I have chosen a very simple stitch pattern: half double crochet. If you like you can work the cuffs and buttonband in a contrasting colour to make it even bolder. But beware if you walk alongside a great lake, maybe a sea monster falls in love with you and swoops you away.

Fit
The jacket has only a little bit of positive ease: So, if it’s closed it pretends to be tailored, but actually it has no waist decreases or bust increases (but if you want to make some – feel free) This impression is furthered by the larger fronts compared to the back. The fronts have a slightly wider hemline and body.
Because the cardigan is worked in pieces it has very neat and good fitting shoulders without much bulk beneath the armpits. The sleeves are at full length and tapered. They end in cuffs, which are close fitting. The neckline is wide and rounded, but because of the twisted single crochet very sturdy. The jacket is cropped and ends above the hip, so it showcases a waisted skirt particularly well, which probably delights every sea monster. Since I start every design with my body dimensions in mind, the cardigan may be short for someone else (you can see the measures later in a chart), but it is easy to make it longer – just fit in the desired rows directly over the hem of back and front parts.

Material
The cardigan weights 600 g
6 skeins of Wolle Traub Kammgarn 100 g = 150 m in teal
5 Buttons 20 mm
Hook 6 mm
Scissors
Tapestry needle
Stitch markers
Tension
Hdc crocheted in rows with 6 mm hook
12 hdc and 9,5 rows = 10 x 10 cm
Please keep in mind, that I crochet very loose. Maybe you need to go up or down with your hook size to attain the same tension.

Size and numbers
Width
Back hem 52 cm / 20,5 inch
Front hem (with closed buttons) 57 cm/ 22,4 inch
One front with open buttons 30 cm / 11,8 inch
Shoulder (back) 35 cm / 13,8 inch
Neckline 23 cm / 9,1 inch
Sleeve (widest part) 17 cm / 6,7 inch
Sleeve cuff 9 cm / 3,5 inch

Heigth
Hem 5,5 cm / 2,7 inch
Armhole to hem 32 cm / 12,6 inch
Armhole 19cm / 7,5 inch
Total heigth 51 cm/ 20,1 inch
Sleeve (with cuff and shoulder) 55 cm / 21,7 inch
Sleeve cuff 5,5 cm / 2,7 inch

Skills used / Abbreviation
ch = Chain
sl st = Slip stitch
sc = Single crochet (UK double crochet)
hdc = Half double crochet (UK half treble crochet)
hdc2tog = decreasing, two half double crochet worked together (UK decreasing, two treble crochet worked together)
tw sc = twisted single crochet
Sewing or crocheting the cardigan parts together
 
One thing after another….

Back
Hem
Row 1: 9 ch
Rwo 2: 8 sc
Row 3: 8 sl st
Row 4: 1 ch, 8 sc
Row 5: 8 sl st
Rwo 6-86: repeat row 4 and 5
Cuff has 43 ridges

Body
Row 1: 1 ch, crochet 58 hdc evenly lengthwise over the 43 ridges of the cuff (58 hdc)
Row 2: 1 ch, hdc in every stitch across (58 hdc)
Row 3-25: repeat row 2

Armhole
Row 26: 6 sl st, 1 ch, 1 hdc, hdc2tog, xhdc, hdc2tog, 1 hdc, leave 6 st unworked (44 stitches, decreased 14 st)
Row 27: 1 ch, hdc in every stitch across (44 st)
Row 28: 1 ch, 1 hdc, hdc2tog, 36 hdc, hdc2tog, 1 hdc (42 st, decreased 2 st)
Row 29: 1 ch, hdc in every stitch across (42 st)
Row 30: 1 ch, 1 hdc, hdc2tog, 34 hdc, hdc2tog, 1 hdc (40 st, decreased 2 st)
Row 31: 1 ch, hdc in every stitch across (40 st)
Row 32: 1 ch, 1 hdc, hdc2tog, 32 hdc, hdc2tog, 1 hdc (38 st, decreased 2 st)
Row 33: 1 ch, hdc in every stitch across (38 st)
Row 34: 1 ch, 1 hdc, hdc2tog, 30 hdc, hdc2tog, 1 hdc (36 st, decreased 2 st)
Row 35: 1 ch, hdc in every stitch across (36 st)
Row 36-38: 1 ch, hdc in every stitch across (36 st)

