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Yarn Love: Grab your Simple Sock from Heathered Handmades here!

Pixie Cardi: An open cardigan full of texture and drop sleeves, knit using a combination of two-color garter and two-color honeycomb brioche stitch.

My Sito Cardi is the original design inspiration for this cardigan, but switching from one-color for two-color!

Yarn Notes:
Choose 2 colors with high contrast for the best outcome! This is a great pattern to showcase speckled and variegated yarns. See below for yardage / meterage and how many skeins you’ll need of Simple Sock. See last photo for my yarn in skein form.

Skill level:
Intermediate. Basic brioche skills are not required, but are recommended.

Techniques used:
knit, purl, brioche knit (brk), brioche purl (brp), knitting in the round, short rows, knit increases and decreases, Twisted German Cast On, Elastic Bind off, Three-Needle Bind off.

Two-Color honeycomb brioche is a beautiful texture created by using brioche knitting techniques. I have included a video tutorial link for this stitch pattern, which you can also find here: https://bit.lyTwoColorHoneycomb

Construction Notes:
This cardigan is knit from the bottom up, beginning with a split hem worked in two-color garter stitch. The Fronts and Back are knit separately, then joined together to create the Main Body. The body is made up of mostly Two-Color Honeycomb Brioche, which creates a double layer mesh fabric in two different colors, with two-color garter stitch bands at the front. The Fronts and Back are then separated to create the sleeve opening, and knit separately up to the shoulders. The Three-Needle Bind off is used to seam the shoulders to give extra stability and a clean look, after working slight short rows to raise the back neck and shape the shoulders slightly. The sleeves are worked mainly in Two-Color Honeycomb Brioche, finished with a long two-color garter stitch cuff to allow you roll your sleeves up for a relaxed look.

This lightweight but cozy cardigan is the perfect fit over your favorite outfit for a night out or layered over your comfy pajamas for a lovely weekend in.

» Sizes offered:
1 (2, 3, 4) (5, 6, 7) (8, 9, 10) #sizeinclusive

» Finished chest circumference:
34 (38.5, 42, 46.5) (50, 54.5, 58) (62.5, 66, 69.5)’’ / 86 (97.5, 106.5, 118) (127, 138.5, 147) (158.5, 167.5, 176.5) cm; meant to be worn with 4 - 6” / 10 - 25 cm of positive ease at the chest. These sizes are the actual chest measurements of the garment. Choose your size based on your own chest measurement and add your desired ease. See other measurements in the schematic included here in the photos.

Shown in size 3 on model with 38” / 91.5 cm chest, worn with approximately 4” / 10 cm of positive ease.

» Gauge:
Two-Color Garter Stitch: 20 sts & 28 rows = 4” / 10 cm; knit flat (taken after blocking).

Two-Color Honeycomb Brioche: 18 sts & 27 rows = 4’’ / 10 cm; knit flat (taken after blocking; Swatch Pattern included).

MATERIALS:

» Yarn: Fingering weight
Main Color (MC): 722 (815, 908, 1006) (1105, 1206, 1312) (1419, 1534, 1628) yds / 660 (745, 830, 920) (1010, 1102, 1199)
(1297, 1402, 1488) m

Contrast Color (CC): 613 (692, 771, 854) (938, 1024, 1114) (1205, 1302, 1382) yds / 560 (633, 705, 781) (857, 936, 1018) (1101, 1190, 1263) m

» Shown in: Heathered Handmades Simple Sock (100% Superwash Merino; 438 yds / 401 m per 100 g)
MC: 2 (2, 3, 3) (3, 3, 3) (4, 4, 4) skeins in Always A Bridesmaid (light turquoise)
CC: 2 (2, 2, 2) (2, 2, 2) (2, 2, 3) skeins in Be Teal My Heart (dark teal)

» Needles:
24 - 40’’ / 40.5 - 101.5 cm US 4 / 3.5 mm circular needles or DPN’s, whichever your preference for small circumference knitting

Circular needles are used for two-color brioche and garter stitch knitting and for accommodating a larger number of stitches. Adjust needle size as needed to obtain proper gauge.

» Tools:
Tapestry needle, row counter, 2 lengths of smooth waste yarn or stitch holders, 1 stitch marker for noting beginning of round, stitch markers (including 1 contrasting marker for noting beginning of round)

» Credits:
Many thanks to Heather at Heathered Handmades for their amazing yarn support and pattern inspiration!! Thank you to my tech editor Chaitanya Muralidhara (@beginswithac) for all her help in editing my pattern!! Also a HUGE thank you to all my Patrons and test knitters for their help in testing out this pattern!! Be sure to check out their projects for some serious color inspiration!!