My New Favorite: Modified Swing Cardi

Drape Front Cardigan
from Noro Silk Garden
copyright sixth & spring

Last week two of my designs were published in the Noro Silk Garden 20th Anniversary book from Sixth & Spring, the book publishing arm of Vogue Knitting Magazine.  I am very excited about the cardigan, because it's a new shape which is very flattering.  It is also a modular design, so it is joined-as-you-go with no seams to sew at the end.  The knitting is rather simple, as the angled front pieces are just simple rectangles with no shaping.

The key to this design is the shaping of the back piece.  It begins with a narrow bottom edge and increases rapidly up to the armhole.  That armhole is extra-wide as it incorporates both the back and the front armhole bind-off stitches.  To add some interest, I changed texture across the upper back and carried that down the front shoulder piece.  Did I mention that the back continues over the front and decreases down to two stitches in width at the front armhole depth?  Or that you then attach the tip of the piece to the point of the armhole bind-off?

It gets a little more straightforward from here.  After connecting the points, the stitches for each arm are picked up and knit in the round to the cuff.  Then the front are worked by pickup up stitches along the edge from the side neck down to the back hem and working a big rectangle.  The cardi is finished with a little continuous ribbing along the upper edge of the rectangle and back neck.


Have I confused you?  The design and construction are non-traditional, but not difficult in execution.  And, the result is a flattering sweater.  The angled edge forces the front piece into a deep v-neck, which is a slimming line.  The overlap of the front pieces also helps disguise any wobbly bits in the tummy area.





I love the design lines so much, I've also worked this shape into one of my reinvented sweaters.  The base is a man's cashmere cardigan with the front pieces worked in a slip stitch pattern using recycled cashmere yarn.  It is the center piece of my Thrifty Knitter/Sweater Reinvention class.