The Harper Cardigan Crochet Pattern

You know that game where someone says a word and you say the first thing that comes to mind and that cycle just kind of continues? I feel like that is how I name my designs haha. It is no secret that a lot of my designs have some kind of Disney related influence and this one is no exception. While all of my designs so far have been inspired by different Disney characters, I attempted to have this design be inspired by a Disney Landmark rather than a person. I have always felt this desire to translate landscapes and environments into a piece of clothing, which has proven to be a very challenging concept to explain and execute, but I figured what better place to start than a place that is very significant to my life, Disneyland.

I think expressing the entirety of Disneyland in a single piece of clothing is far down the road for me, so I figured I would attempt something a little more specific. Despite the fact that I cannot even begin to handle horror movies or anything remotely scary, it is sometimes a wonder to even me that one of my favorite rides at Disneyland is The Haunted Mansion (not that the ride is even scary). One of my favorite things is the building itself; I absolutely love its design and I think one of the details that gives it the most character is its iron railings.

I mean it wouldn’t be nearly as appealing to look at without those railings right?? Given that The Haunted Mansion is located in New Orleans Square, it makes sense that it is New Orleans inspired. When you think of the French Quarter how can you not picture the beautiful Ironwork that lines the streets? I decided that this detail was the perfect thing to try to translate into a crochet design especially given its lace like nature. At this point I had the design, but I didn’t have a name, so I turned to my favorite activity, (other than crochet obviously) research! If you are ever going to fall into any internet rabbit hole, I highly suggest falling down Disneyland history rabbit hole. I have lost many hours of sleep discovering random facts about the Disney Parks, including but not limited to a couple of my favorites…

1. Riding Thunder Mountain has been proven to help people pass Kidney Stones
2. You are not actually falling on Tower Of Terror, but being pulled down at a speed that is faster than free falling.
3. There used to be a ride at California Adventure called the Orange Stinger that was themed around Oranges and Bees, they would eject an orange scent into the ride to enhance the experience, until they realized that it started attracting too many actual bees. It has since closed.
4. And my all time favorite, when the imagineers were designing the ghosts in The Haunted Mansion, they were working out of a warehouse and one night accidentally left all of the animatronics on. This of course terrified the cleaning crew that would come in at the end of the night and they were asked to remember to turn them off and leave the lights on to make the crew feel more comfortable. They agreed and followed up by installing motion sensors that would turn off all the lights and turn on all of the animatronics when anyone stepped into the warehouse. The following day most of the cleaning crew handed in their notices. I’m not necessarily one for practical jokes and would have hated to be on the receiving end of this one, I personally appreciate the effort that was put into this one for some reason haha.

I am getting way off topic here, the original point of this was that I did some research on the history of The Haunted Mansion and found that Walt and Disney Legend Harper Goff (he helped draw out many of the plans for Disneyland and aided in the production of several Disney films) had collaborated on a “haunted house attraction” that Walt knew he wanted to be part of the park. Harper Goff was the first one to ever sketch out a plan for the attraction (although the final design was based on sketches done by Ken Anderson). Long story short haha, that is the story behind the inspiration for the design and the name! Now we can finally get to the actual pattern!

Before I get into the details of the needed materials, I want to note that I don’t typically create my patterns on a standard size basis (XS – XL). I don’t do this because no two bodies are the same and I think that if you really want to make a piece specific to your body, that can be achieved much more accurately through taking personal measurements rather than following a pattern that will generally follow certain size guidelines. I understand that this is a risky move, so please give me some feedback on how you feel about this method if you wish!

Materials:

• Erika Knight Gossypium Cotton in Iced Gem (3 DK Weight)
• 10mm Crochet Hook

You might be thinking, a DK weight yarn with a 10mm hook?? It’s an odd match but it is a great way to get a simple stitch to look like an openwork/lace. It really helped me achieve the ironwork like inspiration I wanted in the design.