Left shoulder
Row 39: 10sl st, 1 ch, 10 hdc
Row 40: 1 ch, 10 hdc
Row 41: 5 sl st, 5 hdc
Row 42: 1 ch, 5 hdc

Right Shoulder
Row 39: 1 ch, 10 hdc
Row 40: 1 ch, 10 hdc
Row 41: 1 ch, 5 hdc
Row 42: 1 ch, 5 hdc

Front (make two)
Cuff
Row 1: 9 ch
Rwo 2: 8 sc
Row 3: 8 sl st
Row 4: 1 ch, 8 sc
Row 5: 8 sl st
Rwo 6-48s: repeat row 4 and 5
Cuff has 24 ridges

Body
Row 1: 1 ch, crochet 30 hdc evenly lengthwise over the 24 ridges of the cuff (30 st)
Row 2: 1 ch, hdc in each stitch across (30 st)
Row 3-25: repeat row 2

Armhole
Row 26: (wrong side) 1 ch, hdc, hdc2tog, 21 hdc (leave 6 hdc unworked)
Row 27: 1 ch, hdc in each stitch across (23 st)
Row 28: 1 ch, 20 hdc, hdc2tog, 1 hdc (22 st, decreased 1 st)
Row 29: 1 ch, hdc in each stitch across (22 st)
Row 30: 1 ch, 19 hdc, hdc2tog, 1 hdc (21 st, decreased 1 st)
Row 31: 1 ch, hdc in each stitch across (21 st)
Row 32: 1 ch, 18 hdc, hdc2tog, 1 hdc (20 st, decreased 1 st)
Row 33: 1 ch, hdc in each stitch across (20 st)

Neckline
Row 34: 3 sl st, 1 ch, 1 hdc, hdc2tog, 11 hdc, hdc2tog, 1 hdc (15 st, decreased 5 st)
Row 35: 1 ch, 12 hdc, hdc2tog, 1 hdc (14 st, decreased 1 st)
Row 36: 1 ch, 1 hdc, hdc2tog, 11 hdc (13 st, decreased 1 st)
Row 37: 1 ch, 10 hdc, hdc2tog, 1 hdc (12 st, decreased 1 st)
Row 38: 1 ch, 1 hdc, hdc2tog, 9 hdc (11 st, decreased 1 st)

Shoulder
Row 39: 1 sl st, 1 ch, 10 hdc (10 st, decreased 1 st)
Row 40: 1 ch, hdc in each stitch across (10 st)
Row 41: 5 sl st, 1 ch, 5 hdc (5 hdc, decreased 5 st)
Row 42: 1 ch, hdc in each stitch across

Fasten off

For the second front work the rows up to the armhole identically. From there on the decreases must be mirrored.

Sleeves (make two)
Cuff
Row 1: 9 ch
Rwo 2: 8 sc
Row 3: 8 sl st
Row 4: 1 ch, 8 sc
Row 5: 8 sl st
Rwo 6-32: repeat row 4 and 5
Cuff has 16 ridges

