Hey, beautiful soul. Grab a sip of coffee or tea and let’s curl up and chat a minute about cardigan knitting!
I dearly love knitting cardigans – always have – and this adorable Tofino cardigan has won my heart.
We’ve been getting so many requests about the details of my version so I’d love to fill you in.
This pattern is so cute. It’s oversized and fluffy. Cozy and modern. Totally adore it. And those big, puffy sleeves! Be still my heart.
This is not one of our designs – it’s just a lovely pattern I found while perusing Ravelry. You can grab it here.
We’ve been having quite a few requests about this and what yarn I used to create it.
I essentially pulled a bunch of random colors from my stash, many of which aren’t available, but here is a quick rundown for you as well as some substitutions if you’re wanting to create something similar.
Alas, I didn’t realize the interest this version would generate so I didn’t keep track of my yardage AT ALL or even the total number of skeins or exact colors, but here is a general idea of what I used:
To get gauge, I held 8 strands of lace and fingering weight yarns together throughout the project, shifting them from cream tones into soft, dusty pink shades, deeper pink tones and finally a taupe/plum/brown.
To achieve this, I worked with 4 center-pull balls at all times, pulling 1 strand from the center and 1 strand from the outside of each. Here is how to wind a center-pull ball if you need help with that.
I used:
–Cashsilk Sock yarn in a pale cream with soft green specks. A tester color not available on the site. Opt for our Moon colorway instead. It’s a lovely ivory shade.
-Mirage Fingering – discontinued for now. It was a one-time shipment dealio but we’re hoping to have a sport weight version soon. Cashsilk Sock is a great alternative.
–Alpaca Silk Lace in various shades. I pulled colors from our Kai Hues kit.
-Pearlescent Fingering – a shimmering single ply yarn. I mainly used a soft pink hue. I don’t have a near-dupe available in the shop but our Pink Pearl Cashsilk would be awesome in its stead.
Note: We are a small, hand-dyed yarn company so colors come and go rapidly. Feel free to request any of these or other past shades by emailing us here. We can’t always acquiesce, but sometimes we can!
In retrospect, now that I’ve worn the sweater a few times, would I do it all over again? Yes, yes, indeed I would. I would mainly opt for the Alpaca Silk Lace and Cashsilk Sock as I feel the Pearlescent Fingering, being a single ply yarn, is best suited to a more “normal” gauge for that yarn rather than the large loops formed by this enormous gauge.
So if you’re wanting to create something similar, just opt for any color combo from those categories. You can use ANY combination of yarns you like, so long as you GET GAUGE. That is what matters.
Try holding several strands of worsted weight together or Dk – or a lace with a sport with a dk, etc. Endless combinations. Use up that stash, baby!
So why did I opt to hold 8 strands together instead of just using a super bulky weight yarn?
Well – it was during the pandemic and that is what I had on hand, in that moment, while sitting in bed watching Lost in Space on Netflix.
I did not have much tangling or frustration as you may be wondering. But working with 8 strands at a time is a fun challenge and best with a knitting basket. Just any old basket will work to hold the balls, but it really does keep the balls from rolling everywhere.
Just pull up enough yarn for the next yard or two of knitting, knit that and then pull up more yarn. This will prevent you from getting tangles and from tossing the whole thing on the floor while yelling a few choice words!
In sum, I dearly love this puddly, cozy, comfy cardigan. Cardigans have always been one of my favorite things to knit. You can wear them everyday! Perfect for all seasons really. 
If you do make your own version, we’d love to see! Post it on IG and tag us. @expressionfiberarts #expressionfiberarts
Or post on our Facebook page!
Remember to soak up this day – you’re a beautiful miracle and just by being your unique self, you help uplift and light up the world.
Tata for now!
Chandi
Beautiful work! And thank you for the share.
Off to the stash to see what I have. Thanks for sharing Beautiful One.
Meraviglioso!
Where would I find this pattern? Thank you in advance
V
Sure! You can find it here: https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/tofino-cardigan
Oh Chandi , you delight my heart . I enjoyed your musings and creativity. I’m currently working on the Copeland shawl….
I’m hoping for it to fit my 5 ft 6in size 16 frame.
I like flowy and long length . Not too tight around the arms , loved the thumb hole idea on the cardigan . You have inspired my greatly .
That is stunning! I love the effect that mixing yarn strands has created.
It is said that necessity is the mother of creation. 🙂
The cardigan looks lovely! I would like to make this cardigan using buttery bulky. Would that be with one or two strands (equivalent to your 8 strands of fingering you held)? Also, the pattern starts with holding the “yarn” double. Does that mean you held 16 strands of yarn? Also, thank you for the advice on keep yarn from tangling. I need it.
If you choose to use Buttery Bulky, you’ll just need to create a gauge swatch and compare it to the gauge listed in the pattern itself. As noted in the post, “You can use ANY combination of yarns you like, so long as you GET GAUGE,” so you’ll just need to swatch it up. It’s possible you’ll only need one strand. As for holding the yarn double, Chandi used 8 strands, not 16. Hope that helps!