Also this was the first time I had worked with Erika Knight yarn, I found it in a local yarn shop and thought I would give it a try. For a 100% cotton yarn it is actually quite soft. It held up very well and never slip or frayed (although I have not tried it with a smaller hook). I could easily see myself using it on future projects!

Measurements:

• Around The Bust (minus approximately 4 inches for the ribbing)
  
• From underarm to the desired length
  
• Underarm Width
• Underarm to the top of the shoulder
• Shoulder to desired sleeve length on arm (minus approximately 2 inches for trim)

Abbreviations

• SC – Single Crochet
• DC- Double Crochet
• SS – Suzette Stitch

We are going to begin the cardigan by working the main body section. This will be a square/rectangle comprised of your “Bust Measurement” X “Underarm To Desired Length Measurement”

Body Section

Foundation:
Work a chain in a multiple of 2 that is equal in length to your “Bust” (minus 4″ for ribbing).Once you have a foundation chain that matches your measurement, you will start working your Suzette Stitches.

Row 1:
Working into the second chain on the hook,

1. Work 1 SC and 1 DC into the same stitch
2. Skip 1 Stitch
3. Work 1 SC and 1 DC into the same stitch
4. Repeat Steps 2-3 until you reach the end of the row
5. Work 1 SC into the last chain in the row
6. Chain 1 and turn

Row 2:

Working into the first stitch

1. Work 1 SC and 1 DC into the same stitch
2. Skip 1 Stitch
3. Work 1 SC and 1 DC into the same stitch
4. Repeat Steps 2-3 until you reach the end of the row
5. Work 1 SC into the last chain in the row
6. Chain 1 and turn

(If you would like a visual example of the Suzette Stitch, Olivia at Hopeful Honey has a very useful video Here)

As you can see, in the design I alternate between working rows of the Suzette Stitch and 4 rows of SC Stitches. Because everyone is likely to be working their cardigan to a different length, you can do this alternating how you see fit for your length. To be honest I did this kind of randomly for mine, there is not a set number of rows separating the Suzette sections from the SC sections.

With this being said, the following rows can be worked as you choose until your body section is size of your “Bust Measurement” X “Underarm To Desired Length Measurement”. Once you have worked it to the correct measurement, you can begin working on the panels that will go over your shoulders and help create the armholes.

Placing Stitch Markers:
Once you are done with the body section, take your “Underarm Width” measurement (measure the front of your armpit to the back of your armpit and add a little bit of wiggle room so the arm hole won’t be too tight) to find out how much room you will need to leave in order to create an arm hole. Make sure that the amount of stitches you have for your panels are in multiples of 2 so you can successfully work your Suzette Stitches.

Wrap the body section around your torso as if you were wearing it and place a stitch marker in a stitch by the front of your underarm on both sides that you think will be comfortable. Starting at your first stitch marker, take your measuring tape/ruler and (going inward) place a second stitch marker at the distance of your “Underarm Width” measurement. 

*I had to adjust mine a little bit because both sides weren’t completely even at first. I made sure that the stitches from the end to the first stitch marker were even on both sides, then I checked that the amount of stitches between the two stitch markers were even*

Front and Back Panels


Right Front Panel:
As the diagram shows, you work the Front Right Panel by starting at the first stitch marker and continuing the Suzette Stitches of 1 SC and 1DC in the first stitch all the way across to the far left corner where you will work 1 SC in the last stitch. Chain 1, turn, and repeat for several rows until your panel is the length of your “Underarm to the top of the shoulder” measurement. Proceed to work 2 rows of SC at the top.

Back Panel
As the diagram shows, you work the Back Panel by starting at the Third Stitch Marker and continue working the Suzette Stitches just like you did in the Right Front Panel, all the way to the Second Stitch Marker. Work the Suzette Stitches for several rows until the panel is panel is the length of your “Underarm to the top of the shoulder” measurement. Proceed to work 2 rows of SC at the top.

