The Augusta Cardigan – Construction And Fit

Since the Augusta Cardigan was published I’ve received quite a few questions about how to choose which size of this sweater to make. Although it’s called a cardigan, this piece is really more of an over-sized shrug, or what’s sometimes called a cocoon. While I was working on this pattern I posted this rather cryptic photo on Instagram showing my experiments with the shape and construction.

 

The sweater starts as a rectangle, with the sides of the rectangle forming the sleeves and sleeve seams, (you can’t see the sleeve seams on the finished piece because they’re grafted together invisibly) and the top and bottom of the rectangle forming the back neck, the front edges, and the back at the hip. In photo 1 below you can see how the piece looks flat, before joining the sleeve seams. I marked the points that are joined with the letter A on one side, and the letter B on the other. In photo 2 there’s a piece of tape over one of the A’s, and in photo 3 that side is folded and A is joined to A. In photo 4 the other side is joined as well.

1-kephren-knitting-studio

After the sleeves are joined and the basic shape of the piece is formed, stitches are picked up along the bottom edge and worked in a rib and cable pattern. You can see this section in the photo below. The number of stitches picked up is different for each size, and the width of this panel is what determines the hip width, which should be close to, or the same as half of your hip circumference. The other point on the sweater that needs to come close to your actual measurement is the sleeve circumference at the elbow, which is determined by how many stitches are left at the opening after joining the sleeve seams.

Copyright Harper Point Photography

Copyright Harper Point Photography

 

These two points should help you to choose a size, but if you are still unsure, have a look at the back length. Because of the way it’s constructed, the width and the length have to increase proportionately, so the larger sizes are also longer at the back. Because of the way the cable panel is worked, there are only a few rows that are good stopping places in the pattern, so there are three different back lengths for the six sizes.

Remember that this is an open and loose style and the fit doesn’t need to be exact! If you’re still having trouble deciding on a size, you can ask your questions in the Kephren Knitting Studio Ravelry group, or in the comments at the end of this post. I’m excited to see finished and in-progress Augusta Cardigans popping up, so be sure to tag me on Instagram or Facebook (@kephrenknitting) if you share your pictures there.

Thank you for knitting!