Crochet V-Neck Cardigan for Beginners: Sizing It with a Swatch Ratio

A cardigan is a big step for a beginner, so Elise's version keeps the structure simple. You make a ribbed hem first, then pick up stitches along its edge for the body, work straight up to the armholes, and split it into two fronts and a back. A ribbed band goes up one front, round the V-neck and down the other, and the sleeves are worked in rounds.

The part that's worth learning even if you never make this cardigan is how she sizes it: one small swatch and one division tell you how long the hem should be. It's on her lilthings channel.

Video tutorial by Elise on her YouTube channel, lilthings: watch "crochet cardigan beginner tutorial☁️ how to crochet cardigan jacket, crochet sweater" on YouTube.

Written from the video. The numbers below are Elise's example; your own swatch and bust measurement give your numbers.

Materials

• About 12 balls of light plush yarn for the body and sleeves
• About 2 balls of 5-ply milk cotton for the ribbing
• A hook between 3.5 and 4.5 mm (whatever suits your yarn)
• 3 buttons
• A tape measure, stitch markers, scissors and a darning needle

Sizing: the swatch ratio

The ribbing (in cotton) and the body (in plush yarn) don't come out the same width for the same number of stitches. So first, measure the difference:

1. Rib swatch: with the cotton, chain 9 + 2 and work 9 dc in ribbing (alternating front and back loops). Elise's swatch was about 11 cm.
2. Plush test: work 5 rows of the plush yarn along the side of that swatch. Elise's was about 15 cm wide.
3. Ratio: plush ÷ ribbing = 15 ÷ 11 ≈ 1.36.
4. Hem length: bust measurement ÷ ratio. For a 110 cm bust: 110 ÷ 1.36 ≈ 80 cm of ribbing.

That's because the plush body spreads out wider than the ribbing it's worked into. Making the hem shorter by the ratio means the body ends up the right width. For a 110 cm bust, Elise worked 59 rows of ribbing.

Body

Stitches to pick up: 2 per row of ribbing, plus 1. For 59 rows: 59 × 2 + 1 = 119 dc, worked across the top edge of the hem: 1 dc in the side of each row and 1 dc between rows.

Rows 1 to 14: work straight in dc to the underarm. Start each row with a chain 2, or with Elise's gap-free start: 1 sc in the first stitch, then a second sc worked into the left side of that sc, which stands up like a double crochet. Our standing double crochet guide shows similar starts.

Fronts and back

Split the stitches into quarters for the fronts and a half for the back:

• Each front: 119 ÷ 4 ≈ 29 stitches
• Back: the 61 in the middle

V-neck: on right-side rows, start the neck edge with 1 sc and 1 dc, so it slopes gently; on wrong-side rows, work a dc2tog over the last 2 stitches at the neck edge.

Sew the shoulders together.

Buttonband, sleeves and cuffs

• Band: join the cotton at the bottom front corner. Chain 6 + 2 and work back and forth in ribbing, 7 dc wide, all the way up the right front, round the V-neck (decreasing at the two shoulder corners) and down the left front. At the end of every row, join it to the edge of the cardigan with 2 slip stitches.
• Sleeves: work the plush yarn in rounds from the armhole down.
• Cuffs: 9-stitch ribbed cuffs in cotton, worked the same way as the band.
• Buttons: sew 3 buttons onto the left band. The gaps between the double crochets of the right band are your buttonholes.

Tips

• Swatch both yarns together. The ratio only works if the swatch uses your real yarns and hook.
• Try it on at the underarm. Before you split, wrap the body round you: this is your last easy chance to add rows or stitches.
• Plan the ease. If you want it oversized, use a bigger number than your bust in the hem calculation. The garment ease calculator helps you choose.

Frequently asked questions