Row 1: crochet evenly lengthwise over the 16 ridges of the cuff. 1 ch, 30 hdc
Row 2-3: 1 ch, hdc in each stitch across (30 hdc)
Row 4: 1 ch, 1 hdc, 2 hdc in second st, hdc in each st across, 2 hdc in next to last st, 1 hdc (32 st, increased 2 st)
Row 5-6: 1 ch, hdc in each stitch across (32 st)
Row 7: 1 ch, 1 hdc, 2 hdc in second st, hdc in each st across, 2 hdc in next to last st, 1 hdc (34 st, increased 2 st)
Row 8-9: 1 ch, hdc in each stitch across (34 st)
Row 10: 1 ch, 1 hdc, 2 hdc in second st, hdc in each st across, 2 hdc in next to last st, 1 hdc (36 st, increased 2 st)
Row 11-12: 1 ch, hdc in each stitch across (36 st)
Row 13: 1 ch, 1 hdc, 2 hdc in second st, hdc in each st across, 2 hdc in next to last st, 1 hdc (38 st, increased 2 st)
Row 13-15: 1 ch, hdc in each stitch across (38 st)
Row 16: 1 ch, 1 hdc, 2 hdc in second st, hdc in each st across, 2 hdc in next to last st, 1 hdc (40 st, increased 2 st)
Row 17-22: 1 ch, hdc in each stitch across (40 st)
Row 23: 1 ch, 1 hdc, 2 hdc in second st, hdc in each st across, 2 hdc in next to last st, 1 hdc (42 st, increased 2 st)
Row 24-36: 1 ch, hdc in each stitch across (42 st)

Shoulder
Rwo 37: 4 sl st, 1 ch, 1 hdc, hdc2tog, x hdc, hdc2tog, 1 hdc, (leave 4 stitches unworked, decreased 10 st)
Row 38: 1 ch, hdc in each stitch across (32 st)
Row 39: 1 ch, 1 hdc, hdc2tog, x hdc, hdc2tog, 1 hdc (30 st, decreased 2 st)
Row 40-51: repeat row 39
Row 52: 1 ch, hdc in each stitch across (6 st)
Row 53: 1 ch, 2 hdc, hdc2tog, 2 hdc (5, decreased 1 st)

Armhole to top of shoulder are 17 rows (on back, fronts and sleeves) If you like a wider sleeve, you should also make the armhole higher.

Finishing instructions
Place the right sides of the cardigan together, so that you can see the wrong side (easily to recognize by the hem: the right side looks a little bit like knitting). Close the shoulder seams. These seams are very short, because you only must sew over the top 5 hdc. Now close the side seams, from the cuff upwards to the armhole opening. The next step is to sew in the sleeves. Therefore, attach the middle of the sleeve top to the middle of the shoulder opening with stitch markers. Then fold the sleeve lengthwise in half and attach the beginning of the shoulder decreases (row 37 with the slip stitches) with the beginning of the armhole opening. Now match the rest of the shoulder into the armhole on front and back. Now sew the shoulder into the armhole. Afterwards close the seam of the sleeve. Now you can put on the cardigan and decide how wide the buttonband should be, and how many buttons you need. I made a wide buttonband and used five 20 mm buttons.

Right side

Wrong side

Buttonband
Row 1: Work 50 sc evenly across the front
Row 2: 1 ch, 50 sc
Row 3-6: repeat row 2
Fasten off

Buttonholes
Start on the neckline and work downwards

Row 1: Work 50 sc evenly across the front
Row 2: 1 ch, 50 sc
Row 3: 1 ch, 50 sc
Row 4: 1 ch, 2 sc, 1 ch, 11 sc, 1 ch, 10 sc, 1ch, 10 sc, 1 ch, 10 sc, 2 sc
Row 5: 1 ch, sc in each stitch across (50 sc)
Row 6: 1 ch, sc in each stitch across (50 sc)

Do not fasten off, but proceed to work one row of twisted single crochet around the neckline. Fasten off.

Final touches
Turn the cardigan on the left side and weave in all ends. Turn the cardigan on the right side and sew on the buttons. When the cardigan is finished take it in your arms and cuddle it. Then put in on and run to the sea, lake, or river (or if necessary find a little puddle) and present your beautiful self to the next sea monster you can find.

I hope you enjoy the pattern, if you have questions, just write a comment, I will try my best to help. If you find a mistake, please be lenient with me, perhaps a cute sea monster distracted me....