Left Front Panel
As the diagram shows, you work the Front Left Panel by starting at the far right end corner of the body section and continue working the Suzette Stitches just like you did in the other two panels, all the way to the First Stitch Marker. Work the Suzette Stitches for several rows until the panel is panel is the length of your “Underarm to the top of the shoulder” measurement.Proceed to work 2 rows of SC at the top.

This is what the piece looked like after I added the Front and Back Panels. The working of the 2 rows of SC at the top of each panel is to make it easier to sew the panels together in the end.

If you want to make sure that the height you have added with your panels created a comfortable arm hole, I suggest using your stitch markers to fasten the Front Panel to the Back Panels (as pictured below) and trying on the piece as a vest to make sure that the arms feel loose enough to move your arms and such. If you find it is too tight or loose, add or frog rows until you feel comfortable.

Once you have added your panels and have adjusted them to a comfortable height if necessary, you will sew your Front Panels evenly to the Back Panel. I did this by lining up the ends of the Front Panels to the ends of the Back Panel and sewing along the top of each Front Panel. You will have now created the full body structure of the cardigan and armholes for you to begin working your sleeves into!

Sleeves

As you have now created the arm holes of your cardigan. While you can technically start working your sleeves at any point of the arm hole that you wish, I recommend starting at either the “Top” of the arm hole (the sewn seam where you attached the Front and Back Panels) or the “Bottom”  of the arm hole (approximately the middle point between your two stitch markers marking the beginning and end of your “Underarm Width” measurement.)

Row 1:
Once you have decided where to begin your sleeve, work 1 round of SC stitches around the armhole as evenly as possible (luckily it is pretty easy to determine where to place your stitches with the Suzette Stitch) until you make it around the entire arm hole, be sure to work an amount of SC stitches in a multiple of 2. Also make sure to take note of how many SC stitches you worked so that you can be sure to work the same amount of the opposite sleeve. Chain 1 and turn your work.

*Personally, working in rounds and I are not friends, my seam is always all wonky and uneven and I loathe it. Therefore I usually work my sleeves in rows (not joining together at the end of the row) and sew it together at the end to form the sleeve. However if you and working in rounds are friends, you are more than welcome to work your sleeve in a round!*

Row 2:
Work one more row of SC stitches. Chain 1 and turn

Row 3…
After you have completed your two rows on SC, you will start working multiple rows of the Suzette Stitch until you have reached your “Shoulder to desired sleeve length on arm (minus approximately 2 inches for trim)” measurement.

Sleeve Trim

Once your sleeve has reached the “Shoulder to desired sleeve length on arm (minus approximately 2 inches for trim)” measurement, you will be adding the 2 inches for the trim.

Row 1-3:
Work 3 rows of SC

Row 4:
Work 1 row of DC

Row 5-6:
Work 2 rows of SC to finish of the sleeve trim

*Repeat all steps for the Sleeve and Sleeve Trim for the other sleeve. If you worked in a round your sleeve will already be connected, but if you chose to work in rows, now is when you would sew together the sides to form the sleeve.*

Collar Ribbing

Once you have finished your sleeves you can work on the collar ribbing. This is where you will be adding back those 4 inches that you took off of your bust measurement (2″ on each side). The pattern of the Collar Ribbing is the exact same that you worked for the Sleeve Trim.

Row 1-3:
Work 3 rows of SC

Row 4:
Work 1 row of DC

Row 5-6:
Work 2 rows of SC to finish of the Collar Ribbing

Polish off the Bottom

I had thought about repeating the Trim on the bottom of the cardigan, but decided against it in the end. If you wish to add the Trim to the bottom of your cardigan go ahead! Otherwise I suggest working 1 or 2 rows of SC along the bottom just to give it a more polished look, but it is your cardigan and you can finish it off however you’d like! Also be sure to weave in any ends!

Congratulations! You have now completed your very own Harper Cardigan!! You can now celebrate by wearing it and flaunt your Haunted Mansion inspired look!

As always if you have any question please feel free to reach out, and if you end up making this cardigan, tag me on instagram or share in the comments! I would love to see the final product!